English 3840

2011-12-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

Wow, we’re at the end. To me this occasion invokes those immortal words from They Might Be Giants: Now it’s over, I’m dead and I haven’t done anything that I want. Or I’m still alive and there’s nothing I want to do. There was a lot I still wanted to accomplish this semester as a tutor. In no particular order:

· I was hoping by now to feel like I have a firm grasp of all the composition concepts students would encounter and be able to explain them to tutees. Hasn’t happened yet.

· I was hoping to find a way to use tutees’ learning styles to help them understand and enjoy writing.

· I wanted to ride Devin’s bike down the hallway and wave to her while she was in the middle of a session.

· I wanted to find a quick, easy way to explain to ESL students when to use “the” in front of a noun. There doesn’t appear to be one. You can try the old “if you’re referring to something specific, like ‘Texas’s economy,’ you don’t need the, but if it’s more abstract, like ‘the economy,’ then you use the,” but there’s too many exceptions and I’m sick of lying to sweet, trusting, foreign students.

· I was hoping for an explanation as to why articles aren’t considered part of speech. How can “the” “a” and “an” not be part of speech? Nearly every sentence contains those words. Far more than some of the other “parts.” Holy schnikies—like interjections!

On the other hand, part of me is glad tutoring is over for this semester. I find I have no mental energy left after tutoring and there are a lot of other things I want to work on. It will be nice to have time and energy for my own work.

That having been said, I’m going to miss tutoring. I enjoy the interaction and the challenge of helping a student who may not like writing see what it is all about and realize they are more capable than they give themselves credit for. In addition, I’ve also learned quite a bit.

I agree with Brooke about students needing to have a clear idea of what the paper is about. At the beginning of every session I ask the student what type of paper they are working on. Maybe 20% have a clear idea. The rest aren’t sure and seem a little surprised that I would even ask the question, as though they hadn’t thought about it. To wit, the infamous Bio Med papers. I tutored about 20 of those things. I asked every single student what type of paper it was. Not one of them answered with “Lit Review.” Some thought it was a persuasive paper, others thought it was research—one even treated it like creative non-fiction. The blame isn’t all on the professors, because students don’t always pay attention. I feel some of the professors can be a little more clear when it comes to papers, however.

Chegamos ao Fim...

2011-12-04T17:17:00.003-07:00

Yeah, that's Portuguese for "We arrived at the end..."

Oh man, I feel like this post is going to piggy-back on everyone else's posts. I know that I have grown a lot as a tutor. Although, as a friend of mine once said, "The more you know, the more you know there's more to know."
The biggest selfish change I've undergone since the beginning of the semester is the confidence I feel about APA formatting. After tutoring so many BioMed papers, I feel like a crack at APA. I memorized the rules for in-text citations that deal with number of authors.

I remember thinking at the beginning of the semester that I probably wouldn't be able to glance at a paper and "guess" what kind of patterns I would see. However, while I'm not always 100% accurate and am still willing to change my initial roadmap if necessary, I am getting better at it.

One of my last sessions this week was really interesting - the student had two serious problems - verb-tense consistency and subject/verb agreement. However, to start the session, he asked me what I did to like writing - how did I get good at it. He said that he wanted to be a good writer but always felt unsure of himself or that he wasn't very good. I thought back on our discussion about how our primary goal is to make better writers and not better papers. We spent about 15 minutes just talking about the writing process and how to get better. I told him to write for himself - for fun. I don't really keep a journal, but I do free write all the time for therapeutic reasons. I told him that if he didn't keep a journal, he could just tell himself a story and write it down. It would help him enjoy writing better. I confided in him that I used to hate writing projects, only because I could never pick the topics. While I can write academically, creative writing is what I prefer to do. I told him that once I understood that writing is fun, it made my academic papers easier to write. And the more you practice something, the better you get (or the better you understand where you are consistently making mistakes, which then makes them easier to fix). He and I had a very good discussion and he thanked me for all the help I provided him over the semester and that he really appreciated the care I showed. It was one of those moments that made me feel all warm and fuzzy - the kind I would have recorded in a journal if I kept one.

