Monday, January 31, 2011

Rewarding

There is this student, let's call her "Emily", who wants to do a Major in Spanish with no previous background in the language. This means that she has to take a full year of Beginner Spanish, then a full year of Intermediate Spanish, and then a semester of Advanced Spanish (2,5 years altogether) before she can start taking more advanced literature courses. "Emily" feels that this is too slow. Two and a half years of just taking language courses is boring and it doesn't take her closer to her goal fast enough.

So she decided to take an advanced literature course while still in her second year of language learning. Everybody told her that this cannot be done, she will fail the literature course, it will be a huge waste of her time. I thought about it, though, and decided to let her into my advanced literature course. I like students who want to achieve more than what's expected from them.

Now, the course is very difficult. We start with Medieval readings that even native speakers find hard to understand. "Emily", who is still just beginning her Intermediate Spanish II, is struggling. But she works hard and perseveres. We wrote our first, very difficult mini-quiz last week. And "Emily" did great. She got 90%, which puts her ahead of almost everybody else in the course.

It's students like "Emily" who make my job so rewarding. 

11 comments:

Pagan Topologist said...

Truly wonderful!! I have stories like this in my teaching experience, too. But, many who try such things do not make it. Are they just sacrifices on the altar of self-determination?

Clarissa said...

"Emily" and I agreed that we'll watch her progress very carefully in the first few weeks of class. Had the course not worked out for her, I would have suggested that she drop out for now and try again next semester. So she wasn't going to waste that much time and effort on it uselessly.

Still, I think it's better at least to try than to give up before you even started trying.

Jonathan said...

I began Spanish in Summer school before Freshman year in college. I got one course out of the way before I had even started. I skipped some courses that were mere repetitions of what I had already done (Spanish 4, Spanish 4 and a quarter, Spanish 4 and a half) and made it to advanced courses for majors by the end of my sophomore year, then took a year abroad in Madrid. And look at me now, a Spanish professor. My point is there should be an advanced track for students like Emily. Why stick her in with people studying Spanish with no interest in it? One reason for my rapid progress was that I was reading novels and short-stories in Spanish already, rather than waiting around until I was advanced enough.

Clarissa said...

That's exactly how I went about my career in Spanish Literature as well. :-) There will always be people who are motivated highly enough to advance at a much higher pace. We should not keep them down and prevent them from achieving their dreams.

Unfortunately, I often end up spending too much time on students who don't even want to take Spanish, and not much time is left for people like Emily who definitely have a future in our profession.

Clarissa said...

I have the best readers ever. I feel so blessed, people.

Leah Jane said...

Call me an arrogant braggart, but that reminds me of me when I first started Asian Studies. My freshman year, I took Postwar Literature, which was a 400 level class. It was difficult, I'll admit it, I had a hard time at first. But then I thrived in it, and I got excellent marks in the end. It's worth it to try hard.
However, thanks to me doing that, and then repeating the pattern with Japanese Medieval Literature, Persian Stories, and other courses, I'm left with only my general education requirement classes to complete in order to graduate, and I'm bored as can be in these lower level classes. Oh well...

Clarissa said...

There is nothing arrogant in being proud of your achievements. You worked hard, so you got great results. Kudos to you!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad she found a professor like you. I have run into so many walls throught my academic and profesional life. The latest being a German professor who said reading Rilke's works was a waste of time arguing that it was far too dificult, and that no one really understood what he tried to convey in his poems.

Clarissa said...

I still remember the very first advisor I had as an udergrad who told me "Remember one thing: you do not have a future in Hispanic Studies." Now she meets me at conferences and falls over herself in her rush to greet me and tell everybody how proud she is to have been my advisor.

Patrick said...

Excellent for you Clarissa! We have a motto in our drama group - "DARE TO FAIL". You're giving Emily an opportunity and a challenge. I think most people would be surprised what they can accomplish when given/taking the opportunity to push their boundaries.

Anonymous said...

i did that last semester...took a 300-level postcolonial studies class with only a year of french (& applying to grad school)! i need more confidence, though, because my reluctance to speak up in class lost me the A-minus i was headed for! kudos to emily.