By JONAS MILLER
Opinion Editor
Here at The College of Saint Rose, we know all too well how to BS a discussion board post, even though that is not a skill we should have to practice.
Too many times in my year and half here at the College, I’ve sat and stared at my computer screen, simply ignoring the fact that I had homework. The bulk of said homework being, you guessed it, discussion board posts.
I understand that this complaint might not apply to all majors, but for the moment, let’s pretend that it does.
Specifically this semester, I find myself dreading the two or three nights a week that I have to sit down and do a post. I see no educational value in repeating exactly what is in the textbook, reflecting on it for one or two sentences, and then hitting submit, hoping I receive full credit for an answer I know very well doesn’t deserve it.
There should be a lot more thinking involved if our institution wants to label what we’re doing as learning. It’s all too easy to put off a post until the night before it’s due. Why? Half of the posts made have zero intellectual influence in them; they are simply a repetition of what the book says.
You can’t blame people for sounding boring and robotic, though, because essentially that’s the assignment given to them. The syllabus says to discuss chapter number whatever and reflect back on class discussions you didn’t pay attention to.
It’s not fair, really. As a student, I want to put forth my best effort. But when my best effort in the teacher’s eyes is determined only by the length of the post and if there is a correct citation at the end, how hard do I have to try?
I’m not afraid to admit that, due to the amount of reading I’ve been required to do this semester, I’ve only been studying the bare minimum of what I’m assigned. It is my opinion that too much is expected of me. I’m all for high expectations, but there’s a difference between high, and unreasonable. Between being an RA, work study, writing for the paper, and just taking time to myself, my brain doesn’t have the emotional capability to read seven textbooks simultaneously.
You come to college and they tell you to get involved, but what they don’t tell you is there will be a day that comes when you just sit in your room and cry because you have too much to do and not enough time to do it.
All tears aside, it’s not only the original posts I have an issue with. I believe that the response is just as ridiculous, if not more, than the original discussion board post.
On any given discussion board, two words echo over and over more than anything else. “I agree.” Oh really? What do you agree with? Certainly not me, because all of the information I just typed out came directly from the authors of the textbook.
For example, imagine you are given the task of identifying the differences between “Term A” and “Term B.” Assuming you adequately answer the question in its entirety using information sourced directly from the textbook, then what? Your peers have two choices. If you answered incorrectly, your classmates’ only option is to correct your error or point out the flaws in your argument, and let’s be honest: nobody wants to be “that guy.” A lot of the time, students are afraid to disagree because they don’t want to come across as being mean or rude.
The other choice your respondents have is to take the easy way out, and simply agree. We’ve all done it, so there’s no need to feel ashamed. “I agree with you because” and then you make something up because your thoughtful, intelligent, passionate response will receive the same amount of credit as your buddy’s generic, “I don’t really care at all” response. “full credit,” is what it’s called, and it’s given to a majority of assignments turned in on time, no matter the content.
Next time you sit down to write a discussion board post, I invite you to be “that guy,” ignoring the impulse to cut corners and simply agreeing.
