<p>In my humanities class, we have the option of either reading two books (each book is about 200 pages long) and writing two papers (6 pages minimum) on them (a compare/contrast one and an analysis one) or we can just do this conversation program where we just basically hang out with a foreign student once a week for an entire semester. You basically take them anywhere you want to take them (mall, restaurant, bar, ice cream, party, your dorm, whatever…)</p>
<p>The choice is pretty obvious right? Well, there’s like 20 kids in my class of 26 who would rather read those two books and write those papers.</p>
<p>I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I’m all social and that I smash 10/10’s every night but dang… are people that anti-social? I must be living under a rock back in my small town. College has really opened up my eyes… No, I’m not the life of the party but still…</p>
<p>The second sounds better. I might read the books as well, if they were interesting, but papers are never fun. I’m surprised 20/26 would choose the books/papers.</p>
<p>I would rather read the books and write the papers just because it sounds like fun. <em>shrug</em> I really don’t have time for another once-a-week commitment, either. I could churn through the books in a day or two and have the entire assignment done in a weekend and be done with it.</p>
<p>Are you serious? I’d rather read/write. It will take about a day to read both books and a couple hours to finish both papers. I’d rather do that instead of having to babysit some ******* the whole semester.</p>
<p>Some people are actually in college because they want to learn something. Having to spend time and make small talk each week with some foreign student sounds excruciating. Who’s to say you’ll even like the person? If it’s a humanities class the books might be pretty good. Some of the best books I’ve ever read in my whole life were assigned in my college humanities class.</p>
<p>Personally, it would depend on a few things. Are you getting pass/fail on each assignment? If not, how exactly is a conversation graded? </p>
<p>I’m not exactly sure I could fit a weekly commitment like that into my schedule. It is not because I’m anti-social, it’s just because I’m booked. I just had to drop a class because we needed to spend two hours a week in the art studio and I couldn’t find the time. I am actually extremely social, which is partially why I have no time during the year.</p>
<p>I would probably do the book and papers. I could easily churn those out in a weekend. Over and done.</p>
<p>You don’t know the details of everyone’s life, so you really shouldn’t judge.</p>
<p>Some people can be reallyyyy anti-social depending on the school. I work at a food place near the ivy here and I can’t tell you how many students come in who can’t even speak to me while looking me in the eye. Its incredibly awkward to see. I’ve never experienced that at my school. However I also used to go to a focused science school and the people there were equally as awkward.</p>
<p>I would love talking with the foreign students, I believed I could learn a lot and college is more about the experience to me because most people don’t remember everything from their classes, especially not in their major. But thats just my opinion.</p>
<p>i’d rather do the foreign student thing, but considering we (or most of us) are paying thousands of dollars for tuition, the books/papers would be more valuable academically. you can always hang out with a foreigner outside of class on your own for free, but coursework comes with a hefty price tag. i’d rather get the most of my humanities class :)</p>
<p>Reading two books (which are only 200 pages…depends on the density, but that usually takes less than a day) and then writing two papers (again, 6 pages minimum is very, very light-weight work) sounds A LOT less time-consuming/stressful than going out every single week. With some random foreign student. Who might turn out to be an a$$.
Seriously, I don’t get why preferring to read/write over babysitting work would make someone “socially ■■■■■■■■.” People do not come to college because they want to babysit. You need to broaden your perspective buddy.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s a foreign language class, in which case talking with a foreign student would be just as helpful as writing essays, although both should be incorporated into the lesson plan.</p>
<p>Hahaha… I joined a program where I do the exact same thing with an international student. I did so voluntarily because it sounds like a good experience and because I would like to make another friend. My answer is that people really are just that anti-/non-social.</p>
<p>Why does everyone use the term “babysit”? The international students are peers… If you were in a foreign country, wouldn’t you love it if a native took you around and showed you what their culture was like? It’s not a matter of work vs work. It’s work vs FUN and ENTERTAINMENT. You could either make a friend or do this assignment… Hm… I’ll do the assignment? That just doesn’t make sense to anyone who isn’t completely anti-/non-social.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the assignment with the international student has to do with a humanities class. If I was paying for the class, I probably would choose to do the reading assignment, too.</p>
<p>On the other hand, back in the day when I was an undergrad, some of the most valuable educational experiences I had were my interactions with international students. Even then, most of my fellow American students had very little interest in getting to know any international students. More recently, living in a town with a large public university and many (approx. 4-5 thousand) international students, I still see the same attitude on the part of American students. That works both ways, however, the majority of international students that I see alo tend to associate with other international students from their own countries. There’s not much cultural exchange and learning going on in either direction, and it’s a shame that this valuable educational resource is wasted on these students.</p>
<p>I don’t think it has much to do with being antisocial. It does have a lot to do with students’ lack of interest in the larger world around them, but you can’t force that type of interest and learning.</p>
<p>zap- I don’t think you’re right either tbqh. It could simply be that people don’t have time. I work in an ESL room at a local school. I love my job. I want to do something with bilingual education or immigrants when I am older. However, I simply don’t have time to commit to an extra hour or so a week with someone. I’m sure many, many people are in the same boat as I am. To make that assumption based on this is not quite right IMO. </p>
<p>Now, I do believe that people don’t mix as well as they should. But I don’t see this instance as a reflection of that.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m sure the point of this assignment was to make sure the shyer internationals don’t feel too lonesome, as well as to expose the American student to views that might different vastly from her own and make her view her own culture in a different light.</p>
<p>If helping foreign students/interacting with a larger world is your passion, then you can join a program like that. This is your humanities class, for God’s sake.
Or, you can simply go out and make friends with them. For example, you can say hi to them. Or ask how they’re adjusting. Or invite them for a lunch…IF you’re not anti-social. See what I mean? Doing this homework obviously isn’t the only way to make friends with foreign students or help them out. I have a lot of foreign kids in my dorm, and I talk to them all the time. (I love my new Chinese friend. He makes the best tea ever.)</p>
<p>Again, meeting someone and going out every single week requires time and commitment, whereas reading/writing can easily be done in between classes. Both are valid options, but I feel like reading/writing is just significantly less time-consuming.</p>