Keith Parsons, a philosophy professor at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, has a brand new batch of freshman. In his blogpost, “Message to My Freshman Students” he has very clear views on student responsibilities and the art of listening. Parsons advocates that that all students should be able to learn by themselves. He states that by saying, “It is no part my job to make you learn. At university, learning is your job-- and yours alone.” Parsons also strongly believes that students need to listen more. In the blog, Parsons suggests, “You need to learn to listen. The kind of listening you need to learn is not passive absorption, like watching TV; it is critical listening,: he adds, “Critical listening means that you are not just hearing but thinking about what you are hearing.” He goes into detail about having critical listening skills; merely just hearing the professor speak will not suffice.
I, for one, agree with Parsons when he says that students need to listen more. The young generation nowadays are not really devoting themselves and fully grasping the available knowledge. According to Parsons, you must use critical listening. He states, “Critical listening questions and evaluates what is being said and seeks key concepts and unifying themes”. First year students are simply not applying this technique while in class. Even I catch myself not paying the least bit of attention while in class. Listening is a skill you have to try to achieve.Being present worked once in your lifetime, but it will no longer work at a university. I, personally, blame technology as the reason why younger students are not as attentive as they should be. If all the freshman were to keep their technological devices out of sight throughout class, the amount of information they would obtain would be tremendous compared to the information they are receiving just aimlessly scrolling through social medias.
On the other hand, I do not concur with Parsons on the subject that students are one hundred percent responsible for their learning. He chose this profession for a certain reason, he should not put down students and make it seem like it is all on them. It actually is his job to lead students to knowledge, and by doing that, you must teach! His perspective is that he is not your “teacher” but your “professor” (which to him are polar opposites). It is a very narcissistic way of going about your job. If you just throw material at students, how can you expect them to catch it if you do not give them the proper tools? Do not misunderstand me, students must use out of class hours dedicated to their studies. For one to succeed, it requires both the student and the professor’s effort. In the regards of success, Parsons is not worried if you are accomplished, he says that by stating, “On the contrary, I get paid the same whether you get a “F” or an “A”.” He is now bringing finance into what was once about student responsibility. Your success in his class is not important to him, if you do well or not, he still receives a paycheck. That, quite frankly, is a very pessimistic attitude towards your job as a whole. Parsons is the reason that upcoming college students have the stereotype that all professors simply do not care; that does not give justice to the other professors that actually do care.
I, for one, agree with Parsons when he says that students need to listen more. The young generation nowadays are not really devoting themselves and fully grasping the available knowledge. According to Parsons, you must use critical listening. He states, “Critical listening questions and evaluates what is being said and seeks key concepts and unifying themes”. First year students are simply not applying this technique while in class. Even I catch myself not paying the least bit of attention while in class. Listening is a skill you have to try to achieve.Being present worked once in your lifetime, but it will no longer work at a university. I, personally, blame technology as the reason why younger students are not as attentive as they should be. If all the freshman were to keep their technological devices out of sight throughout class, the amount of information they would obtain would be tremendous compared to the information they are receiving just aimlessly scrolling through social medias.
On the other hand, I do not concur with Parsons on the subject that students are one hundred percent responsible for their learning. He chose this profession for a certain reason, he should not put down students and make it seem like it is all on them. It actually is his job to lead students to knowledge, and by doing that, you must teach! His perspective is that he is not your “teacher” but your “professor” (which to him are polar opposites). It is a very narcissistic way of going about your job. If you just throw material at students, how can you expect them to catch it if you do not give them the proper tools? Do not misunderstand me, students must use out of class hours dedicated to their studies. For one to succeed, it requires both the student and the professor’s effort. In the regards of success, Parsons is not worried if you are accomplished, he says that by stating, “On the contrary, I get paid the same whether you get a “F” or an “A”.” He is now bringing finance into what was once about student responsibility. Your success in his class is not important to him, if you do well or not, he still receives a paycheck. That, quite frankly, is a very pessimistic attitude towards your job as a whole. Parsons is the reason that upcoming college students have the stereotype that all professors simply do not care; that does not give justice to the other professors that actually do care.