From: irenai
To: whom it may concern
Cc: Томаш Блушевич, PhD (Harvard)
I’ve finally read the article and have something to say. Nothing new. Same old stuff. Sorry for
being such a retard the delay)
First, about the author. I’ve googled him but the digital footprint he’s left is minimal, which may mean two things: he’s either a secret agent - on the other hand, James Bond’s name regularly appears in the news, go figure!) - or a not so distinguished professor, which is more likely.
Second, about the discussion. I don’t quite understand what you people are talking about. Are you trying to say that school-leavers today are ready to continue into
higher education?
No way! A
highly questionable assumption, I’d say.
Third, about the article. Surely it seems to be based on the false premise that foreign students are way better than Russian ones. For this reason, young Russian people who want to study under foreign professors need some extra assistance to prepare to join the ranks of those privileged –
самый международный бакалавриат! - students who are as intelligent as they are cognitively well-equipped. However, I personally think that the problems described in the article are all symptoms of a
дебилitating disease of modern society as a whole)
The conclusions being erroneous, the line of reasoning seems to be fundamentally sound. I suppose it’s hard to deny that nowadays young people are absolutely unable to work with texts that are more than a few lines long and don’t contain visuals, let alone massive academic opuses – don’t confuse with
opera) - that students are supposed to read, analyse and even – oh no! – to
compose create.
Another area of concern is inability to decode a statement, say, an essay topic. You work night and day to cram it in their heads, but they still don’t remember the drill, “First,
disassemble = analysis.
For example, The majority of teenagers misbehave = The majority of (most) + teenagers (young people) + misbehave (behave badly).
Then
assemble = synthesis.”
= Most young people behave badly.
It’s as easy as stripping and reassembling an AK-47 Assault Rifle) And then use the basic building blocks for the construction of an argumentation model)
What’s more, don’t forget to
reload the mag), I mean, provide relevant arguments. I’m sure we all have had experience of seething silently – or
sizzling noisily) – with anger at the student’s “persuasive” argumentation that boils down to “I like it because it’s good”.
The problem is analytical skills - interpreting data and identifying cause and effect – are not in great demand these days. The latter – I mean the skills of handling weapons - are much more needed.
And one more thing, that
дебилitating fear of mistake, deep-seated and paralyzing students, making them stumble and mumble and act irrationally. It takes months to get rid of it. Sometimes I need to act as a hypnotist to help them cope with an anxiety bordering on hysteria. But then again, I can’t single-handedly save the world from the disaster.
I have some other observations on the subject but, as you’ve probably guessed, all the reflections above were just a lead-in to another anecdote I’d like to tell. Seemingly unrelated to the issue at hand. OK, here it is:
“A girl who will soon join the ranks of those students much maligned by the author of the article) The cognitive capacity is “work in progress”, but we are doing well.
In one lesson I have to use all my poor drawing skills and remarkable verbal skills to dissuade her from considering Greenland a continent and explain why it seems to be so big on the map. Never do I mention the Mercator projection, but rather use a vivid image of clothes tailoring with tucks to get the right fit.
In another lesson we encounter an epic fail – as kids say) – when we can’t cope with a listening task based on the myth about Daedalus and Icarus for the simple reason that the girl – lo and behold! - has never heard the names – pre-taught, pre-taught) - and can’t comprehend the weird story about an ingenious dad and a dumb son.
Eventually, totally humbled by her own ignorance and obviously awed by the presence of a superior mind, the girl gasps in admiration, “How come you know all those amazing things?!” “Ahem,” I say, not exactly sure I deserve the laurels, “I
used to go school, you know.”
