ACTO VIOLENTO: «DESCALIFICACIÓN Y DESVALORIZACIÓN»

The Excellent Inevitability of Online Courses by Margaret Brooks

Comprehension (Page 258)

1. She wants to prove that online education is not inferior to traditional classroom education, but is as good and should be enthusiastically embraced by most colleges and universities.

2. Opponents of online learning believe that it is always inferior to traditional classrooms.

Pragmatic opponents accept online learning but think that it is not ideal.

Outright supporters believe that online learning can be as good as other kinds of education. Brooks is an outright supporter of online learning.

3. Here are eight reasons that colleges should proudly—and without apology—offer online courses

4. 8 Reasons that support the thesis:

 Online learning is interactive and engaging.

 Online learning can reach diverse learning styles.

 Online learning can provide rich learning experiences outside of the classroom.

 Online learning helps teach students to become better independent researchers and improves their technological literacy.

 Online learning is accessible to students for whom regular attendance in a physical classroom is challenging.

 Online learning makes college more affordable by allowing students who must work to have flexible schedules.

 Online learning gives college instructors the opportunity to teach students about the ethical use of technology.

 Online learning is becoming as accepted by employers as other kinds of learning, and colleges should support this trend.

5. She uses the phrase “We want” to introduce each reason.

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Discussion (Page 259)

Answers will vary. Possible responses:

1. Students may discuss things like the greater responsibility that students must take online and the fact that reading and writing assignments are harder to ignore online, or that equal participation is easier for professors to enforce online. They may also discuss the importance of personal connections with the instructor and comment on whether or not they believe it is possible for this to develop online.

3. In paragraph 17, for example, she anticipates the argument that cheating may be easier in online courses and indicates that students in all sorts of courses find ways to cheat. In paragraph 19, she refutes the argument that online courses put students at a disadvantage with employers. Other arguments against online learning which she does not refute might include the argument that professors may be less likely to identify and help a struggling or troubled student early in the course or that it is more difficult to develop a sense of community between online students.

Let's Put the Excellence Back in the A by Elliott Miles

Comprehension (Page 261)

1. Grade inflation refers to the trend for professors to give higher grades to student work than they would have given in the past. Also, now students in classes are likely to receive only the grades of A, B, and F. Lower grades like C and D are rarely used.

2. It is called grade inflation because the work is given a higher grade than it deserves.

He compares grade inflation to economic inflation—for example, paying $20 for a loaf of bread.

3. Miles feels that this trend began in the 1960s, when there were periods of student protest and faculty began to identify more closely with students.

4. Grade inflation is a problem because (a) student accomplishments are misrepresented, (b) excellent student work is unfairly undervalued, and (c) those who must evaluate student records are unable to do so accurately.

Discussion (Page 261)

Answers will vary. Possible responses:

1. Miles’ explanations are convincing. He relates his arguments to other circumstances in which the same behavior would be considered grossly unfair.

2. One purpose of grades is to evaluate student work and give students feedback.

(Students may generate other answers as well.)

3. Some students will report that it is a problem because they feel that their peers don’t perform as well as they do, but they receive the same grades. Others might admit that it helps them and say that reversing the trend would mean more work for students.

4. Miles recommends that instructors only assign a grade of A to students who do truly excellent work.

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EXERCISE 1 (Page 262) 1. b

2. c 3. a 4. c 5. b 6. a 7. a 8. c 9. b 10. a 11. c 12. b

EXERCISE 2 (Page 263) 1. domestic

2. foreign 3. government 4. peace 5. defense 6. trade 7. stability 8. educational 9. understanding 10. immigration

EXERCISE 3 (Page 264) 1. No, belief

2. Yes 3. Yes 4. No, fact 5. Yes 6. No, fact 7. Yes

8. No, preference.

EXERCISE 4 (Page 265) 1. Yes

2. Yes 3. Yes 4. No 5. Yes 6. Yes 7. Yes 8. No

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9. Yes 10. Yes

EXERCISE 5 (Page 265)

Answers will vary. Possible responses:

4. Overcrowding at this university negatively affects many students’ education.

8. Taxes should be increased in order to improve the time in which our police force responds to alarms.

EXERCISE 6 (Page 266)

Answers will vary. Possible responses:

Students will likely identify different points as the heart of the issue. Use this as an opportunity to emphasize the importance of analyzing your audience.

1. The production of genetically modified fruits and vegetables should be encouraged.

Pro

 These plants are more resistant to disease.