That same day, a student was in the WC waiting for a session and sat at a table next to the one I was using in a session. I nodded and asked "how's it going" and he said "good." He looked familiar, but I couldn't remember who he was. As my session ended, he said "I got 100% on that paper you helped me with! Thanks again!" I was excited that the student was able to get such a good grade, and I was honored that he let me know. It's things like that which make this job worth while.

I also made quite a few tutees ask me what I was majoring in, and when I told them "English Teaching," they all responded with "I can see that. You'll be a good teacher."

So perhaps that's one way I've grown - At the beginning of the semester, I thought I wanted to be an English Teacher, and tutoring seemed like a good foot in the door. Now, by the end of the semester, that desire has only solidified and I know that I want to pursue this course. As burned out as I got sometimes, I do love this job and am thankful I was able to work with such a great staff this semester. I'm nervous and excited to see how the staff will change in the Spring.

Oh, and I got my CRLA Master Tutor Certification, so I guess I grew at least enough to become certified. That's a good parting thought.

Oh, and my book finally got published during this semester. It took nearly 3 years from the first keystroke to the release, but I am super excited. Here is the link to it on Amazon (Shameless plug, right?! If you want a copy though, I'll be selling them for $15 instead of the $20 on Amazon. Just let me know if you want one and I'll sign your copy and everything!)

Time as a tutor

2011-12-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

So the things I learned in my fist semester as a tutor can be divided into two categories, knowledge and skill set. The two categories influence each other, but it is still a useful division, one that would have been helpful for me to recognize as a new tutor. As a new tutor I was a little stressed about tutoring on my own. When I realized that I could look up what I didn't know and could only develop the skills I needed through practice over time, I was able to relax more.

Perhaps I could add one more category. As a graduate student in class we studied the field of writing pedagogy. In general what we studied was highly theoretical. The conclusions to many of the articles we read were often something like, "So the entire educational system at the primary, secondary, and university levels needs to be restructured to more effectively teach writing." This task is obviously beyond the capacity of a tutor in the Weber State writing center, so at fist I found these conclusions overwhelming to the point of irrelevance. It is only now, looking back, that I can begin to appreciate how studying these in depth theoreticals has affected the way I approach a tutoring session. They have changed the way I view writing as a mode of learning and communication. I am better able now to focus on the students' underlying processes and approaches; I understand better why they write the way they do. One of the first things Claire told me to do when I began tutoring last spring was to focus on the student and not the paper. I think focusing on the system, process, and purpose of writing has helped me do that.

So to sum up, I have learned a specific knowledge base -- grammar, MLA format, academic conventions, a skill set -- how to speak calmingly to stressed students, how to explain IC without having to explain the basic structure of human language, and a theoretical or cognitive approach to writing -- focus on process, understand the purpose of writing.

I am sure that with more time I will continue to develop in all three areas. I would like to spend some time next semester focusing on how to better help the ESL students. I always feel like I just add articles to their papers and call it good.

