My experience in writing seminar has benefited not only my writing but also my general outlook on issues that surround us all. One of the major issues I had at the outset of the class was finding good topics to write on. This lack of thought provoking issues prompted me to start reading the newspaper (almost) everyday. This is something that has benefited me throughout my college experience especially because I am a Government and Law Major which focuses so much on the issues of today. Skimming the front page of the New York Times has helped me since I came to Lafayette. Doing this everyday benefits me with not only the information but also helps me get ready for class. Just by reading a few articles over a cup of coffee every morning I get myself mentally prepared to come to class and contribute. But I am forced to ask why do I read the paper? I read the paper because it is work. Reading the paper has a direct correlation, in my mind, to my grade. Reading the newspaper is characteristic of my relationship with reading up to this point.
This is to say that I read for school almost exclusively. Reading has not become a major aspect of my life and it is a troubling reality. Every single one of my classes requires around 100 pages of reading a week and these texts are not necessarily the most stimulating pieces of literature. I often find myself having to read things over and over again in order to comprehend the texts at the level expected in a Lafayette classroom. Reading has become nothing more then a task and that is a sad realization. I see everyday examples of people, such as my parents, who consider the time they get to read the best part of their day. This is something I recognize as an issue and I am trying to work on that, but when you take four classes in which you are expected to read between 50 and 100 pages a week it becomes hard to disassociate reading with work.
Look for example at the syllabus of any class at Lafayette. The amount of reading expected to be completed by every student is staggering.
These realizations have made me consider Mark Edmundson’s Who are You and What Are You Doing Here? This piece, presented to an incoming class of college freshman, takes a similar stance to what I have experienced in my relationship with, not only reading, but education in general.