 The food produced from such plants is slower to spoil.

 The food industry can make higher profits and feed people more efficiently if the production of these foods is encouraged.

 People have been breeding better plants for thousands of years; this is just a faster way to do the same thing.

Con

 It is not proven that these foods are safe, as harmful side effects could appear in the future.

 These modified plants could evolve or mutate into problematic varieties that we can’t control.

 Promoting production of these fruits and vegetables encourages an unsustainable approach to farming and agriculture.

 Promoting genetically modified plants makes it more difficult for small-scale farmers from poor countries to compete in the agriculture business.

2. A basic core curriculum of liberal arts courses should be required for all students graduating from college.

Pro

 There is certain basic knowledge which all educated people should have.

 A core curriculum ensures that students don’t avoid subjects which they dislike.

Con

 Diversity of knowledge in society is important.

 Core curriculum classes can distract students from their major studies

 Core curriculum classes cost money and drive up the cost of education.

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3. College students should have the freedom to choose their own courses.

Pro

 By the time they reach college, students are adults and can be responsible for their actions and for taking courses that will leave them well educated.

 If students select courses freely, the number of students who are “just getting by”

in a course that they dislike will dramatically drop, improving the classroom experience for everyone.

Con

 University faculty are experienced educators and know what basic knowledge is required in a field.

 Complete freedom of choice in classes will dramatically increase the number of easy classes and dramatically decrease the number of difficult classes.

4. A student convicted of cheating on an exam should automatically be expelled from college.

Pro

 Higher stakes will serve as a better deterrent.

 Colleges should do all they can to graduate only the most ethical students.

Con

 Failing the class in which one cheats is sufficient deterrent.

 People need to be given second chances.

5. A year of national service should be required for all 18-year-olds in this country.

Pro

 Requiring some sort of service would be good for the country and allow many social goals to be more easily and quickly met.

 Young people would learn important skills from the experience.

Con

 Service is more meaningful when people volunteer to do it.

 Some poor families need the income from their 18-year-olds to survive and cannot afford to have them earn less while doing national service.

6. A university education should be free to all high school students with a B grade average.

Pro

 The cost of the free education would be more than covered by increased productivity and taxes on these students increased income.

 State supported education would be more equitable than education that must be paid for privately.

Con

 Students are less invested in free education than in education they pay for, and they won’t learn as much if it is free to them.

 Having such high stakes will encourage grade inflation in high schools.

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7. Physicians should be allowed to assist people who want to die.

Pro

 People should have autonomy in their decisions, even at the end of life.

 Physicians are bound to try to relieve suffering when they can. In terminal cases, the best way to relieve suffering might be to speed death.

Con

 If physicians could assist patients in dying, the very ill may feel financial or family pressures to end their lives.

 A physician’s job is to preserve life, not to end it.

8. This country should more tightly control immigration.

Pro

 Immigration restrictions help to ensure that immigrants are not exploited and that only the number which can be effectively assimilated are allowed to enter.

 Immigration restrictions help to ensure that the economy is regulated, protecting the wage levels of people who already live here.

Con

 This country has more often benefited from the arrival of immigrants than been harmed by it.

 The laws of supply and demand will regulate immigration better than any laws will. If there is no work, immigrants will not come. If there is work, they will.

EXERCISE 7 (Page 267)

1. The author believes pesticides should be restricted because they kill beneficial insects such as honeybees and ladybugs.

2. The author cites facts about how pesticides have damaged honeybees to support this reason.

EXERCISE 8 (Page 268)

1. The author argues that since the two legal drugs, nicotine and alcohol, are used at much higher rates than illegal drugs, if other drugs were made legal, usage of these currently illegal drugs would increase as well.

2. Dr. Herbert Kleber from the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) are cited. Information from these sources are introduced using the phrases “According to…” and “Drug Enforcement Agency figures indicate…”

EXERCISE 9 (Page 269)

1. The topic sentence is “Giving football scholarships is really just a wise investment on the part of the university.” It is the first sentence in the paragraph.

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2. According to the author, the reason the university spends money on football scholarships is to get money back from ticket sales and contributions from alumni.

3. This pattern of development is an example of a causal chain.

4. The details are sufficient for a paragraph; however, this topic is broad enough to be expanded into a short essay. Statistics and dollar amounts from specific schools, sports, and activities could be introduced as further support.

EXERCISE 10 (Pages 269-270)

In document Factores que influyen en la prolongación de una situación de maltrato a la mujer: un análisis cualitativo (página 164-180)