Dear Dean Sidorkin, Sign me up for the revolution

Last updated on: February 4, 2015 at 7:25 pm by Sam Rocha

Dear Dean Sidorkin, Sign me up for the revolution 2015-02-04T19:25:33-06:00 Sam Rocha

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Alexander Sidorkin is a decorated philosopher of education — and Dean of the Feinstein School of Education, Rhode Island College — who, like me, takes an ontological approach to his work. He is also a fantastic and serious doodler. His new, open access journal — Syllabi — publishes peer-reviewed syllabi. (The Chronicle of Higher Education has also published a story about it.)

In the first issue, his editorial introduction offers a sensible rationale and impassioned call to a pedagogical revolution of sorts. It is well-worth reading. I plan on reviewing and submitting some syllabi of my own.

On that note, here are few thoughts — and an implicit critique of the one-size-fits-all formatting at Syllabi — on my own approach to syllabus design:

“Boring, ugly, cluttered, self-indulgent. Typo. Are you kidding me? Just tell me what I need to do to get an Aish grade…” This is what ran through my mind as a student, most of the time. Other times, I was excited and got through most of the syllabus without cynicism, but soon forgot it when the excitement wore off. Intimidating syllabi were cool in a weird way. I always lost them.

As a professor, I try to keep my experience as a student in mind in my syllabi composition. As a rule, I try remind myself to always consider my courses from the vantage point of the “asshole student,” the skeptic just waiting for the instructor to slip or make a false move. For me this is easy because I was, and in many ways still am, that student . But it’s easy to forget. Too easy. If I’m not careful, I’ll type an entire manifesto, testifying to the class’ — and my own — self-importance. “Delete” is the best key for syllabus writing.

Here’s one principle I try to follow: Layout and “look” matter the most.

The syllabus is, first and foremost, an object of art. Like a dish, a song, or a website: it must look, feel, and read beautifully. Proportion, font, spacing: everything matters. Even paper matters. (Even on digitized copies this cannot be ignored.) A good-looking syllabus is like any other craft: it requires editing, time, and hyper-critical love.

The prose of the syllabi is part of this too. I try to keep my syllabi sparse and work to make my prose match. There is a delicate balance between giving too much or too little information.

Also — and this is KEY — the voice of the syllabus is crucial. I tend to oscillate between extremely technical and extremely informal, vulgar even. A syllabus is not a place for extremes: it requires restraint and should not be BORING. My tone is usually careful, dry, and direct — ideally it comes off as surprisingly direct. British humor is a standard I try to emulate. It also sets the tone for the way I want my students to write.

Which reminds me: I should start writing my syllabi for my new courses at UND soon! When I finish, I’ll share them and let you see if I’m practicing what I just preached.

regular

Previous Post

June 20, 2012

June 20, 2012 7:22pm

Next Post

June 21, 2012 June 21, 2012 7:10pm

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category aesthetics audio class notes conversation Education En Español Interviews jazz jazzhop link Liturgy Music Nonsense pastoral philosophy phenomenology Philosophy philosophy of education photo Poetry Political Theology quote Race regular Schooling Uncategorized video Weekly Apocalypse

Select a Month June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian group is known for following a strict dress code and pacifism?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Lutherans Amish Baptists Pentecostals