My Time as a Tutor

2011-12-02T13:56:00.003-07:00

My time spent as a writing tutor this semester has been pretty awesome. Conversing with students and helping them to develop their potential to become great intellectuals is quite the rewarding job. Not only that, my own competency as a writer has been on the increase ever since the semester started,and now that I've been awarded the Master Tutor's Certificate and gained some excellent experience on the job, finding a high-paying occupation in Beijing will turn out to be a cinch, at least I hope so. And so, I guess now is a good time to reflect on everything that seems to be growing out of my head that concerns tutoring writing. Well to be honest, the pay isn't too bad, but it's not like I'm making a six figure in-come driving my Lamborghini down the streets of Ogden, while all of the people look-on with envy, either. I suppose the greatest reward to be found working as a writing tutor is the opportunity to work at a university and become an expert in some field of knowledge. Whoops! I think there's a dangling modifier in the previous sentence. It looks terrible for a writing tutor to have a mistake such as that, but I'm guessing that reading my blog post is the last thing on peoples' to-do list.
So, furthermore, it kind of dawned on me towards the end of the semester that as much as I don't like posting bodies of text on the Internet - because I feel insecure about other people reading them and finding mistakes and in turn thinking that I'm one can short of a six pack - in similar fashion, students probably don't feel good about having their essays torn apart by grammar/punctuation Nazis in the writing center. Consequently, I want to congratulate Dr. Rogers and Dr. Hughes for ingeniously mandating that each classmate post his or her thoughts on a blog for the whole world to see in order to teach us a lesson in humility when is comes to thinking that we are the end-all-be-all of composition.
Moving on, through my musings of research articles, I stumbled upon a concept that is called Politeness Theory. If you haven't heard about this theory then I suggest that you look it up. Politeness Theory is useful because it can teach us knuckle-headed tutors how to not shatter fragile egos when helping students perform linguistic surgery on their papers. Having your writing looked at is akin to a visit to the Doctor's office where he or she asks you to turn your head and cough, a humiliating experience if there ever was one. So, like wise it's important to approach each tutoring session while being as polite and understanding as possible.

Insight

2011-11-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

Tutoring has given me a lot of insight about what I want to do as a teacher:

1. Be very, very, very clear about the directions and expectations of assignments. Many students who come into the writing center feel that they don’t fully understand the assignment. While some students catch on quite quickly, it seems that many are unclear about what to do or how to do it—it doesn’t matter if the assignment is a summarization or an analysis. These problems arise because students are fairly new to academic writing, because they don’t pay attention during class, and because some students are anxious about asking their professors for clarification both in and outside of class. They are responsible for making sure they understand assignments but I want to avoid as much confusion as possible and be clear when explaining requirements.

2. Provide a basic overview of writing principles at the beginning of each semester and review what constitutes a thesis statement, the purpose of topic sentences and what they should include, and how to properly incorporate quotes (with introductions and explanations). It is amazing how many students—those in lower division and upper division courses—are unfamiliar with these basic principles of writing.

3. Show students how to look up formatting information and basic grammar conventions in the handbooks or online so that they can learn how to answer some of their own questions rather than just guessing.

4. Require papers to be formatted in line with standard style guides. It is amazing the number of problems that arise because teachers have their own quirky preferences. This makes writing a guessing game and does not help students learn the generally accepted ways of formatting. It also makes it so that they can’t look up the proper way to do something which can be quite frustrating for students.

5. Be approachable. Students sometimes ask questions in tutoring sessions that really can only be answered by the professor. While I can give general suggestions about how I would approach the situation, the professor would have a better idea since it is their class. I don’t know why students don’t discuss these questions with their professors—maybe they don’t want to seem ignorant, maybe they have a hard time reaching the professor, or maybe they just don’t feel comfortable. Either way, I want to let students know that I will be available to help.

6. Try to make personal connections with the students. Tutoring sessions and workshops are always more enjoyable when there is a good relationship.

Is It Really the Last Week?

2011-11-29T11:01:00.001-07:00

This semester has been a lot of fun. I would have to agree with Brandi that above all, it has been a wonderful learning experience. I feel more confident in my own writing, and I have noticed that I am getting much better at finding the right words, both when writing and when speaking.

I have spent a lot of time responding to OWLs, so I have written a ton this semester. This is also the first semester that I have worked over 15 hours while going to school full time, and I found that while it can be really difficult at times, it is also really rewarding. With that said, I am still really looking forward to the break. I am excited to be done with all my classes this semester and to move on to my last year of college. To most people, getting a college degree is nice, but I doubt it means as much to most people as it will mean to me, as no one in my family ever even got an elementary education.

