ARP:Reaction to Meiland's "New Tyapes of Interrectual Work"

Kota Funakawa

Professor Owen JAMES
ARW Section AI
29 April 2007

Reaction to Meiland’s “New Types of Intellectual Work”

Summary
　　　　According to the Meiland, there are three explicit differences between high school and college. First is the difference of how to treat the fact. In high school, the fact is absolutely and eternally true, but in college it is just a theory. Next is the difference of the method of understanding. Both High school and college need students to understand the materials. It is same. The students in college require the critical examination and evaluation for understanding the materials because the materials treated as beliefs or conclusions that have been reached on the basis of investigation rather than treated as unchanging facts, but high school students understand through just memorizing. The last is the difference between a descriptive statement and a normative statement. A descriptive statement tells how things in fact are, while a normative statement tells how things should be, regardless of how they in facts are. A normative statement is mainly used, because the fact is treated as the theory in the college. Therefore high school and college are almost the same, but it is distinctly different and college work is higher level. So college freshmen must change their mind to the “New Type of Intellectual Work”.

Discussion

　　　　Meilamd says that high school and college are almost the same, but it is distinctly different and college work is higher level. It is because college requires new types of intellectual work at the college level. But, is this little difference? Is this not so important? I don’t think so, because I think the way of understanding in High School and that in college is absolutely different. The study in high school is about the facts absolutely and eternally true, very, very sure, because the facts are proved by somebody who studies the fact as his major. So students don’t need to check the things whether it is really true or not, but students in college require gathering the information, evidence and result of exam because the fact is just a theory in college. Meiland himself also mentioned this point “What is treated in high school as eternal and unchangeable fact that human beings have discovered in their continual and relentless progress toward total knowledge will be treated in college as belief that may perhaps be well supported at the present but that could turn out to be wrong.” I think that one of the main purposes of the college study is pursuing the truth because study in college is the latest study in each divisions or majors. So the scholar must prove his or her own argument because the answer, the fact, has not discovered yet. Therefore I think that mere, passive memorizing the things which proved by expert is by far different from the work to understand in college, to estimate the result, to search the information, to prove the estimation. They are absolutely different work. So I can’t agree with Meiland clearly.

Work Cited
Meiland, Jack W. New Types of Intellectual Work: College Thinking:

How to Get the Best Out of College, 1981. (The ELP Reader, 2007)

Paraglaph:My Most Meaningful Experience

Kota Funakawa

Professor Owen JAMES

ARW Section AI

29 April 2007

My Wonderful Experience

　　　I learned three meaningful things from my experience of volunteer at retirement home. The purpose of this volunteer was to commune with the old. First, I learned the importance of kindness. When I did really small thing, to hand a cup to an old man, to move his wheelchair, to listen his old story, he always said “thank you” at last. Next, when I listened his old story about World WarⅡ, I strongly felt the misery of war because he said ”I went to China as a soldier. I killed some Chinese, but, to tell the truth, I don’t want to do so”. He looks like sad. Last, when I felt the misery of war, I felt the richness of our age at the same time. We seldom feel the problems about war and poverty in daily life. He said “Japan has gotten really rich.” And I felt “How blessed age we are living!” Therefore I learned three important things in life from the old man.