Essay on This Way for Vampires: Teaching First-Year Composition in Challenging Times by Sandy Friedman

This Way for Vampires: Teaching First-Year Composition in Challenging Times by Sandy Friedman is an essay that responds to Linda Adler-Kassners (2012) no vampires dictum. In her essay, Adler-Kassner stands against content writing and says that students should learn skills and expertise in their first-year composition courses since the lack of these basic abilities is the major contributors of spelling errors that affect most learners in their senior classes. However, Sandy argues that during the challenging times which students face currently, it is safer for them to learn the content than such skills. Ideally, learners have got a lot of pressure to pass exams and get good jobs; therefore, the urge of understanding the core competencies of writing is inoperable if one cannot pass and secure a well-paying job. Therefore, this paper argues that during the challenging times the content is more important than skills and expertise.

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When grades become the most significant tool for getting jobs, learners will master the content and forget about the skills and expertise of writing studies in their first years. Notably, most organizations rely on the grades achieved in schools rather than skills attained in such institutions. This has compelled apprentices to master concepts instead of understanding them. Instead of focusing on the theme-based programs that allow learners to start to develop expertise in a certain topic or field, students select reading from materials that will only enable them to pass their exams and seek for jobs. Adler-Kassner says that in a period of economic crisis when students are particularly anxious about finding jobs after college, the social mobility narrative takes on a greater force. As such, they do not consider the importance of skills and expertise.

The necessary skills required for writing studies have been assumed since some students do not value education; therefore, they master the content and forget about such essential skills. According to Adler-Kassner, in most cases, young learners have to be reminded about the importance of education, and that it is only through education that they will achieve their dreams. In this essay, President Obama opened his speech by urging students to prioritize their studies since it is the only means to realize their dreams (Friedman 21). This proves that even after reaching senior classes, most learners do not understand the importance of education and would rather master the contents of writing to pass particular stage rather than knowing basic skills that will assist them even after school as they seek jobs.

Lastly, it is important to note that some of the learners lack the opportunity to understand the basic skills not because they are academically challenged but because of the challenging times. In this case, the challenging times are the educators who may lack the excellent skills to instill the relevant and much-needed information on learners. Therefore, as much as students are blamed for content writing instead of skill writing, kind, dedicated, and smart educators are also required at various levels of learning.

In conclusion, in the epoch of economic nervousness, students want to be safe after the studies. On the same note, the assurance of a career at the end of four years of too much expenditure, and a way to pay the outrageous loans accumulated in the quest of a degree has compelled learners to look for all ways to pass exams instead of understanding the basic concepts and skills that are needed in particular fields.

Work Cited

Friedman, Sandie. "This Way for Vampires: Teaching First-Year Composition in" Challenging Times"." Currents in Teaching & Learning 6.1 (2013).