--- Rob Weisskirch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I've read the responses by several people and I
> can't help but think that we're looking at this
> through our (dare I say it?) liberal eyes. To me,
> the issue with asking for an alternative assignment
> is what is the learning outcome of assigning Dry?
><snip> If a
> student objects, why not accommodate the student's
> needs? Dry isn't exactly a classic book.
>
> If the focus is on student learning, then can the
> student learn the same information through a
> different route?
>
Rob--
Your comments are reasonable, but two objections:
1. You can't hold a good class discussion if everyone
is reading a different text. Students don't learn just
through reading, but through discussing what they've
read.
2. These are not a student's "needs," but a student's
*preferences*. Part of the educational process is
teaching students to get beyond their wee comfort
zones ("I like entertaining books about people just
like me, written in short sentences"). We are teaching
them not just the course content, but *how* to learn.
How to grapple with texts that are difficult both
cognitively and emotionally. I think most people have
agreed that if there is a "need" issue (e.g., a rape
survivor not wishing to read a graphic account of
rape) we would accomodate that. Being uncomfortable
with "the gay thing" is not a need.
Robin
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