Rubin Response

One problem with academic discourse is that it is assumed that people know what a professor or student is talking about and a brief explanation is entirely too short and does not fully inform. This assumption that everyone already knows what they are talking about can lead to confusion and miscommunication. An example of this is in Rubin’s article when she discusses the teacher’s bare boned syllabi. The worst examples being the “listers” and the “scolders” both of which don’t give enough useful information and end up frustration and stressing out their students. In my opinion it wouldn’t hurt to slow things down and explain important information more clearly. I say risk be redundant for the sake of better understanding.