Hello. I'm a writing instructor at university.

I've used Chambers for a few years now, but have never posted. Today, I created an account for the sole purpose of sharing my thoughts.<br><br>I teach writing and composition to college freshmen. That is the class everyone is forced to take. The class that no one wants to take. The class that has been deemed, "beneath" many students who feel as though they should have simply tested out--but didn't. I get it. You don't want to be there. I don't want to be there. No one wants to be there.<br><br>But now that we're here, let's talk.<br><br>I've been teaching this course for quite some time now. I've seen all sorts of students. Many of them are great. They are hardworking, kind, intelligent, etc. Many of them are not. They don't try. They don't care. They want that easy A. They don't want to do any of the work, but still complain when they receive a poor grade. They email me at midnight the day before an assignment is due, asking for an extension. They don't proofread. They don't attend class. They don't participate. They don't do the readings. They don't give a shit, and quite frankly, it shows.<br><br>In the beginning of the semester, I always start with diagnostics. I ask questions like, "What is your greatest strength/weakness?" and "Why do you think you are in this class?" I ask all of the questions that I already know the answers to.<br><br>And guess what? Many of you cannot write properly. Many of you cannot spell. Many of you cannot punctuate. I'm not talking about the occasional slip-up that even the best of us make from time to time. No, I am talking about full-on, downright, horrible writing. No grammar, no spelling, no punctuation, no capitalization, no complete sentences. Many of you cannot write.<br><br>And that's okay. I'm there to help. I get it. Many of you don't like writing; it is a struggle; you have always hated it. It's okay. I'm from the "teachers should teach" school of thought. I am there to do my job to the very best of my ability, and if that means holding your hand through the minefield that is freshman composition, then that's what I will do. You are not a lost cause. You are not stupid. You simply need a little extra help.<br><br>My classes are not easy. My classes are hard. I make you work. In my class, you will read and write--a lot. You will write multiple drafts. You will write multiple papers. You will rewrite those papers, over and over and over, until you get it right. You will cry. You will bitch. You will complain. You will hate me. You will hate the class. You will hate writing. You will hate everything about it.<br><br>But I don't care. Why? Because you are better than this.<br><br>And that's what I want you to hear and know. You are so much better than this. You are so much more than your writing abilities. You are so much more than you are giving. You are so much more than you know. You are so much better than this.<br><br>But many of you don't believe this. Many of you are too proud to ask for help. Many of you are too lazy to put forth the effort. Many of you simply from fuck-to-give. Many of you just want it the easy way--the "give me a free ride through life" attitude. Many of you want it my way, but don't want to put in the work to get it there. Many of you want me to hold your hand through from beginning to end, to check your work for you, to read your mind, to simply GIVE you that A. Many of you want to skip the process, to just simply skip to the end, to get to the final product without doing any of the work. Many of you want to be handed everything on a silver platter, with absolutely no effort. Many of you want to skip class, skip readings, skip drafts, skip the hard work, and skip the process. Many of you want me to spoon feed you. To give you the easy way out from day one.<br><br>And you know what? Fuck you.<br><br>If that's what you want, then fuck you.<br><br>I didn't spend the last decade of my life In school so I could hold your hand through a fucking composition course. I didn't spend the last decade of my life in school so I could give you a free ride. I didn't spend the last decade of my life in school so I could spoon feed you. I didn't spend the last decade of my life in school so I could teach you how to write a fucking paragraph. I spent the last decade of my life in school so I could teach, so I could give back, so I could watch my students become something great. I didn't spend the last decade of my life in school so I could babysit. I didn't spend the last decade of my life in school so I could give out participation trophies. I didn't spend the last decade of my life in school so I could teach high school English.<br><br>If that's what you want, then fuck you.<br><br>If you want a free ride, then fuck you. If you want to skip the process, then fuck you. If you want to be spoon fed, then fuck you. If you want to not try, then fuck you. If you want to be an idiot, then fuck you.<br><br>I am not here to spoon feed you. I am not here to give you a free ride. I am not here to teach you the basics of writing. I am not here to babysit. I am not here to hand you the world on a silver platter. I am not here to do everything for you. I am not here to coddle you. I am not here to give you an A. I am not here to praise you. I am not here to be your friend.<br><br>I am here to teach. I am here to help. I am here to push you. I am here to make you work. I am here to make you better. I am here to make you grow. I am here to make you see that you are better than this. <br><br>And if you can't handle that, then I'm not sure why you're in college in the first place. And if you can't handle that, then maybe college isn't for you. Maybe you need to go the easy route. Maybe you should have stayed in high school. Maybe you need to take some remedial courses. Maybe you need to take an online course. Maybe you need to take a high school course.<br><br>Because college isn't for everyone. And if you are one of those people who feels like the world owes them everything, who needs to be spoon fed, who wants to skip the process, who doesn't want to put in the work, then maybe college isn't for you.<br><br>So either step up, or fuck off.<br><br>I don't have time for it. I don't have time for you. I don't have time to spoon feed you. I don't have time to give you a free ride. I don't have time to hold your hand. I don't have time to coddle you. I don't have time to make everything easy for you.<br><br>So, either step up, or fuck off.