The workshops were especially intense this semester. I did quite a bit of public speaking in the Navy as an administrative non-commissioned officer, but this was totally different. This is much more challenging. It is not just the passing of information, but actual teaching. The workshops also taught me rules that I did not even know until I started working here. I often wonder how I got through English 1010 and 2010 without ever being taught those rules.

I am really grateful to Dr. Rogers and Claire for their support this semester. I am also really glad that I got to take a class and work with a bunch of really intelligent, ambitious, and kind bunch of guys and girls.Merry Christmas, peeps.

I've Learned More than I've Taught

2011-11-28T18:59:00.002-07:00

Where to begin... Being a tutor has enriched my life in many ways. One, I speak better in public because of the workshops. Previously, I would feel my sympathetic nervous system kick in with its shortness of breath and heart racing effects, and I would shut down. The first couple of workshops were just like this. I dreaded them, but now, I am grateful that I have been exposed to this type of environment. How did I ever plan to teach if I couldn't stand in front of a class and do it? That is another way being a tutor has enriched my life; I get to experience actually teaching.

Now that I have taught the workshops and students on an individual basis, I know, for sure, that teaching is what I want to do. I know that I am good at it, too. It is such a rewarding experience to see the same students, in the workshops and in face-to-face tutoring, progress. I feel like I have done something helpful.

I love my job as a tutor. I have been able to meet many people from all different backgrounds. Because of this, I've learned many things about the world and myself. It is very rewarding to be able to work with the people at the writing center.

Well?

2011-11-28T17:56:00.001-07:00

How's it been? I'd like to see you all take some time to reflect on your time as a tutor.

Corporate Greed-fest

2011-11-27T23:45:00.003-07:00

This weekend my mom and brother came to visit, we cleaned a bunch of stuff out of our house to make room for the baby and we took a load to the D.I. None of us were in the mood to cook a Thanksgiving dinner, so we went out to eat at Jerimiah's. It was fine food, but not great, and the price was higher than I'd have liked. I had a much better meal the next night at CJ's for less money. The wind blew pretty much all the leaves off the trees in our neighborhood, so we spent a lot of time and trash bags raking leaves.

As for fun stuff, I got to spend some time with my family, I played a bunch of Magic: The Gathering online with a buddy, I watched Season 5 of the webseries The Guild, and I watched the Dragon Age: Redemption webseries. So, I have had a pleasant helping of Felicia Day. I didn't take part in anything related to "Black Friday," but I did go to Wal-Mart on Friday and bought a new surround sound system for our living room. By the time I was there, it was not any more busy than a normal weekend at Wal-Mart. I read some of the stories of the crazy shit that people pull to save a few pennies on crap they don't need and makes me sad for our race. Granted, I bought something I don't need, but I didn't pepper spray a crowd of people to get it or trample someone to save money on it. I bought something I wanted and could afford at a reasonable price.

End anti-greed rant. Now, I'm trying to get into the mindset to write papers and looking forward to the end of the semester and the arrival of my son.

Thanksgiving Bingo & the BEST Pie on Earth

2011-11-25T21:19:00.002-07:00

Since moving to Utah I’ve spent every Thanksgiving with my mom’s side of the family. With 22 younger cousins running around, it’s always an adventure. This year my husband and I decided to have our own Thanksgiving meal, which was quite delicious, and join the family for dessert. Dessert was awesome! We had all sorts of pies but the absolute best pie—in fact I would say the best pie on earth—was the Almond Crunch from Sandy's Fine Foods. It had candied pecans smothered in amaretto whip cream. After indulging in a piece of heaven, we were on to Bingo where all of the cousins play for wrapped gifts—most of which are gag gifts. It’s quite the tradition! I actually lucked out and got nail polish and a movie. But some of the least-prized items include fake fruit, an over-sized clown bow tie, and even a plunger this year, haha. I also participated in my first and LAST Black Friday. I was shocked at how crazy people are to get a mediocre deal. You should have seen the shoppers clawing off plastic wrap to get to Tupperware and other goods. Other than that, I’ve been working on my literature review which is quite impressive considering that what I really want to be doing is 100-percenting the new Lego Harry Potter game. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their holiday break!

