University of Virginia Library

Unreasonable Expectations
May Make Sense

(22) Let me head toward an answer with some further
premises. One: The immersion method of education can be
both exciting and effective—and is almost totally discouraged
in modern undergraduate education, as the vast quantity of
"introductory" courses indicates. Hence one of our Birdwood
differences. If a professor begins a class with sophisticated
concepts and vocabulary that a student does not understand,
let the student use his ignorance as a reason for at once
establishing contact with this man outside of class, somewhere
in this "community" that is being encouraged by the sheer
availability of his professor. Let the student, for once in his
life, make an effort to meet a smart man on his own level,
rather than sitting in awed and unedifying amazement or
turning in a "drop" card out of gut fear.

(23) Two: Extreme cases are seldom met with in real life,
and the hypothetical hard-nosed professor I have quoted is, I
believe, an extreme case. I think very few members of the
Virginia faculty are unwilling to modify their own interests in
the direction of student concerns and abilities. With the
prospect of a full year or two ahead to work with students, I
think most faculty will bend over backward to help them. The
man who decides he wants to spend some time at Birdwood is
also the man who is likely to say to prospective students:
"Let's get together and plan a course for next fall—something
we all want to work at."

(24) Perhaps here I should quote the former dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences at Virginia, Professor William L.
Duren, Jr., who in August 1957 proposed the present system of
"associations" at the University and presented as a part of his
rationale the following conclusion:

(25) We have now seen something of both students and
faculty, but the matter remains of actually getting them
together. Let me suggest what I take to be a sensible
procedure.

(26) Once Birdwood is established, College officials would
constantly be thinking about two years ahead regarding the
members of faculty to be in residence. Just for a theoretical

timetable, planning for 1973-74 would be done in 1971-72.
Existing members of the College faculty would be offered a
chance to apply for residence during 1973-74, and a master list
would gradually be prepared of such volunteers, each man
obviously having consulted his own department for approval.
There would be no solicitation of "superstars" or special
encouragement of young faculty with "good rapport" with
students. If the list as compiled during the winter is too small,
too large, or unbalanced by disciplines, in the opinion of a
standing committee of the College, let some frank solicitations
then take place at this time, let applicants who are likely to
have future opportunities for participation stand aside for
others if need be, and begin to plaster up any obvious holes
by contacting appropriate "outsiders" for a visiting term.

(26a) It would seem particularly desirable that faculty
members be encouraged to apply in pairs for their year or two
at Birdwood, with these pairs whenever possible crossing
departmental lines. Such pairing would give each party the
encouragement and reinforcement of a valued colleague as he
enters a new and unfamiliar academic situation, and it would
have the more important benefit of facilitating some team
teaching and creating an interdisciplinary emphasis at
Birdwood. Each pair of professors ideally would plan related
and complementary courses, to be offered at non-conflicting
times, and students would be encouraged to select their
courses by such pairs. Team teaching is, of course, no
automatic guarantee of classroom pyrotechnics or of
many-sided inquiry into a topic; it is simply one potentially
effective means of promoting serious scrutiny of a problem in
the classroom, and it is little used at Virginia at present. Thus
it would be one of our differences at Birdwood. The deliberate
interdisciplinary emphasis is likewise no panacea for academic
ills, but rather a valuable approach to knowledge which the
present departmental structure on the Grounds does not
encourage.

(27) Direct the chosen faculty to begin immediately
planning their courses, so that in the spring of 1972 (or, at the
latest, in the fall of 1972), the course prospectuses can be
publicized to all students, letting them take these offerings
into consideration as they plan their majors and decide during
the year 1972-73 whether to apply for residence at Birdwood
for 1973-74.