Nineteen or so years ago, I imagine, today’s college students were banging their spoons against their highchair trays. If they didn’t like pureed spinach, Mommy offered spinach mixed with sweet potatoes and pears. A few years later, if they didn’t like what the grown-ups were having, Mommy ordered a pizza. With their favorite toppings. In elementary school, if they didn’t like spelling or writing, they were offered a “creative” assignment that involved finger-painting or block-building.

ñineteen年前左右，我想，现在的大学生都对他们的高脚椅盘敲打自己的汤匙。 如果他们不喜欢菠菜泥，妈妈会提供菠菜和地瓜和梨的混合物。 几年后，如果他们不喜欢大人们的饮食，妈妈会点一份披萨。 以他们最喜欢的浇头。 在小学，如果他们不喜欢拼写或书写，他们会得到一个“创造性”的作业，其中涉及到手指绘画或积木。

Am I exaggerating, fantasizing? Or is that true?

我是在夸张幻想吗？ 还是真的？

If it’s not true, why don’t my students know how to write, spell, or study? Why does every assignment have to be written out — as recommended by my department chair — with explicit directions and images of model solutions?

如果不是真的，为什么我的学生不知道如何写作，拼写或学习？ 为什么要按照我的部门主席的建议，写出每份作业，并附上明确的指导和模型解决方案的图像？

These are college students in a private liberal arts institution that advertises itself as “a vibrant, close-knit community of creative and intellectually curious students.”

这些是一所私立文科机构的大学生，他们自称为“一个充满活力，紧密联系的，富有创造力和知识好奇的学生的社区”。

The semester was over last week. Before figuring out the grades, I re-read the syllabus I’d so carefully prepared in September — and cried. If my students had read it, they didn’t try to understand the words on the page, no matter how many times I repeated those words in class. In today’s world, it seems, research consists of copying a few paragraphs from Wikipedia and not bothering to spell-check.

这个学期结束了上周。 在弄清楚成绩之前，我重新阅读了9月份精心准备的课程表，然后哭了。 如果我的学生读过它，那么无论我在课堂上重复多少次，他们都不会尝试理解页面上的单词。 在当今世界上，研究似乎包括复制Wikipedia的几段内容，而不必费心进行拼写检查。

这是一门设计课程。 在美术系。 (This was a design course. In the Art Department.)

Here’s how it’s described in the online catalog:

以下是在线目录中的描述：

ART 316, Graphic Design II: “This course explores design principles using form and content to solve visual communication problems. The logic inherent in organizing information in hierarchal structures necessary for communication is emphasized along with an analysis of form as it relates to historical and contemporary design theory and culture. Students become proficient using professional desktop publishing software to explore the formal and contextual relationships between typography and photography. All projects are structured to prepare students for advanced study and preparation for portfolio-quality print media.”

ART 316，图形设计II： “本课程探讨使用形式和内容解决视觉传达问题的设计原理。 与历史和当代设计理论和文化相关的形式分析，强调了在通信所必需的层次结构中组织信息的内在逻辑。 学生将熟练使用专业的桌面出版软件来探索排版和摄影之间的形式和上下文关系。 所有项目的结构都是为了让学生为进阶学习做好准备，并为投资组合质量的印刷媒体做好准备 。”

Concerned that some students might not be familiar with such terms as “hierarchal structures” and “formal and contextual relationships,” here’s how I translated the description in my syllabus: “In this course, you will learn to design with type using Adobe InDesign CC, the industry-standard professional typesetting and page layout software. Every project will involve a different aspect of typography. At the same time, you will be introduced to the features of InDesign — from the basics of setting up a page, to using the paragraph and character style menus, to the fine points of line- and letter-spacing. The goal is to get you thinking, speaking, and working like a professional designer — one who loves type and knows how to use it well. We will also work on research and presentation skills.”

由于担心某些学生可能不熟悉“层次结构”和“形式与上下文关系”之类的术语，因此我在教学大纲中翻译了说明：“ 在本课程中，您将学习使用Adobe InDesign CC进行字体设计，行业标准的专业排版和页面排版软件。 每个项目都会涉及排版的不同方面。 同时，将向您介绍InDesign的功能-从设置页面的基础，使用段落和字符样式菜单到行间距和字母间距的精妙之处。 目的是让您像专业设计师一样思考，说话和工作-一个热爱打字并且知道如何善用打字的设计师。 我们还将致力于研究和演示技巧。”

Wishful thinking.

妄想。

有没有人注意或打开课本？ (Did anyone pay attention or open the textbook?)

If, during a class critique, I explained why something like making every paragraph of body text a different color was not the best solution, they kept doing it anyway. And insisting that they liked it. Oh, well. I’d based my expectations on past teaching experiences at art schools and conservatory schools with different entrance requirements.

