Bishop Article

Bishop discusses the problem of fatigue and burnout among instructors of rhetoric and composition while juxtaposing this issue with the passion and enjoyment felt in early exploration of the field.

I feel that I can definitely relate to Bishop’s ideas here. I mean, when I first started out as an undergrad, I had no idea what field or profession I wanted to pursue. I had a few interests, but no direction. I started of as a communications major, but that didn’t last long. After taking two gen ed level literature courses with two young energetic male professors (something which I hadn’t had in my secondary education) I found I was being stimulated by literature, something that hadn’t taken place in my life for a long time. I switched my major then to English Education with the intent of inspiring other young people to develop a passion for literature and language. Further positive experiences in literature, linguistics, and pedagogical courses solidified my love for the broadly defined field of “English.”

I loved the insert by Burke about joining the theory debate far too late, contributing a little, and then realizing that the discussion will continue on for a long time without you. I wasn’t exposed to a great deal of theory in my undergrad courses so when I started this program two years ago and this new language was being thrown around everywhere, I felt completely lost. I kept thinking, “What did I miss and how do I catch up?” One of the ideas that Bishop brings up is that today it is basically impossible to always stay completely current in the field. Though frustrating, it is also kind of a relief: knowing that you can only do so much. I have struggled with attempting to balance my personal interests and passion in the field with studying what I feel a have to learn in order to be more able to contribute to the discourse.

Bishop’s points on burnout were interesting for me too. I am early on in my professional career, this being just my third year teaching, so I haven’t felt the boredom from years of research, instruction, and grading that she speaks of, but I have definitely felt the exhaustion that comes with combining the frustrations and workload of your early teaching years and the intensity of graduate level work.

I continue to consider the possibility of pursuing a doctorate at some point and working in the higher academic field, but for now, I just want to finish up this MA program and enjoy some time improving myself professionally and privately independently. The big dilemma for me is that I will be a father soon, and the thought of being the dad at the soccer game grading papers horrifies me.

The fact that this composition was intended for the audience of the CCCC makes the ending of the piece more understandable; however, the feeling that her main intention was to improve the numbers for CCCC membership was a little disappointing and slightly sullied some of her earlier ideas.