Many, many times, a George Washington U. Publication Institute classmate and I have recalled how in one of our classes, we were given the assignment of assembling a scrapbook of printing samples, a task we thought more suitable for kindergartners than adults with bachelor's and graduate degrees (and very little time on our hands to be foraging for kiss-cuts and line-art). I have since wondered how commonplace in higher education such age-inappropriate homework is.
What I've seen at my own alma mater Catholic U. makes me wonder all the more. In the hallway passing through the Modern Language Department, there are several poster boards hung on the wall. In appearance, these are typical of what one sees in grade school: magazine pictures cut out, pasted on the board and captioned with magic-marker scribblings.
The subjects are countries or subdivisions thereof where French or Spanish is spoken. For the Francophones, we have one on Euro-Disney and another on "Attractions de touristes dans Paris."( And isn't it supposed to be "des touristes á Paris?!") One in Spanish is about "Peru: la comida y transportes" showing pictures of food and vehicles. Another is "Actividades en Puerto Rico" and includes a picture of the Baccardi Rum plant. A third, about the Economy of Chile, has no captions at all but a stream of dead fish (upside down with their eyes crossed out) going one way and a stream of cars and computers going the other.
Is this what they're having young adults in college do now? Making posters? Has childhood now been so prolonged that elementary-school-level tasks are now regularly assigned to 19-year-olds at a major university?
My poster-makin' days were over by the 8th grade and I met their end with contemptuous smirks and masterworks of bombast. Granted, these exhibits at CU may be visual aids for lengthy oral presentations, but still, the time it took to make them could have been spent becoming more proficient in speaking, or on another subject that is presenting difficulty, or other pursuits at which adults need practice.
Copyright © 2004 by Neal J. Conway. All rights reserved.