Thanksgiving Massacre...

2011-11-25T17:16:00.005-07:00

Thursday morning, I slept, awoke, and cleaned the house in preparation for the arrival of my extended family. Thursday afternoon was full of food, laughs, and a strange quiz on the history of Thanksgiving (Which I tied for 1st place with my cousin...we each got 15/20 right... Hard test!) Thursday night, I picked up a friend and went to Best Buy for some Black Friday line-standing. Unfortunately, on the way down Ogden Canyon, a frakking deer decided to sacrifice herself to the gods of roadkill and hit my car with her whole self. It damaged my hood, front bumper, side panel, and grill. I took Mary (my car) in to the body shop today and it was over $2,500 worth of damages. Thank the heavens for insurance! I was pretty embarrassed because I pride myself on being a good driver and that's the second time she and I have had some sort of scary car-moment whilst in that canyon... CURSE YOU, OGDEN CANYON!

My beautiful red-headed car is now in surgery and will be in the hospital until next week.

That is how I spent my thanksgiving break... not to mention all of the Homework I did. :(

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

My wife and I drove down to Monroe on Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving with my wife's family. Yesterday morning we went out to the middle of nowhere to shoot guns and rifles. It was a lot of fun. I had not shot anything since I was in Individual Augmentee training in South Carolina. After that, we came home and stuffed our faces.

Today, we went to the mountain and cut down Christmas trees for the entire family. Being the California dude that I am, I did not have the proper shoes, so I was sliding all over the place. While bringing down my tree, I ate some serious snow and had the tree fall on top of me. I survived.

As fun as this all was, now I am really ready for school to be over so that I can visit my family in California. I have really been looking forward to having a drink with my old man. It has become tradition for us to catch up over a rum and coke. I am also looking forward for some authentic Mexican (and home-made!) food. My mom's shrimp cocktail, tamales, tacos, and birria have no equal. We are planning on going to Universal Studios and maybe Knott's Berry farm.

For now, Thanksgiving is over, and I have a lot of work to catch up on: my Kafka paper for 3210, an International Politics paper and presentation, and a History module. I also have to get some OWLs done that I promised Claire I would take care of over the weekend. So yeah... back to work for another week.

Turkey

2011-11-21T21:36:00.001-07:00

So what did you do/will you do for Thanksgiving?

The End of the Semester

2011-11-18T13:21:00.000-07:00

It is hard for me to savor the end of this semester because I have been so stressed planning for next semester. I had an academic plan set to gradute next spring, but I was told a few days ago that some of my credits do not count toward my masters. For a few hours I thought I would be working for another two and a half years. I talked to some people and I think it's all worked out, but I hate the uncertainty.

I've been working on my literature review. It is going pretty well. I am still trying to decide how I feel about the summary. On the one hand it is easy to summarize because I don't have to analyse or argue from my own point of view, but on the other hand, it is hard to take myself out of the process.

It looks like I am going to be doing a lot of education classes next semester so that is exciting. It will be nice to take a break from literature for a semester.

One more thing just because,

Today in class Dr. Rogers explained how when people say to him, "those who can't do teach," he responds with, "Yeah but I can tell you who said that." His response is ironic because it proves the other person's point. It proves that Dr. Rogers, as a teacher, puts more importance on trivial knowledge like who first said the quote, than on the meaning or practical application of the concept. Just a thought. My father, a teacher himself, always says, "those who can do, those who can't teach, those who can't teach teach teachers."

