Weekly Recap: Week 2 of Fall '09

In a bid to update this frequently, I'm going to attempt to do weekly recaps of my week every Friday. We'll see how long this lasts.

Week 2 of the Fall semester is usually a blunt reality check for most students. The initial fun of "Gee whiz I'm in college!" is wearing down and the realization that they have a ridiculous amount of reading assigned for every class is becoming more and more apparent. Regardless, it was a pretty fun and productive week despite my grump-fest on Tuesday.

My writing classes had a presentation from the library on Thursday for how to do appropriate college-level research. I haven't used Infotrac / Academic Onefile since I left grad. school, and was pretty astounded by the changes they've made in the last few years (would provide a link but it requires campus log-in to access). It's vastly more user-friendly, and even goes so far as to provide citations for you, which leads me to a small dilemma.

It seems that there has been an influx of websites/computer apps that can create MLA (or any other style) citations based on whatever information you provide. The 21st century nerd in me thinks that this is awesome and can save a ton of time for students. My inner writing teacher worries that this is an enterprise that can actually hurt my job. I believe in the value of teaching citations (even though it's dull), yet I can't help but feel a bit like I'm arguing for people to do complicated math problems when there's a readily available calculator.

Highlight of the Week:
One of the courses I teach is Introduction to College Learning. With the right instructor, this is a really fun class that gives students (specifically freshmen) a frank impression of what college life and expectations are.

We were discussing personal values in connection to academic and personal goals today, with an emphasis on active learning. The main "lesson" of the day is to be proactive in thinking about what you want from this experience so as to avoid getting a degree you won't use or wasting your time and money pursuing something you dislike.

After class a student stopped by my office to talk. His problem? He's here pursuing a psych. degree because his parents want him to, but what he really wants is a career in music. He wants me to provide advice on what he should do with his life.

Yikes.

I talked about how this is an age-old issue to face at this stage in life (do I take the "safe" bet that people want me to, or do I follow a passion?) and weighed the options of both choices, pointing out that they don't necessarily exclude one another. I pointed him to the Career Services office and told him to hunt down some Music faculty to discuss his options further. I encouraged him to do an honest bit of soul-searching after getting some more resources, then talking with his family. We concluded thusly:

Me - "Who knows, this could be one of the best decisions of your life."
Student - "Or the worst!"
Me - "But at least it's a decision, and you get to make it. This is your life. You're two weeks into your freshman year of college and making active decisions about your future, and the world is full of people who never make those decisions."

He left my office happy, optimistic, and still thoroughly confused on what to do - but - he's thinking - and any week that ends that way is a good one.

The Millionth Word

According to this article, "Web 2.0" became recognized by the Global Language Monitor as the one millionth word in the English language.

Being a tech-savvy word nerd, this headline caught my attention immediately. My inner geek found this to be a poignant and appropriate moment, a definitive example of human possibility brimming with significance. Oh, how this millionth word represented the evolution of human communication, the endless opportuntiy for human growth! I thought what whimsy and meta-fun it would be to share this idea through facebook, as surely this would impress my peers and in turn validate me (this is pretty much the reason I do anything on facebook).

Then I read the article.

While the Global Language Monitor seems to have pretty admirable aims, the nebulous nature of language in itself makes the idea of counting words pretty pointless. Other "English" words making the list include "Jai Ho" and "n00b" - each derived from specific cultures, yet somehow further validated by working their way into American culture and being slapped on a list.

The melting-pot nature of American English is wonderful in its ability to adapt and incorporate. Claiming ownership of a word, however, opens the door to redefining it. At best, redefinitions become watered down versions of their original intention - the word "cool" for example is bandied about so easily and usually with the intent of a marketer, the original tone and concept is forever lost. At worst, redefinitions steal the language of marginalized communities, subverting attempts at expression and rebranding concepts as negative-catch-all-cliches-and-labels.

Personally, I'm continually for an expanding language. The more tools one has to articulate their beliefs and position in the world, the more likely they are to have an empowered role. I guess I should foster my original enthusiasm then at what possibilites this "millionth word" represents, while using the very medium it describes to acknowledge the millions of other words, not on the list.