Review Guide

For the first time ever I gave my students a study guide for the test. In years past, I have never made one because I thought it was the students responsibility to study on their own. Perhaps the fact that somebody else made the study guide helped me into the decision, but I am still kind of wary of it. I figure that I could use this as a time to experiment to see if it actually helps kids do better on the midterm. Somehow, I still feel like it isn't going to do any good because these students don't read/know how to study for a college exam. I have only done Popular Culture exams in the past, but I don't really expect anything different from these. I would love to be proven wrong and I hope that this attitude doesn't somehow influence the way I teach. I do think that I have dumbed down my lessons over the years simply so that people could pass the test and the class. One has to keep in mind their audience while teaching and Bowling Green students are not the most inspired I have been around. Another side of it is that the majority of students that take these classes will never use any of the information again, no matter how hard we try and make it relevant to their everyday life. So, why is it important for them to do well in a class they don't care about? I grew up thinking the opposite of this and wanted to excel in all my classes, including the ones that I didn't like, but perhaps I have to be open to newer ways of thinking about education.

We will see what happens with the study guide. Perhaps I will use it from now on, but somehow I doubt it. I really don't feel comfortable being part of the reason why higher education is turning into elementary school. I really would like to work for a place that pushes student to do their best. Failing shouldn't be an option. Failure should mean dropping out unless their is some emergency.