The Problem Problem and Other Oddities of Academic Discourse

Habits of thinking and writing that are so familiar to academics that we hardly recognize them often seem counter-intuitive to high school and college students. These habits include the search for hidden meanings in texts and experience generally, the inclination to be contentious and to foment controversy, the tendency to make seemingly obvious assumptions explicit and the general obsession with searching for problems where often there do not seem to be any. The most productive way for teachers to help students cope with these unfamiliar academic habits is to identify these habits in class, inviting students to discuss them and even air their doubts about them.