WEEK #12: “A Week in the Life of a Part Time Teacher”

WEEK #12:

“A Week in the Life of a Part Time Teacher” by Diana Claitor The Reader p. 302

I like this story.  It is short, to the point, and relevant.  This teacher describes problems she has encountered working at Austin Community College, and there are probably some teachers here at this school who have complaints about things outside of their control and the effects that they have on students.  Besides those points, the essay is hardly 2 pages long.  Bonus for you!  Most of the work on this blog will involve thinking about the text, since it will be a pretty quick read. 

Here are the questions to answer; they reflect the beginnings of working out our proposal-making muscles, since the Proposal Argument will be introduced Friday.

1.      

In paragraph 8, Claitor writes, “The other teacher acted like an ass”.  Could this be because the other teacher was mismanaging his frustration that stemmed from dealing with the same problems affecting Claitor?  If these teachers were to get together and propose that the university make some changes, what do you imagine the changes would be?  Specifically:

a.       Thing one they might propose

                                                               i.      And the chances of it actually happening with regard to cost, time frame, or other considerations

b.      Thing two they might propose

                                                               i.      And the chances of it actually happening with regard to cost, time frame, or other considerations

2.       How do the problems that Claitor describes about her work affect the students that she teaches?

3.       If these students were to get together and propose that the university make some changes, what do you imagine the changes would be?  Specifically:

a.       Thing one they might propose

                                                               i.      And the chances of it actually happening with regard to cost, time frame, or other considerations

b.      Thing two they might propose

                                                               i.      And the chances of it actually happening with regard to cost, time frame, or other considerations

4.       What are the causes of the problems that Claitor describes? 

a.       What other causes might there be for the situation?

b.      What arguments might be made by someone opposing Claitor’s argument (Rebuttals and backing)?

5.       How do looking at the causes individually (analyzing part by part) help you think (or rethink) about what to propose to the university:

a.       On the part of the teachers?

b.      On the part of the students?

(add any additional thoughts here, rather than going back to revise those sections)