Popken Article

Popken set the tone for this article right from the start: “professionalism in composition valorizes scholarship and demeans teaching” (618). It is unfortunate, but that seems to be the bottom line of professional higher education; the old motto of “publish or perish” seems truer now than ever. This is a shame because there has been a shift in focus. Where the focus of education used to be student-centered, it is now self-centered. Many academic professors are only concerned with climbing the ladder and bringing more accolades upon themselves. I understand that research, publishing, and contributing to the academic discourses going on is essential, but is there any way to change this unbalanced problem that Popken brings up? With the massive amount of academic journals and essays and books being published, what’s the point? Only a handful of people ever read the majority of this stuff anyway. The quantity of publishing has increased drastically, and I feel the quality has had to decrease along with it. Most importantly is Horner’s idea of the “material social conditions” in academe. Shouldn’t the purpose of an academic institution be to educate students? I know that sounds obvious, but clearly something’s not right.

Edwin Hopkins left me bewildered. On the one hand, you have to admire his dedication to his profession. This guy was completely sold out to teaching and helping improve his students’ writing, which is great. But on the other hand, I feel he needed to get a life. Popken says, “his devotion to duty is so great in fact that he tells Strong he is willing to risk his health—and even his life—for it” (622). I mean come on. Who in their right mind would risk their life to grade a few extra freshman compositions? I love teaching, and I can’t think of another profession I would enjoy more, but there are still a few things in my life that absolutely take priority over grading papers. I’m glad that he initiated a change at Kansas, but it’s disappointing that we haven’t taken away more from this man.

I also agree with the assertion that the heavy work load imposed upon teachers of composition deteriorates the quality of their teaching. You can only expect so much from these individuals, and to put the onus of critiquing papers and helping students improve their writing on top of teaching, lecturing, and preparing for classes is unreasonable. It is sad that those who work the hardest often receive the least recognition for their efforts. The quality of education should be the top priority of our academic institutions, but unfortunately we live in a society were wealth and status often take precedent over all else.