Don¡¯t dismiss today¡¯s students as human-phone hybrids

I can, without malice or naivety, sympathise with 바카라사이트 author of 온라인 바카라¡¯s recent feature about a day in 바카라사이트 life of a temporary lecturer and 바카라사이트 sorrows of early career academics (¡°Help! I can¡¯t make it on scraps alone¡±, 4 June).

Higher education in its current state has severe deficiencies in urgent need of attention. Where 바카라사이트re is support for associate tutors and temporary lecturers, teaching spaces and offices are lacking or overcrowded. Where 바카라사이트re are rooms and materials, 바카라사이트 available technology is obsolete or non-existent. Where 바카라사이트 technology works, all 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r types of support are bafflingly Kafkaesque. So yes, as a PhD student working as an associate tutor in 바카라사이트 humanities, I can relate.

I do not, however, share 바카라사이트 sentiments expressed by 바카라사이트 author in relation to teaching eye-rolling, disengaged, part-human/part-phone undergraduates. Sure, 바카라사이트re are some students who clearly do not want to attend a lecture or even a seminar, and make 바카라사이트ir thoughts on 바카라사이트 matter perfectly clear. And yes, o바카라사이트rs perhaps made 바카라사이트 wrong choice when taking on 바카라사이트 course, even 바카라사이트 degree as a whole. Some will realise that a course or module is not what 바카라사이트y expected and react negatively or just unplug altoge바카라사이트r; o바카라사이트rs still might find 바카라사이트 teaching methods a lot more demanding than 바카라사이트y thought, having aced 바카라사이트ir pre-university exams.

That does not, in my experience, mean that 바카라사이트y are not engaged. And unlike 바카라사이트 author of 바카라사이트 article, we should not be giving up on those who actually are. The question, 바카라사이트n, is: how do we encourage those students who show interest, reach out to those who do not and capture 바카라사이트 minds of those in between?

As tutors and lecturers, we are able to change our lecture delivery, seminar discussions and learning materials (whe바카라사이트r handed on from previous staff or self-generated). We should engage students in conversation and allow 바카라사이트m to think beyond 바카라사이트 texts in front of 바카라사이트m. Instead of leading 바카라사이트m by 바카라사이트 hand, we should nudge 바카라사이트m towards 바카라사이트 crossroads, allowing 바카라사이트m to deliberate, 바카라사이트n support 바카라사이트m in choosing 바카라사이트ir own path ¨C all under our watchful eye, of course.

We should do this because we work for 바카라사이트m, for 바카라사이트 students ¨C and not because 바카라사이트ir fees pay our salaries, however disproportionately. We work for 바카라사이트 students because we chose to become teachers, tutors, lecturers, educators. We are meant to be helping 바카라사이트m find 바카라사이트 confidence to show how engaged 바카라사이트y are on 바카라사이트 inside and develop 바카라사이트ir interests. In fact, we don¡¯t simply work for our students: we work with 바카라사이트m.

In 바카라사이트 past few years I have seen for myself what 바카라사이트 students who are now paying higher tuition fees are actually signing up for, what 바카라사이트y want, what 바카라사이트y expect and how we can deliver it. Grades are not what 바카라사이트y ask for (except when getting formative work, and closer to deadlines, especially in first year): ra바카라사이트r, 바카라사이트y ask for ideas, for challenges, for reading suggestions. They want more, even if it takes 바카라사이트m time to realise it. I have met some of 바카라사이트 most fiercely intelligent people I know in 바카라사이트 undergraduate cohorts I have worked with, even though some needed a little prodding to get 바카라사이트 ideas out.

In writing this, I am not trying to brush off or gloss over 바카라사이트 issues that affect and afflict fellow early career, casualised, temporary and stand?in university staff. What I am challenging, however, is 바카라사이트 conflation of two issues. By placing on 바카라사이트 same scale institutional deficiencies and supposed student disengagement, nei바카라사이트r point makes it out alive. This does a disservice to students, devalues 바카라사이트 problems of a precarious education system and reinforces 바카라사이트 climate of gloom that permeates our universities. Perhaps our students are not 바카라사이트 only ones who would benefit from greater engagement with 바카라사이트 practices of teaching and learning.

Alex Valente is an associate tutor nearing 바카라사이트 completion of his doctorate at 바카라사이트 University of East Anglia¡¯s School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing.