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From: ekwok@mipos3.UUCP (Edward C. Kwok)
Newsgroups: soc.college,talk.rumors
Subject: Re: Accuracy in Academia
Message-ID: <194@mipos3.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 25-Sep-86 15:18:32 EDT
Article-I.D.: mipos3.194
Posted: Thu Sep 25 15:18:32 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 29-Sep-86 01:35:47 EDT
References: <15485@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <15492@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <652@midas.UUCP> <171@mn-at1.UUCP> <95WDMCU@CUNYVM> <5168@dartvax.UUCP> 25 Sep 86 19:18:32 GMT
Reply-To: ekwok@mipos3.UUCP (Edward C. Kwok)
Organization: Intel, Santa Clara, CA
Lines: 63
Xref: linus soc.college:33 talk.rumors:52

In article <1094@batcomputer.TN.CORNELL.EDU> cheryl@batcomputer.TN.CORNELL.EDU (cheryl) writes:

>
>If these topics were in the readings assigned by the professor in 
>charge, then these topics WERE covered.  It's NOT the TA's job
>to recap, spoonfeed, reorganize or encapsulate the BASIC material
>for the student.  THAT'S the student's job.  It's the TA's job to
>get the students to think about the material in a way that the 
>student might not have done on his or her own, generate discussion,
>bring in additional materials, and challenge the students in a
>way that is qualitatively very different than merely becoming 
>acquainted with a body of knowlege.  Unless, of course, it's an

What you said is true. BUT, if I remember right, the original complaint
was about the TA discussing social-economic-political environment of
the wrong hemisphere of the wrong time period.

I think that is stretching it a little too far. 

>will not feel offended if the TA relates
>history to current events to the exclusion of rehashing the readings for the 
>bad students' benefit.
>
The TA, I think universally, have a primary duty to help the student FIRST
understand the primary material before going in secondary material and 
pontification.

>And you can get most of THAT out of your average HIGH SCHOOL TEXTBOOK
>on modern european history.  You can even get it in a more concise and
>clear form out of the great works of Mr. Monarch and Mr Barron, who 
>

Many high school textbooks fall short of the standard of academic 
accuracy (honesty?) in treatment of historical events. (Maybe just
oversimplification). College class, albeit introductory or survey,
should cover it in more depth. It will be a pity to pay $$$$ if you
can get it for free, but that's beside the point; which is, the 
treatment in college should be of a higher standard of scholarship.



>Cheryl Stewart

Edward Kwok

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