Honestly, I have very little idea of how my students perceive themselves in the greater context of the world around them. On the one hand, there is the student who says Disney princesses and the portrayal of women in media “doesn’t have anything to do with him,” which shows me at the very least a lack of awareness of the system he lives under and is constantly rewarded by. On the other hand, three of my pairs are researching politics in one form or another, and had a rather impassioned workshop session getting into what really matters, which seems to point to a real engagement with political reality in a way that I sometimes check out of. Like any of us, they seem to be aware of and engaged in the world in ways that suit them, ways that interest them, ways that seem to matter to them.

In their writing, I have seen very limited scope of engagement with the wider world so far. The nature of their first piece of major writing was autobiographical, so they engaged with their surroundings through the lens of themselves. This internal focus was what we asked them for. So it’s hard to say from that whether they’ve formed coherent world views. The research project is showing me more of how they view themselves as citizens. How well formed those views are remains to be seen.

In general, I think they are more engaged and alert than we generally give young people credit for. I can’t really base this perception on anything concrete however. Maybe some of it could be how well-formed their “voice” is in their writing. To which, I’d have to say: not that well-formed. Which is unsurprising since they are in a period of rapid cognitive, social, and emotional development.

I also kind of wish we’d read Inoue earlier. I might have designed some prompts to get at the inherent racist bias of academic writing. I want to try to draw out my students’ real voices more, allow them more creative freedom in their expression. There is nothing less interesting to me than vapid attempts at academic prose. Thus and so and therefore and which pertains to and evokes and runs on and on meaning nothing personal, nothing risky, nothing new.