Ira Shore - Empowering Education

"However, it is the students who decided to what extent they will take part in the Syllabus and allow it to form them. Many students do not like the knowledge, process, or roles set out for them in class. In reaction, they drop out or withdraw into passivity or silence in the classroom. Some become self-educated; some sabotage the curriculum by misbehaving,” (Pg 14).

I want to focus on this quote by Ira Shore because it best fits myself. I absolutely do better in classes without syllabuses. Seeing what I have to do in the class allows me to procrastinate. I know that I am a smart and efficient worker when I put my mind into things, and that's why I don't doubt myself when I think about putting things off. I can complete A+ essays 30 minutes before the class that they are due, and that's exactly what I did to pass writing 100 with an A. I can force myself to stay up all night and complete a full semester's worth of work. It isn't exactly a good thing that I procrastinate, but If I didn't have a set list of exactly what I had to do and how I needed to do it, I wouldn't procrastinate so much. In my first semester of last year, I took a history class where there was no syllabus, only an assignment passed out after every class that was due the next class. I never missed a class (which is also something I had a problem with) because I needed the work and needed to pass in the work that was due. There was no procrastinating that semester. This semester I procrastinated in almost all of my classes and fell behind due to a lot of issues that went on during the year. I was able to catch up, but it destroy me to have to stay up almost every night, and do nothing but stare at a computer screen for hours completing assignment after assignment. I did not try to sabotage the curriculum like Ira Shore said was a possibility, I accepted my error and took responsibility to self educate myself. 

This quote can also be related to how Delpit talks about making clear the rules and codes of power. I think that letting students know what is expected of them and when it is expected is good to do, but each student is different with what they make of it. I myself don't work good knowing I have time to do things later and knowing that I am able to get it done when I do decide to do it. Others look at a list of work and want to get more done earlier because they cant handle too much work at once or because they avoid stressing themselves out.

Note: had to do three essays and study for my final today, so that's why this post came up later.