Three weeks ago, I wrote an article about the amount of work a college student receives during the first week, to which Susan Yarnell, an Elizabethtown resident, responded. To her, my article seemed absurd. I respect Yarnell’s opinion, but I believe that her argument regarding my piece came about because she misinterpreted the message I was trying to convey. So, here I am again, trying to clarify my previous opinion.

I have recently read “Mars and Venus on a Date,” a self-help book that was written seriously, but which I read for comedy. In short, my opinion was entirely not in “jest,” but rather is quite in earnest. I would never write an opinion that I do not believe is true.

I feel that while the initial workload at college is not fair, it can be necessary, as I have stated before. Without the college-level workload from the get-go, “it may come as a shock to students when they are suddenly inundated by loads of work.” I have known students who drop a class on the first day because the initial workload seems overwhelming, but I feel that the class’s normal amount of work is required for students to properly transition into the class. So, when I am saying that students may appear surprised when they are suddenly flooded with work, it may be because the professor went easy on them during the first week.

Secondly, when I mentioned that a heavy workload “can be off-putting,” I feel that its intended meaning has been misconstrued. I had stated that while, sometimes, one cannot adequately learn without large amounts of work, other times, the heavy workload may not be necessary. It all depends on what type of class one is taking.

For example, if a student was taking a math class, the student should expect large amounts of homework because practice is the best way to learn the subject. Other times, if the class is intended for political science majors and solely based on in-class debate, a large amount of outside work may not be necessary for a student to maximize his or her learning. So, while I do agree with Yarnell that “success in college does and should require a lot of individual work,” I feel that it all depends on what the class and professor specifically require from the student. Some classes are entirely project-based, while others are simply lectures with little outside work.

When Yarnell discussed my quote, “Some classes, such as history, do not necessarily have to inundate their students with work when a class discussion will do,” I can see how she might have misinterpreted this statement. When I say “inundate,” I mean that the student receives excessive amounts of outside work; I did not mean that the student does not receive any amount of outside work. Outside work is necessary to reinforce a student’s in-class learning and to ensure a thorough and insightful class discussion. I understand that a college student will receive outside work, but, as I have previously stated, the type of class and professor can alter the amount of outside work required.

I do not appreciate Yarnell’s disregard to the importance of movies during class time, but I feel that has also stemmed from a misinterpretation. I am currently taking a class about eastern culture where my fellow classmates and I are required to watch a large amount of eastern films outside of class, depicting scenarios of war between various peoples, such as the Lebanese, the Arabs, the Israelis and the Pakistanis. I feel that these movies are effective to reiterate our class discussions because we are offered visuals of the warfare in the East.

For example, I found the film “Under the Bombs,” directed by Phillipe Aractingi, very beneficial to my learning because it depicted a mother searching for her son and sister after a bombing during the 2006 Lebanon War.

I do not understand why Yarnell questioned my interpretation of what a college education entails. It depends on the type of class that, overall, determines how large the work load will be. I have written my fair share of large papers in my college career, and I do not expect them to end. As I have stated, even if college students do not appreciate their work load, it is sometimes necessary for students to fully transition into the classroom and obtain the most out of that particular class. Professors have different styles of teaching that do not require them to assign as large an amount of work as another class.

I feel that Yarnell’s conclusion has strayed away from my thesis statement. She feels that I do not believe students should receive any work during the first week, which somehow led to the conclusion that I recommend that students are never required to do any work whatsoever, skating by in their college education until they obtain their degrees. This is by no means true.

Students need work to improve their education and to prepare them for their future careers. I am not saying that students should “simply aim to pass the class with minimum effort.” The thesis I have written is that heavy amounts of outside work for the class can be necessary during the first week of classes, but it can vary depending on the type of class. I am not sure how this thesis equals that I believe students should never put in any effort. I hope I have clarified my opinion because I believe our opinions are truly similar in their foundations.