I really wanted to bitch about something and what better place to do that than a blog? This is just a complaint about some trends I’ve noticed in my college English Classes (I’ve taken 20 of them including this semester), particularly that they assign too much reading in literature classes (and occasionally in writing classes as I could argue that perhaps no reading should be assigned in such classes). Now, you may be thinking, “You’re an English major, don’t you like to read? Isn’t it a joy to get to read delicious fiction for your homework rather than do some math problems or a lab report?”
I do see the point of such questions, but there are several things at play here. First, let’s determine what kind of reading is being assigned. Because of requirements, I am occasionally forced into classes that are the least of a few evil choices such as this semester in which I get to take Eighteenth Century Literature and Medieval Women Writers (Studies in World Lit course). Booooo. The reading for these classes is AWFUL 95% of the time. Not my cup of tea. I enjoy modern literature and also the Romantic Period and the likes of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, etc. In other words, I could go for the 19th century to the present, but that’s about it. Furthermore, I actually tend to prefer male writers for whatever reason. So the first problem is that, while I like to read, I am sometimes forced by requirements to read things I don’t want to. For example, I decided to write this blog post because I finally went online to see what I’m supposed to be reading for my first class tomorrow (the medieval women one) – Letters of Joan of Arc (of which there are 20+ letters), and a “short” biography of her. I could really care less.
So, let’s say that’s not so bad. We often have to read things for classes we would rather not, and we just trudge through it and try to enjoy it or at least finish it. But when you’re reading something you don’t enjoy, it often goes slowly or at least slower than it would if you enjoyed it. This is particularly the case of writing before the 19th century or even way back in the 15th century just because of style and such. So when I’m assigned 40 pages of it, as I am for Medieval Women Writers on Thursday, I feel at a huge disadvantage. It would be difficult and slow reading as it is for me in my position…but 40 pages? Without even a weekend to possibly mull it over (not that I actually do any homework on the weekends, but at least give me the option!).
Alright, let’s say that’s a fluke. Maybe I have to read 40 pages for Thursday but only 1o or 15 for the next class. Except that’s not the case. For that class alone I have 40-60 pages to read for EVERY class for the rest of the semester. I mean, really. That’s a bit crazy.
But let’s say that’s my only English class or my other English classes don’t assign so much reading. Not true either. In fact, probably any person taking Medieval Women Writers or Eighteenth Century Literature is going to be an English major and, therefore, have at least one or two other English classes. Or if they don’t have other English classes, they probably have other humanities classes that require reading (as I do with my religious studies courses). So I end up with approximately 75 to 150 pages of reading every Tues/Thurs and probably about 50 or so every Mon/Wed/Fri. REALLY?!
See, my midterms did not go well. I haven’t gotten the grades back but all three were very difficult. And it was mostly because I hadn’t completed most of the reading. Well, and I suck at studying, but I’m sure having done the reading would have been helpful as well. And it’s not because I’m a bad student or I didn’t want to do the reading (although I didn’t want to in some cases). I literally did not have the time. It’s too much. How can I or anyone be expected to read 80 pages per week for one class when all of us have at least 3 other classes (and in some cases 4 or 5) and probably humanities/English classes at that? It’s ridiculous.
But because my midterms didn’t go well, I was going to try to stick it out after fall break and do all of my reading. Well, I’ve already failed. I haven’t done any of the reading for REL 314 because I couldn’t get it to print out, and I hate reading things on a computer. I attempted to read it on the computer and couldn’t do it. I read 23 pages of what I was supposed to read for ENG 462 but that’s out of 61. Luckily, we’re discussing the same thing on Wednesday so perhaps I can catch up on that tomorrow. For tomorrow, I haven’t done any reading yet. REL 323 is pretty easy to read for because I always enjoy the reading. It’s hard to read for ENG 585 because our only assignment is a research paper (with associated presentations), and we only get 10 points of participation. So I’m kind of like…why even read this article if I’m not going to be tested on any of it? I know I’m going to talk in class anyway. ENG 394 (medieval women writers) is also difficult to read for, but I really need to, I think, if that midterm was any indication.
In other words, I don’t know if I can ever meet my goal of being a good student and doing all of the reading for all of my classes for the rest of the semester. Perhaps things will work out better in my favor next semester.
Other things that annoy me about college English classes? Bunch of stupid people trying to get by with talking bs throughout class. They don’t care about grammar even though they’re in an English class. Pop quizzes, which I think is stupid because even if I did the reading, that doesn’t mean I can remember the mundane thing you want me to remember. My grade being defined by so little. Etc.
