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Wstrdg
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| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 401 |
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Posted: Fri Jun 8th, 2007 03:41 pm |
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http://www.amazon.com/My-Freshman-Year-Professor-Becoming/dp/0143037471/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6544642-0067037?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181316121&sr=8-1
I picked this up in the used bookstore last night and read through it very quickly in the 45 minutes that I had. That didn't really do it justice, because there's alot of good information in here. I think I may go back today and buy it  !
The author "Nathan" was outed last year as a professor at Northern Arizona Univ. The paperback version does reveal her true name and position.
As an anthropology prof in her fifties, she felt more and more distanced from the college experience that she saw her students living. Why weren't her students participating in class discussions? Completing readings? Attending classes?
So Professor Nathan took a year sabbatical to enroll at NAU as a freshman, live in the dorm, and experience college life. This book describes her ethnographic approach and her conclusions.
In my quick read, I was impressed by her description of students as "ego-centered," meaning that friendships, extracurriculars, even course selections, were primarily motivated by "getting ahead." In other words, ec's were chosen as resume boosters rather than passions or hobbies, friendships were based on study and transportation networking, courses were chosen by time slot and ease of prof. No one had time for the RA's popcorn and movie night. No one had time to offer a hand to unassimilated international students.
Time management (or just sheer overscheduling) was the biggest eye-opener for Nathan. She seemed surprised at the number of hours her fellow freshman were working, and surprised by the amount of material "stuff" they labored to support.
Carolyn, while you are adding sections to the site, maybe we need a forum for book reviews?
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CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3307 |
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Posted: Fri Jun 8th, 2007 04:32 pm |
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Wstrdg wrote:
Carolyn, while you are adding sections to the site, maybe we need a forum for book reviews?
Great Suggestion. I will try to add that over the weekend. Thanks for the review of Freshman Year. I had skimmed it when it first was out in bookstores, and it looked interesting.
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CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3307 |
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Posted: Sat Jun 9th, 2007 05:03 am |
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| Wstrdg, The new book review forum is now up and running. I'm going to move this thread there, but I wanted to thank you for the idea!
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