I thought that getting those surveys filled out by faculty members from many colleges was a good idea, but it did not seem to produce any results. The graph on page 635 indicates that the ratio of students to faculty members had decreased from 1901 to 1925, and I have a feeling--from my personal experiences in different colleges and universities as an undergrad--that class sizes have still decreased since the early 1920s (and how much significance do those numbers have now or how much did they have in 2004, when this essay was written, other than to visually prove the point that teachers in the early 1900s were over-worked?).
The same ideas, as I said before, seemed to run through the essay. Lower work = happier teachers = better education for the students. It wasn't that difficult a concept to grasp, and yet...I am sad for Hopkins that he retired without achieving the grand scheme of his goals. He was able to get smaller class loads near the end, but the quality for the other professors really didn't seem to improve, despite the information provided in Table 1, and I know that some professors continue to be overworked, in spite of the increase of TA's and professors available for courses.
Ultimately, I am choosing not to worry too much, in spite of this article. I know that teaching is not an easy job, and teaching composition can be a nightmare, but I choose to think of it as a challenge, at least until it sends me of the track like it did to Hopkins.
Composition is not all that difficult to teach. I do have to say I love smaller classes, and student to teacher ratios need to be managable. The perfect ratio - 1:20. Of course that is perfection. I think teaching compostion should not become a person's life. We need to do the job to the best of our abilities, but not let it consume us. I agree that a common theme is the over-worked teacher. So what can we do, as educators, to help each other not become so over-worked when those classes grow to 30,40,50+ students? Our subject is a tough one to teach and compouded with size makes it almost impossible. Somehow, we manage for the sake of the student.
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