Slacker Response

2011-11-17T23:46:00.002-07:00

Now that NCUR submissions are closed, my end of semester just involves writing three large-ish papers. No sweat! My procrastination methods involve heavy amounts of RSS feeds like this:
http://moustair.tumblr.com/

or

http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/2011/11/pixars-latest-looks-kind-of-meh?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+uproxx%2Ffilmdrunk+%28Film+Drunk%29

Filmdrunk is my favorite movie news site because Vince Mancini almost always writes what I'm thinking about movies. Take the Brave trailer listed above. Nothing in that trailer excites me or makes me want to see the movie. It feels like How to Train Your Dragon but with a GIRL!!! OMG! Vince sums it up when he says, "Because female leads are awesome, but not if you’re just going to write a male lead and then pull some Ms. Pacman shit where you throw a bow on him and act like it’s a new game. I’m not stupid, man, I can tell the difference between a girl and a dude with a bow in his hair (I live in San Francisco, it’s a useful skill here)."

Graduation!

2011-11-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

With graduation three weeks away, excitement, relief, a bit of uncertainty mixed with a little stress is a good description of how I feel. I just finished preparing for my defense and only need to complete my literature review at this point. It is pretty cool being able to count on one hand the number of assignments standing between me and my Master’s degree—now to enter the real world complete with student loans and job applications. After studying English and Humanities at BYU for five years and learning how to effectively teach for two, I’m pretty excited to find a teaching job and put my education to use.

As far as working at the writing center goes, it seems that the students who are coming in as a the semester is getting more hectic either have awesome papers that just need a little rounding out and tweaking or pretty sketchy papers where the students don’t understand the concept of thesis statements and topic sentences. Although these papers are more difficult to work with, it provides a great opportunity to explain important writing concepts to students and let them apply these concepts to their own work. It can be a little draining when it is one paper after another is in need of some TLC, but it has also been quite satisfying seeing improvements in students’ writing skills.

Getting There...

2011-11-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

The chapter is coming along well. Since Claire asked me to take the lead on the OWLs, Brandi and I exchanged topics, and I am now writing about online tutoring. It is pretty cool because I have learned a lot about the topic by doing it, and now I get to write about it. It is also tricky because there is still not a lot of information regarding online tutoring. It is still a fairly new phenomenon.

I have noticed that we are one of the few university writing centers in the country that allows students to send entire papers (without even a page limit). Many of the leading colleges and universities have online writing labs, but they consist mainly of articles, guidelines, and advice. The ones that actually accept online submissions generally limit them to short questions or if they take papers, they have a page limit (usually three pages). It makes me really proud to be part of one of the few writing centers that goes as far as it does in trying to help its students.

As for how I feel about the book, I really like the idea. It is pretty cool to think we are actually writing a textbook, and one that hopefully will be used. Since it is coming from actual tutors, I think it will turn out really great. It will be relevant, informed, and full of insight. I am trying to finish the chapter this weekend. I really do not want to have to work during the Thanksgiving break. As I said in my earlier post, I am dying to have some down time and read something for fun.

Chapter Two! Lit Reviews!

2011-11-15T16:15:00.001-07:00

So, 3840 folks: how is chapter 2 coming? What do you think about this assignment? Do you like the idea that your thoughts on this topic will be the textbook for upcoming semesters? Do you have any ideas for subjects we ought to include in future editions?And 5840 folks: what are you writing your surveys of scholarship about? How is that coming?

2011-11-14T14:24:00.002-07:00

With Ethics Bowl finally over, I can get back to concentrating on my classes. (By the way, my team won a bid to the national competition. We were 5-0.)

To finish the semester, I have three finals, one presentation, and two papers, plus random essays every week. It doesn't seem like it is going to be too bad, considering what I have been going through since mid-terms. Because I have been so busy, I have had to sacrifice some assignments in a couple of my classes. They aren't anything huge, but they might wear on my grades, which is unfortunate for me. All I can do is try to find a way to better manage my time next semester.

