It's all over: at Croke Park and on the English Subject Centre Early Career course. Both have been immensely stimulating: Ireland won the rugby and I've learned tons on this course. I'm feeling pretty thick of course, surrounded by these high achievers buzzing with energy, but inspired to do all sorts of new things.
Normally I'd be seething after two days in a bland seminar room, but this time I think I've caught Stockholm syndrome. Perhaps it's because it's not the partisans from The Hegemony imposing things arbitrarily but experts in my own field discussing not just the what but also the why and how of our daily practice.
Shame there aren't and won't be any more Early Career academics at my institution for years to come…
I just need a late goal from Stoke and I'll be happy going into the concert tonight.
3 comments:
Few questions if you have the time please Voley -
Do you generally find academic things easy? Obviously you enjoy your work and learning but have you always done well or do you have to work at it?
Why do you Wolves uni let anyone go regardless of their grades? Wouldn't they get better ratings if they only let people who actually wanted to learn attend?
Thanks
Sorry - typo... It was meant to say why do you think Wolves uni let anyone go reardless of their grades..
Hello. Sorry you feel the need to use 'anonymous'.
Do I find academic things easy? No. I enjoy reading and thinking about literature, ideas and themes, but I've always had to struggle. I've got a fluent and convincing writing and speaking style which make me sound more learned than I really am. I know a lot - I understand rather less of it.
Our entrance requirements are subject to two things. One, depressingly, is the competition. We aren't fashionable and high-achieving students tend to go elsewhere, unless there are compelling reasons to stay in the area.
The other reason is much more positive. We believe that there are plenty of people out there who weren't given good educational chances, or who didn't perform to their full potential: we offer places to people who we think have the capability to be transformed by access to education.
Not having any qualifications isn't necessarily a matter of being stupid: educational institutions are notoriously bad at educating black men, for instance.
Furthermore, A-levels are becoming useless at determining academic skills: teachers are being forced to 'teach to the test' for league table success, rather than promoting critical thinking, literary sensitivity etc: failure at A-levels therefore doesn't necessarily denote stupidity.
Obviously this is a bit idealistic - plenty of students come here and continue not to take advantage of what's available - but that's no reason to abandon these principles.
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