如果在课堂上进行批评时，我解释了为什么将正文的每个段落都设为不同的颜色不是最佳解决方案的原因，那么他们还是继续这样做。 并坚持认为他们喜欢它。 那好吧。 我的期望基于过去在入学要求不同的艺术学校和音乐学校的教学经验。

There was some real talent in the room. But it was hard to get eyes away from computer screens. Hardly anyone paid attention. No one took notes. Most surprisingly, these students didn’t know how to look at pictures.

房间里有一些真正的才华。 但是很难把目光从计算机屏幕上移开。 几乎没有人注意。 没有人做笔记。 最令人惊讶的是，这些学生不知道如何看照片。

Alas, I didn’t learn that until I graded the midterm. In the first half of the semester I introduced classic typefaces — Baskerville, Gill Sans, Caslon, etc. — and the students designed posters using them. The reading assignment was to study the examples of typography in the timeline on the opening pages of the textbook.

las，直到我对期中成绩进行评分，我才知道这一点。 在学期的前半部分，我介绍了经典字体-Baskerville，Gill Sans，Caslon等-，学生们使用它们设计了海报。 阅读任务是研究课本开始页上时间轴上的版式示例。

The first question on the midterm was: “In the history of typography, as illustrated on the opening pages of your textbook, what are some of the most significant recent movements and trends?”

期中问题的第一个问题是： “在印刷术的历史中，如教科书开篇所示，近期最重要的变化和趋势是什么？”

I’d thought that anyone with a pair of eyes would have noticed that most of the examples featured type that was blurry, overlapping, set at an angle, carved into surfaces, layered. Perhaps the overarching concept was “experimental.” Whether or not they agreed with the authors’ choices or found the examples attractive or compelling, they would have seen that.

我以为，任何有双眼的人都会注意到，大多数示例都具有模糊，重叠，倾斜，刻在表面上，分层的类型。 也许最重要的概念是“实验性的”。 无论他们是否同意作者的选择，还是发现这些示例具有吸引力或令人信服，他们都会看到。

Boy was I wrong. It was clear from day one that none of them had taken a design history course. But it seemed like they had never taken an art history course either.

男孩，我错了。 从第一天开始，他们就没有一个参加过设计历史课程。 但似乎他们也从未参加过艺术史课程。

The answers included: “People used to write on cave walls but then Gutenberg invented the printing press” and “Type was set by hand, but now we have computers.” Doesn’t every ten-year-old know that? Did anyone notice the word “recent” in the question? Did anyone actually open the textbook and look at the examples?

答案包括： “人们曾经在洞穴的墙壁上写东西，然后古腾堡发明了印刷机”和“ 类型是手工设置的，但是现在我们有了计算机。” 难道不是每个十岁的孩子都知道吗？ 有没有人注意到问题中的“最近”一词？ 真的有人打开教科书并查看示例吗？

I guess not. Until my teaching style was critiqued by the department chair, I didn’t think that my job included reviewing every page and illustration and pointing out what students are supposed to see.

我猜不会。 在系主任批评我的教学风格之前，我不认为我的工作包括复习每页和插图并指出学生应该看到的内容。

If they didn’t how to study, they did know how to complain: “Not fair! You didn’t give us the questions!” Or in the case of a design problem, “You didn’t show us exactly what you wanted.”

如果他们不学习，他们就会知道如何抱怨：“不公平！ 您没有给我们问题！” 或在遇到设计问题时，“您没有向我们确切显示您想要的东西。”

Exactly what I wanted? This is a design class! You are the designers! Demonstrate your originality and creativity — as long as the result is somewhat legible and has a good chance of communicating the main idea to most members of the general public.

正是我想要的？ 这是一个设计课！ 您是设计师！ 证明您的独创性和创造力-只要结果清晰易读，并且有很大的机会将主要思想传达给大多数公众。

还是我失败了？ (Or did I fail them?)

I’m writing this story because I’m having nightmares about the class, the students, the school, Gen Z parenting, the whole educational system. If I ever teach there again (which is extremely doubtful given the evaluations the students must have given me) I’ll have to explain every detail: “This sentence is the headline. Put it here, at the top of the page. Use this picture as the main picture, what some people call ‘the hero image.’ Put it here, over or under the headline. This text is the body copy. It should be the smallest type. Once you can master a basic layout, try some variations.” Perhaps I should structure things like a cooking lesson, Julia Child style: “This is the recipe for basic roast chicken. Once you can do it, and it comes out nice and juicy, with crispy skin, here are variations with different flavorings and sauces. Now try your own variations.”

