Advice Articles
Scott Richardson
Courses Taught: Basic Writing, Composition I & II, Information Architecture. Intro to Literature
Students tend to think of their professors as being naturally gifted. We forget that they were once students themselves, and that they too struggled through academic rigors to get to where they are today. Mr. Scott Richardson, a newcomer to DSU, is not reluctant to admit that he was not a perfect student and that it took a lot of hard work to advance to his current level.
“In high school, I was a C student, and I really did not like English. I completely blew the subject off,” says Mr. Richardson. “In college, I think I was an average Comp student. I was placed into a regular Comp section, and as I remember, I did okay in the class. I was a better college student than I was a high school student.” Though this academic record is certainly respectable, it’s is not exactly the picture that most students have of their professors, assuming them to have been star students.
Mr. Richardson did not continue to graduate school until ten years after completing his baccalaureate degree. During this time, his writing skills declined. “Most of [my classmates] were right out of undergraduate English programs, nice little writers, and I was at a disadvantage. It took me about a year before I could catch up with them,” remembers Mr. Richardson. “I teach Basic Writing for the remedial students, and I understand exactly how the remedial student feels who is swimming in a little deeper water than they are comfortable swimming in, so I have a good deal of compassion for those students.”
So for those students who view their professors as infallible, it may help to remember that their teachers have been where they are and know what they are going through. As Mr. Richardson’s story illustrates, professors are human too.
“I tell students that writing is a skill; it is not something that is knowable. It is very hands on kinesthetic. It is something someone learns over decades and no one ever completely learns it. We are always mastering the language, but we never master the language. Writing is a process. You have to constantly sit down and do it, and it takes work. If you do not do it then your skills will degrade,” says Mr. Richardson.