I do know that it is difficult to devise original, well-crafted assignments. Teaching well is extremely challenging, which is why I said that too often the easier path is taken and the same questions are asked time after time. For 14 years I taught freshman science courses and worked closely with other professors and students, so I have a fairly good idea of the types of assignments given to students at the university where I was employed. I incorporated 3 short research papers into each of my courses and took great pains to make each assignment different so that students had to rely on their own efforts rather than plagiarize the work of others. Each paper turned in was both a challenge and...

I do know that it is difficult to devise original, well-crafted assignments. Teaching well is extremely challenging, which is why I said that too often the easier path is taken and the same questions are asked time after time. For 14 years I taught freshman science courses and worked closely with other professors and students, so I have a fairly good idea of the types of assignments given to students at the university where I was employed. I incorporated 3 short research papers into each of my courses and took great pains to make each assignment different so that students had to rely on their own efforts rather than plagiarize the work of others. Each paper turned in was both a challenge and a reward for me to evaluate. I learned a lot from my students' work, which required me to double-check their references and information. As you can imagine, this involved a great deal of time and effort on my part--sometimes more time and effort, I fear, than some of my students put in.

My experience with science courses is different, I realize, from that English and other writing courses. However, I have always been dismayed when the same books are required to be read and the same writing assignments are given semester after semester. Some books are classics, and should be read and discussed, but why continue to have students write about the classics instead of providing them with a list of fresh literature from which they can choose? Discuss the classics in class--in lecture and discussion groups--to teach critical thinking, but then move on to allow students to read and research a fresh article or story or book, applying what they have learned during class.

Am I being too much of an idealist?