我之所以写这个故事，是因为我对班级，学生，学校，Z世代育儿以及整个教育系统感到恶梦。 如果我再次在那儿教书(鉴于学生必须给我的评估，这是非常令人怀疑的)，我将必须解释每一个细节：“ 这句话是标题。 将其放在页面顶部。 将此图片用作主要图片，有人将其称为“英雄形象”。 将其放在标题上方或下方。 此文本为正文。 它应该是最小的类型。 一旦您掌握了基本布局，就可以尝试一些变体。” 也许我应该把烹饪课的结构安排成朱莉亚·柴尔德(Julia Child)的风格：“这是基本的烤鸡的食谱。 一旦做到这一点，它就会变得又好又多汁，皮肤酥脆，这里有各种口味和调味料的变化。 现在尝试您自己的变体。”

My bad. But this is not a new problem.

我的错。 但这不是一个新问题。

In 1980, frustrated with materials put out by nonprofit institutions that couldn’t afford to hire Massimo Vignelli, the late, great designer of the $40,000 shoebox (more about that another time), Vignelli, his associate Peter Laundy, and the AIGA (professional association for design) published Graphic Design for Non-Profit Organizations, a booklet that outlined basic design principles and included grids and templates that show how to put together newsletters, announcements, posters, signs, and so forth.

1980年，非营利机构提供的材料令人沮丧，这些材料无力聘请Massimo Vignelli (已故的著名设计师，耗资40,000美元)，Vignelli，他的合伙人Peter Laundy和AIGA(专业人士)设计协会)出版了《 非营利组织图形设计》，这本小册子概述了基本设计原则，并包括网格和模板，这些网格和模板显示了如何将新闻稿，公告，海报，标志等组合在一起。

The first drafts of work done in my class suggested that college sophomores and juniors had never seen a newsletter, announcement, poster, or sign. Well, because no one does printed newsletters any more, and graphic design is much more image-oriented than it was in text-heavy 1980, I provided current examples; the syllabus lists more that 20 Instagram feeds and Behance pages that show the best in classic and new typography, logo design and poster design.

在我的课堂上完成的工作初稿表明，大学二年级和三年级的学生从未见过新闻通讯，公告，海报或标志。 好吧，因为没有人可以再打印新闻通讯，而且图形设计比图像丰富的1980年更加注重图像，所以我提供了最新的例子。 教学大纲列出了超过20个Instagram提要和Behance页面，这些页面显示了经典和新的版式，徽标设计和海报设计中的最佳内容。

I repeatedly told students that there is no way InDesign can be taught and learned in a one-semester class, but that the internet, especially YouTube, is replete with useful demos. I explained that many art schools have stopped teaching software, but expect students to learn on their own with Adobe tutorials, LinkedIn Learning, etc. And by experimenting! “Try,” I kept saying. “Figure it out. Try every pull-down menu. See what it does.” But I kept getting questions, like “How do you do X, Y or Z…?” I’d spend one hour of every three-hour class going from desk to desk, teaching one-on-one about stuff like paragraph spacing and style sheets.

我反复告诉学生，在一学期的课程中无法教授InDesign，但是互联网(尤其是YouTube)充满了有用的演示。 我解释说，许多艺术学校已经停止教授软件，但是希望学生们可以通过Adobe教程，LinkedIn学习等自行学习。 “尝试，”我一直说。 “想办法。 尝试每个下拉菜单。 看看它做什么。” 但是我不断收到诸如“您如何X，Y或Z…？”之类的问题。 从上课到下课，我每三个小时的课都要花一个小时，一对一地讲授段落间距和样式表之类的知识。

最不高兴的是：缺乏好奇心 (Most upsetting: the lack of curiosity)

More surprising than not knowing how to look at pictures was the lack of promised “intellectual curiosity.” When I brought in examples of interesting brochure formats, few students took the time to pick them up, open them, figure out how they were made. As expected, no one had ever used an x-acto knife or knew how to put together a mockup. I contemplated bringing a small cutting board, T-square, triangle (and pencil) to class and showing how to use those antique tools. How would that have gone over?

比起不知道如何看图片，更令人惊讶的是缺少承诺的“知识好奇心”。 当我带来有趣的小册子格式的示例时，很少有学生花时间将它们捡起来，打开它们，弄清楚它们是如何制成的。 不出所料，没有人使用过x-acto刀或不知道如何组装模型。 我打算带一个小切菜板，丁字尺，三角形(和铅笔)上课，并展示如何使用这些古董工具。 那怎么会过去？

The final three weeks’ project was to research the work of a type designer or notable designer with type — student’s choice of Louise Fili, Tobias Frere-Jones, Jonathan Hoefler, Zuzana Licko, Herb Lubalin, Stefan Sagmeister, or Erik Spiekermann — and design a poster, brochure, and web page about “their” designer. I brought in books written and designed by each one: the Émigré ten-year compendium, an original FontShop catalog, Sagmeister’s Things I Have Learned monographs in slipcase, Fili’s Elegantissima. One student opened one book. Does that mean that if it’s not on a screen, it doesn’t exist or have value?

