First Year Writing
Josh Orenbuch Professor Schwabe
Essay #4
whYyoU should have First Year Writing
The first year biology majors and accounting major of YU are all asking themselves the same question: “How is First Year Writing going to help me?” As an accounting major in the Syms School of Business, I was extremely troubled by the university requirement to take first year writing as well. “How will FYW help me with balance sheets?” I asked myself. How will this class get me an accounting internship this summer that I so desperately need to improve my resume? Seemingly, FYW will not assist me in realizing my professional aspirations. Furthermore, the requirements of a dual curriculum are taxing enough without the added labor an “extra,” unnecessary requirement. Having finished the course, I believe that First Year Writing should be mandatory for all students for three reasons: FYW raises students’ awareness of critical educational issues, it develops their writing skills, and cultivates intellectual independence. In my First Year Writing class, I was first exposed to articles that dealt with educational issues such as the promotion of online-education and the advancement of math and science at the expense of the Liberal Arts. My professor began a class discussion about the popularization of online education by assigning David Brook’s article “The Campus Tsunami.” Brooks documents the millions of dollars dedicated by elite colleges such as Harvard and M.I.T. to e-learning the year. Before reflecting upon and researching the issue, I thought of e-learning as a convenient, cheap and efficient form of education. Brooks’s article confirmed my initial feelings. However, in this FYW required readings like an “An Elite College Education, Online?” (which were response letters to Brook’s article) and “Summa Cum Avaritia” by Nick Brommel that forced me to engage the alternative point of veiw. These two articles argue that online classes should not supplant the class
Essay #4
whYyoU should have First Year Writing
The first year biology majors and accounting major of YU are all asking themselves the same question: “How is First Year Writing going to help me?” As an accounting major in the Syms School of Business, I was extremely troubled by the university requirement to take first year writing as well. “How will FYW help me with balance sheets?” I asked myself. How will this class get me an accounting internship this summer that I so desperately need to improve my resume? Seemingly, FYW will not assist me in realizing my professional aspirations. Furthermore, the requirements of a dual curriculum are taxing enough without the added labor an “extra,” unnecessary requirement. Having finished the course, I believe that First Year Writing should be mandatory for all students for three reasons: FYW raises students’ awareness of critical educational issues, it develops their writing skills, and cultivates intellectual independence. In my First Year Writing class, I was first exposed to articles that dealt with educational issues such as the promotion of online-education and the advancement of math and science at the expense of the Liberal Arts. My professor began a class discussion about the popularization of online education by assigning David Brook’s article “The Campus Tsunami.” Brooks documents the millions of dollars dedicated by elite colleges such as Harvard and M.I.T. to e-learning the year. Before reflecting upon and researching the issue, I thought of e-learning as a convenient, cheap and efficient form of education. Brooks’s article confirmed my initial feelings. However, in this FYW required readings like an “An Elite College Education, Online?” (which were response letters to Brook’s article) and “Summa Cum Avaritia” by Nick Brommel that forced me to engage the alternative point of veiw. These two articles argue that online classes should not supplant the class