Re: 1 or 2 semesters of FYE?

["jwerchan" <JWerchan@titania.lima.ohio-state.edu>]

>...... So in other words, my question is, have other schools
abandoned the second semester of FYE because it was
pedagogically justifiable to do so? Have we somehow missed the
boat by maintaining a two semester program?  I'd >appreciate
some words of wisdom, and I won't disguise the fact that I hope
>some of you also will defend two semester of composition.
>Thanks in advance!
>Christine Cozzens

hi christine,

Hm... First of all, here's this tidbit: Ohio State teaches a
single 10-week quarter of Eng 110, and then later there's a
smorgasbord of various XXX 367 courses, in various disciplines,
that are intended to teach the academic research/argumentation
idiom of whatever discipline they are offered.   And beyond
that, the rationale gets even more complicated.  My dissertation
adviser was a doc student in the OSU english department at the
time (lo, those many years ago) when the requirement was pruned
from 2 quarters to 1. He says the rationale was not exactly the
same as the reason: fact was they were unable to round up enough
TAs to teach all those sections in the 2-course curriculum. 
Anyway, here we are.

You're in for a real "gut check" time.  It's tough, but you'll
have to open your eyes, not just to your non-english colleagues'
reasons for pruning, but to other reasons as well.  Your
colleagues are probably being nice (if that stated reason is the
only one they have), but imagine the harshest reasons, from mean
colleagues with axes to grind, and armed with the most
comprehensively researched argumentative support.  

We all have to check our assumptions and sacred (cash?) cows at
the door.

jw