As first-year students, you may be put in situations of strange new expectations and foreign ways of communication. Dr. Bartholomae discusses this in his article “Inventing the University.” First-year students beginning their college experience are completely unfamiliar with the ways in which their university professors teach. The writing styles and expectations they once had pre-college are now being thrown away, forcing students to start fresh. The students must learn to adapt to these new ways of communication. They must redesign themselves as students, as writers, and as scholars and modify their communication methods in order to properly conform to their university’s standards. This can be a challenging task.
I can relate to this struggle. As a college freshman beginning my third week of classes, I can tell you entering college feels as though you are being thrown into a 6-foot pool without ever having had a proper swimming lesson. Sure, I’ve been taught to tread in the shallow end, but never have I been trained to fully swim the deep waters on my own. Through survival like instincts, I have learned how to navigate my new surroundings. I have kept my head above water, and slowly I have made
improvements in my adjustment to college expectations.
Now you may be asking, how have you done it? What changes did you have to make to your preexisting knowledge of being successful in high school? In order to help answer this question, I will use the chapter, ‘What is Literacy’ from Everything’s a Text by Drs. Melzer and Coxwell-Teague, writing instructors, to help explain. The text informs readers on important values to regard when writing in a college-level environment. The text touches upon multiple literary tools including situating, purposes, audiences, personas, mediums, genres, and contexts. Implementing these devices into your writing will show your awareness as a writer, which is so vital to your success. I admire my peers who are able to comfortably maneuver these devices.
Along with these devices come various other expectations. “What our beginning students need to learn is to extend themselves into the commonplaces, set phrases, rituals, gestures, habits of mind, … obligatory conclusions, and necessary connections that determine the ‘what might be said’ and constitute knowledge within the various branches of our academic community.” (Bartholomae 11) University students are excepted to be able to gracefully operate all of these literary tools, which is something not asked of us in high school. For example, during high school I never explored the various writing techniques or themes; I only ever used the five paragraph theme because that’s what I was always taught. Like Ed White discusses in his “My Five Paragraph Theme Theme” essay, I was taught it gives an organizational scheme and limits your focuses. However, since I have started writing in college, I have learned I do not want to limit my focuses. It is okay to widen my horizon and write as long as it stays organized and makes sense.
June Jordan, author of “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan” also encourages the widening of her students’ horizons by giving them the opportunity to use Ebonics in a classroom setting. Her students originally felt uncomfortable with this idea because the way they spoke was so commonly disapproved of. She gave them a chance to delve past the surface of disapproval. They challenged themselves. They were able to offer their true thoughts and valuable opinions.
Everything Bartholomae said about students needing to invent their university is true, however, his piece was written over 30 years ago. Since this time, universities have made advancements. For example, the use of technology. Almost everything I do today is in some way dependent
upon technology. When I turn in papers for class, they are submitted online. When I communicate with my professors, I send an email. When I need to compose research, I rely on the internet to compile my information. In reality, technology is a necessity in today’s culture. Danah Boyd, social media scholar, discusses this in her book Its Complicated. “We live in a technologically mediated world. Being comfortable using technology is increasingly important for everyday activities: obtaining a well-paying job, managing medical care, engaging with government.” (180) As a 21st century college student, I must be able to easily navigate technology.
Universities and society in general are constantly evolving. The only thing that stays the same is the necessity of its students to be able to adapt to its changes. It is left to the student to decide to sink or
swim.