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Thursday, February 27, 1997

EXCELLENCE:

Professors, TAs and honors students work hard, deserve creditBy Lina Lee

This letter is in response to Silvia Morelos' article "University shouldn't stifle one's potential" (Feb. 25).

As a student at UCLA ­ and an honors student at that ­ I am simply appalled to see that Morelos holds such a low view of her professors and fellow schoolmates. Granted, some professors and teaching assistants are not very nice toward us "mere mortal" undergraduates, especially in terms of grading and accessibility, but it simply would be wrong to assume that these people are aimed to "sink" us.

One must realize that in the academic world, status and position are based upon research and publications. Professors are paid to do research besides teaching, and TAs must conduct research in order to graduate. In other words, they are just doing their jobs. Should we criticize those who are doing their jobs?

Morelos considers that "tearing a student's paper apart, not to mention self-esteem, with a red, green or blue marker" is "adding salt to the wound." However, she does not realize that this is part of a TA's job. In the process of learning, we make mistakes. A TA is supposed to correct such errors. Providing that the TA is not just being nasty and picky, that is.

In fact, would you prefer a TA who is not doing their job and gives perfect 10s every time, no matter how you perform? I believe some students do deserve to be "torn apart" when they turn in poorly done exercises. It would not be fair if those exercises were graded the same as those which were well done.

One could choose to think positively by interpreting these "marks" as wake-up calls which can motivate you to work hard and catch up with the standard, or one could choose to develop a conspiracy theory around it. The choices are yours; however, I do think that good work deserves to be recognized.

This leads to my third point. Morelos mentions the "oh-so foul-smelling air of grandiosity" that many of the "haves" (which she defines as "some professors, some graduate students and 'honor' undergraduate students") carry over to the "have nots." I would like to see some specific samples. We need to differentiate between confidence and bad manners. Why shouldn't any person feel good and be confident about their own achievements?

Doing extra work and conducting research certainly are achievements. Research is not easy, you know. It takes time, patience and commitment. By conducting research, a student is doing more than most other students. People research for many reasons. Some may choose to conduct research because they want to learn more; others may simply enjoy doing it.

Face it, the traditional method of learning is passive. One may have to take less-than-desirable classes only to satisfy various requirements. Even if you are in a class you love, there may be parts you would want to pursue in greater depth but are unable to due to time or resource constraints. One of the ways to break this mold is to research a subject that you really enjoy. If Morelos does not feel like starting a research project, she can, of course, forget about it, but she should not discredit other people's efforts to involve themselves in their learning as "wasting-oh-so-much energy."

It is simply not true that "a person can never be prepared for (change) by following in someone else's footsteps," as Morelos suggests. Just the opposite holds, I think; we prepare for change by following in someone else's footsteps. In fact, that is precisely why we are in college ­ to study someone else's invention and try to derive new knowledge from it. In the process, we gain analytical skills which prepare us for changes.

Take the sciences, for example. Most of the principles were developed hundreds of years ago. Yet, they are the basis of new discoveries. Knowledge grows from knowledge. It would be inefficient and impractical if we had to develop basic principles by ourselves.

Morelos rejects the idea of having a "role model," and of "following in someone else's footsteps." She seems to think that graduate students and "honor" students are especially susceptible to this "flaw." I think this is a misunderstanding.

People conducting research like graduate students and "honor" undergraduates are required to confer with their supervisors from time to time. This procedure helps to keep one's research on the right track. If they encounter any questions, they can get help from their supervisors.

It certainly doesn't mean that one must "kiss the ass" of the supervisor or make one's supervisor her "role model." On the other hand, I cannot see anything wrong about having a "role model." Having a role model is not the same as being a copy cat. It is bad when one does exactly the same thing that someone did before. However, we can choose to modify our "role models" and work or derive new knowledge from what we've learned. The key, therefore, is to learn selectively.

It is dangerous for Morelos to segregate the so-called "haves" and "have nots." As an honor student, I never feel superior to my non-honor peers. Nor do I feel that I have something that others have not. I am sure that most honor students feel the same way. Yet, in her article, Morelos gives her readers the impression that many honor students "have their noses high in the air." This is not true.

I have friends who support my decision to enroll in the honors program even though they are not enrolled in it. I cannot see any evidence of the "rigid dichotomy between ... 'honor' students and everyone else" that Morelos mentioned. Provided that one has a certain GPA, the enrollment of the honors program is simply a matter of choice, just like one chooses to be a vegetarian or remains a carnivore. If you choose not to be an honor student, fine ­ but please respect the choices of others.

In this age of segregation, it is understanding that is called for, not the act of pitting people against each other. I am sure that if we stop thinking about conspiracy, start supporting each other and respecting each other's choices, all of us will live happier lives and our world will become more peaceful.