ARP: Reaction to Meiland's "New Types of Intellectual Work"

Tomoya Hagiwara
Mr. James
ARW section AC
30 April 2007
Reaction to Meiland’s “New Types of Intellectual Work”

Summary

According to Meiland, the good teacher not only presents some information, in the sense of “what is currently believed” but also spends much time talking about the basis on which this information is currently believed. And a large part of college work consists of discussing and examining the basis of current beliefs. The difference between high school and college is that college work requires that student engage in a different kind of intellectual activity, in addition to the activity of understanding the material that is presented. The first type of intellectual activity in both high school and college is understanding the material. Then once the material is understood, the college student must perform another sort of intellectual work on the material, namely critical examination and evaluation. Therefore a main difference between high school and college is that new types of intellectual work are required at the college level. In high school, materials are presented authoritative manner. But something which we are very sure turns out to be false. In college, on the other hand, they’re treated as beliefs or conclusions that have been reached on the basis of investigations. It is rational to believe something only if one has a basis for that belief. One basis is what we call evidence. Material is presented in college as something to be believed. To make the long story short, there’s a big difference between high school and college; what is fact in high school is often theory in college.

Discussion

He says college student have to engage in a different kind of intellectual activity. I don't agree absolutely. Becase it depend on the case. Someone who enter the college just to proceed don't have to egage in a different kind of intellectual activity. Therefore only the kind of people who wants to become researcher, professer, and so on have to do that.

Work Cited
Meiland,Jack W. College Thinking:How to Get the Best Out of College.New York :New American Library,1981. ( The ELP Reader , 2007. 3-23).