最后三个星期的项目是研究类型设计师或著名类型设计师的工作-学生选择的路易斯·菲利，托比亚斯·弗雷-琼斯，乔纳森·霍夫勒，祖扎娜·里科，赫伯·卢巴林，斯特凡·萨格迈斯特或埃里克·斯皮克曼–设计有关“他们的”设计师的海报，小册子和网页。 我带来了每个人编写和设计的书籍：《Émigré十年简编》，FontShop原始目录，《萨格迈斯特的东西我在书架上学过的论着》，菲利的《 Elegantissima》 。 一名学生打开了一本书。 这是否意味着如果不在屏幕上，它就不存在或没有价值？

On final-exam day, having given up on the written-test idea, I provided a page of text in Word and a selection of photos. I asked them to design a simple flyer and a Facebook ad. One student put together marginally acceptable renditions. Overall, the work was terrible.

在期末考试的那天，我放弃了笔试的想法，在Word中提供了一页文字和一些图片。 我要求他们设计一个简单的传单和一个Facebook广告。 一名学生将可接受的演绎放在一起。 总的来说，这项工作很糟糕 。

Were they fucking with me? By the last week of class (and after some real improvement, some promising work) I wondered about that. They had to have been. I’m the old fuddy-duddy who likes a trackball mouse better than a trackpad and has to ask students to get the color printer to work. The class ringleader — cute and sassy and good at tech — apparently had the others convinced that she should be the teacher. She tried to lead a small revolution of sorts, sending me an email outlining her recommendations for the final exam content. I didn’t capitulate.

他们在和我他妈的吗？ 在上课的最后一周(经过一些切实的改进，做了一些有希望的工作)，我对此感到纳闷。 他们一定是。 我是老手笨拙的家伙，比轨迹板更喜欢轨迹球鼠标，并且不得不要求学生让彩色打印机工作。 班组长-可爱又活泼，善于技术-显然让其他人相信她应该当老师。 她试图引发一场小小的革命，给我发送了一封电子邮件，概述了她对期末考试内容的建议。 我没有投降。

现在我是抱怨的人。 (And now I’m the one doing the complaining.)

I’ve spoken to three friends, tenured professors at other institutions. Here’s what they said: “We are all facing the failure of the American high school system.”

我已经与其他机构的终身教授三个朋友交谈过。 他们说的是：“我们都面临着美国高中系统的失败。”

What?

什么？

“We are all facing the failure of the American high school system.”

“我们都面临着美国高中系统的失败。”

That’s not something I was aware of when I agreed to take the position, and certainly was not prepared to deal with.

当我同意担任该职位时，我并没有意识到这一点，当然也没有准备好应对。

And, the friends said: “These students have family issues. Time and money issues. They have to work. They’re stressed.” Ah-ha. It’s not that they’re spoiled and expect the course material pureed, pre-digested, spoon-fed. If time-money-family issues are that overwhelming, sadly, I was not prepared for that either.

朋友们说：“这些学生有家庭问题。 时间和金钱问题。 他们必须工作。 他们感到压力很大。” 啊哈 这并不是说他们被宠坏了，而是期望课程材料被制成泥状，预先消化，用勺子喂食。 不幸的是，如果时间-金钱-家庭问题如此令人压倒，我也没有为此做好准备。

我最终得到了什么？ (What did I end up with?)

All kinds of conflicting feelings about my own mixed user experience. Those bad dreams. Four monthly paychecks (a benefit not to be sneezed at). A detailed syllabus ready to be taught somewhere else… maybe. Some good memories of walking into the classroom 15 minutes early and finding two or three students hard at work at their computers trying to figure things out, make them better. And moments when I saw real sparks of talent and interest I hope I helped nurture.

关于我自己的混合用户体验的各种矛盾的感觉。 那些噩梦。 每月支付四张薪水(一项不可轻视的福利)。 准备好在其他地方教授的详细教学大纲……也许。 有一些美好的回忆，包括提早15分钟走进教室，并发现两三个学生在计算机上努力工作，试图弄清楚事情，使他们变得更好。 当我看到真正的才华和兴趣的时刻时，我希望我能帮助自己培养。

PS: The grades were posted yesterday and I’ve already received two emailed complaints: “Can you explain why I got a B? I expected better.” And “Hello Professor, I do not believe I got a fair grade I gave in all of the projects and I feel like I deserve more than a C+.”

PS：成绩是昨天发布的，我已经收到两封通过电子邮件发送的投诉： “您能解释一下为什么我获得B吗？ 我期望更好。” 而且“你好教授，我不认为我在所有项目中都得到了不错的成绩，我觉得我应该得到的不仅仅是C +。”