Facilitation

“Blessed are the teachers, for theirs’ is the greatest gift of all. They give us the means to see the world, not as it is, but as it may be” (Voltaire).

ICON teachers serve an incredibly important function in the university and in the community. They utilize resources (water, paper, ink, oxygen, etc.), purchase products and services (coffee, tea, alcohol, ramen noodles, mac n’ cheese, pay bartenders’ and waiters’ tuitions, etc.) and initiate quasi-intellectual discussions. These activities are integral to the success of a university. In truth, ICON teachers reduce the workload of classroom professors, which enables the department to offer varying and more advanced classes. ICON teachers “facilitate” time. They take over the basic classes so that professors (junior, assistant, tenured, etc.) can teach the more specialized courses. A university that offers a variety of classes receives more money from state and federal agencies which allows for more degree programs, facilities, research, and activities, thereby enriching the university and the experiences of the students.

ICON teachers also provide students with valuable feedback on their work, such as what the student does well and areas where the student can improve. However, I am conflicted about the nature of the feedback. The use of the online system is limiting to the types and breadth of interaction with the student. The writing center allows a level of comfort for the students. They do not have to worry about being penalized for poor writing, but can receive the advice they need to improve. I think we should take our cue from the writing center. I realize that grades must be assigned to student work, but perhaps we should assign fewer grades. As Document Instructor’s, our primary function is to critique and offer advice on students’ work. Instead of issuing grades on every assignment, it would be more useful to the students if DI’s assigned fewer grades, but still reviewed the same amount of student work. For example, the students would still have to turn in the same number of assignments; DI’s would still critique their work, provide advice, and tell the student what grade they would have received. This would allow the student to see where they can improve without being penalized for lack of skills and/or knowledge that can only develop with time and use. This approach mirrors the work done in a writing center. As a precaution, if the students do not turn in every assignment, they would receive some kind of penalty toward their final grade or even fail the class.

A university functions because of the myriad roles teachers perform. They are vital to the success of a college. While this statement may be obvious, I think it is important to remember that we are teachers, and have a responsibility to provide the best learning environment for our students. Our most important role is to “facilitate” education.