This seems to be the new buzz work – the take away. What is the take away? What are the students taking away from this class? What should the take away from this class be? All this talk of a “take away” implies that whatever the enterprise, students should leave with something. I’m not against this and I’m not really against the term take away. To be honest this term is much better than what I usually say at the end of my classes—“So what have we learned?” But to me this term implies there is something tangible that can be taken away, something concrete that students can carry away. I’m not against this either. I think whatever enterprise we are engaged in there should be concrete goals and objectives.
These past couple of weeks I’ve been attending end of the semester events and I’ve seen some things happening.
At a reading at a local bookstore for one of our undergraduate experimental writing classes I saw a group of students stand up and read the most powerful poems, short fiction and manifestos about identity.
At another reading for an undergraduate chapbook contest, I tried not to cry when the winner read her most recent poems. I have rarely been so moved at a poetry reading.
At the annual Residential Life First-Year Student Recognition Awards banquet I saw over 100 first-year students receive awards. These students were nominated by their teachers, not for being A students; rather for seeking extra help, being motivated to learn, and/or making a positive contribution in class. I saw 52 teachers recognized for being nominated by students because as teachers they made a difference in these students’ first-year at UMass by being available for extra help, giving them encouragement, helping them adjust to college, etc.
I attended a reading for senior creative writing English majors at another local bookstore and was amazed not only by the quality (and in many cases the humor) of their poems, fiction, and memoirs, but in their confidence as readers.
So this is my take away. If you give students the space they will write the most amazing and powerful things. And students take many more things away from our classes than the specific goals and objectives we have set.