【B1】 【B8】

A new book is sure to be discussed, and debated, at colleges this fall. The book is called My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student. The writer is Rebekah Nathan. That is not her real name. She is in her fifties. She is a professor of anthropology at a university in the United States. Her name for it is "Any U".
   The professor wanted to know why many of her students did not complete their work or ask for help. She decided to do a research project. She got the approval of the university ethics (41)committee. Such groups consider moral and legal issues in studies.
   In the spring of 2002, sheapplied to her own university under the name "Rebekah Nathan" and was admitted. She lived in student housing. She took five classes during her first term and two in the second semester. She did pretty well, although she got one C, a mark of average. She also played sports.
   In My Freshman Year, she does not identify any students by name, but she does discuss what they told her about their lives.
   Rebekah Nathan writes that students do not have enough time to be interested in their classes. They are busy with activities and jobs. They try to learn only as much as they have to. But she says they will read the material if it is directly linked to what is being discussed in class.
   The professor says her year as a student changed the way she teaches. She gives less reading now. She asks questions designed to get students to speak more. She offers help. And she says she is no longer offended if a student falls asleep.