Today, I told a student, to her face, that she had done something “stupid.” And the crazy thing is she didn’t run away crying or put up a defense mechanism or block out entirely the point I was making. She smiled and quietly laughed and nodded knowingly. Because she knew it was true. (She had plagiarized).
I did not go into my meeting with this student with the intention of using the word “stupid” or any other word like it. However, once speaking with her, I knew something had to be said to get my point across about the severity of what she had done. I was speaking with her directly and openly, with no hostility, reiterating to her what could happen to her student status if she were to ever do this again. She didn’t really “get it” or react until I said, “what you did…was stupid.” Her quite laugh spoke volumes to me as I understood completely what it meant coming from her: she got it. And she clearly agreed.
Despite what some of my fellow educators may feel about words like “stupid,” I know that what I said to this student, paired with my tone, made all the difference in her understanding and openness to what I was telling her. As soon as we started talking, she was not afraid; she knew she had no reason to be because I was not angry. I was not giving up on her as a person; I was simply letting her know that what she did was dumb and could have and should have been avoided. It was this little bit of honest meanness in word choice that brought everything home. She expressed appreciation for what I said- because it was honest. We were two people communicating openly, an often difficult feat for a professor and a student.
After the disagreements that went down on this blog last week, I have been thinking a lot about the concept of “meanness.” Is it, in fact, an act of flagrant self-regard for one to proclaim the downfalls of others? Was I just abusing my position as this girl’s instructor when I told her that what she did was idiotic? Or was it in fact my duty to tell her that?
What I realized is that when we talk about people being "idiots" or doing something “stupid” or “dumb,” it is not a reference to their mental capabilities; it is a reference to their behavior. An “idiot” is "an utterly foolish or senseless person." Not someone who is incapable of higher thought or sense, but rather someone who practices neither.
When students don't put in the effort to improve and when they don't attempt critical thought and when they write half-assed drafts with no thought behind them (and when they knowingly plagiarize), they are behaving like idiots. It is idiotic to spend thousands of dollars on an education that you are not intellectually invested in. This common behavior not only reveals a problem with the average modern student but also with the system as a whole. How did it get this way and what can be done about it? In my opinion, the main issue is that college has become a means to better career prospects. It is just a game so many people play- they want the rewards of the game (the degree, the better paying job, the prestige) without putting in the intellectual work. And without that intellectual work, they don't deserve the degree because, damn it, they're not earning it. To expect to get rewarded for something you're not putting in the work for is idiotic. And it is clear when a student and a person is really trying (like the English language learners both Jack and Slick mentioned in their blogs last week), because improvement comes with that territory. And it is obvious when a student is not trying. Higher education is great because no one has to do it; no one is forced to go to college. So, when a student behaves like he is forced to go to class and forced to go to the writing center and only put in the minimal thoughtless effort to get by, he is being idiotic.
And this branches out to all aspects of life- people who live their lives as if they are forced into every action, every event, as if they have no freewill are idiotic. The only way to not be an idiot, is to stop being so apathetic and to really try at the things you set out to do, not just float by at everything. People like that, until they change, are a waste of everyone's (except maybe therapists') time and energy.
This brings me back to my original point: I point out the downfalls of lazy students and lazy people who show no progress because they do not put in the time and effort to improve at the things they do, they allow themselves to be coddled and their only explanation for their behavior is boredom. I feel like them sometimes, but I won't allow that to be my life because I see the way they are and remind myself and others not to be like that. This has nothing to do with talent or natural brilliance, it has to do with effort, critical thinking, and drive which, just like reading and writing, are not natural abilities, but must be learned and always honed and which are qualities exhibited by the English language learners discussed in last week's blogs.
We must stop coddling students (and all people for that matter). We must not be afraid to tell them when they are not cutting it. We must hold them to the higher standard that is at the heart of higher education.
And sometimes we must push them out of their apathy and away from their destructive behavior- and if that means telling them that their actions are “stupid,” so be it.
But, of course, proceed with caution.
Until next time,
Leena