Like Eladio said, during the break, I cannot wait to actually read something that I want to read. I am into more non-fiction than fiction, so I am looking forward to reading How the Mind Works and The Stuff of Thought both by Steven Pinker. I've read both before, but it will be interesting to revisit them after having taken a class on cognition and the philosophy of language. Does anyone have any other recommendations?

Too busy to think of clever title...

2011-11-13T20:31:00.004-07:00

I agree with Eladio - these next few weeks are going to be super-busy! I have 4 major projects, 2 small projects, and a few papers to read - all on top of the usual readings. I, however, am not too worried. All it takes to accomplish all of this is to stop sleeping as much.
I am excited for Thanksgiving break coming up. My family is all coming down to my house (the place where my parent's let me live) for dinner. Then, I'm going up to visit a buddy of mine in ID for a few days. We're going to do man-things like shoot guns and play video games. haha.
Um, I don't really have much else to say on this slacker prompt. I will, however, incorporate another awesome video here.
I would also like to include an awesome picture, just to change things up a bit.

Almost Over!

2011-11-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe the semester is winding down. It seems like we just started. The end-of-semester pressure is starting to mount. Every class is requiring a lot of work from me these last few weeks. I have several papers to write and several finals to study for.

On the plus side, it means this will all be over soon. I am really looking forward to this Christmas break. It will be nice to breath. I am looking forward to actually being able to spend time with my wife without stressing out about everything else in my life. I am also really excited to visit my folks in California. We might even head down to San Diego again. What is certain is that we will go to Universal Studios so that I can get on The Simpsons Ride. I am a huge Simpsons nerd!

One of the simple things I am looking forward to is being able to read something for pleasure. I have read so much this semester, yet I feel like I have not read anything for fun. It will be nice to step out of academic writing and enjoy a nice, fun, read.

Other than that, the semester has been good to me. I got a lot of experience at the Writing Center, I met a bunch of new awesome people, and I am one semester closer to graduating.

Slacker Prompt!

2011-11-11T11:13:00.001-07:00

How's the end of the semester shaping up for you?

Discussing Diversity... Is It Helping?

2011-11-07T17:03:00.004-07:00

I sort of dislike the term "diversity," because it's so relative. It just reinforces labeling and segregation by subconsciously making others seem more "other." Despite the fact that discussing the importance of respecting everyone's differences is meant to clear away deep-seated cultural predispositions, the differences are just being focused on and brought into clearer light. It could be that I'm just more comfortable than the average Utah resident being around those of different cultural or ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation, or social class because of my extremely varied interests and the many, many jobs I've had over the last three years, which have spanned every social class and drawn from a very wide variety of people for their employ.

I'm probably mistaken, but the only issues pertaining to diversity that I've witnessed at Weber State University are: 1. Our school has somewhat of a lack of minority populations, and 2. The small, non-caucasian, ethnic groups that do exist on campus are very prone to form cliques, which is perfectly understandable. If I were going to school in Saudi Arabia, I would befriend any other American students because, obviously, those of a similar cultural background are the most comfortable company to keep. Because there isn't much of a variety of "diverse" students, as compared to peer universities, at Weber State, the major groups aren't forced to interact and become familiar with those that are very different from themselves, which limits the whole student body, socially. I hope that when I tutor students of a "diverse" background, I make myself seem less "other," so students who differ from me socially, ethnically, or otherwise will be more inclined to interact with me. I wish I could more freely engage these cliques without seeming like I'm trying too hard to be friendly and coming across as invasive and odd; because in my opinion, I think the world would be exponentially more advanced if those that have gone out into the wide world to project their own ideas had rather gone out into the world and just listened.

That's really all I have to say on the subject of diversity, so I won't unnecessarily drag this post out just to meet the length requirement.

Diversity

2011-11-07T15:00:00.002-07:00

As far as issues with diversity at Weber State University go, I think the university is doing a good job with making the students who don't fit the traditional white blonde hair blue eyes LDS mold feel welcome and accepted. It's fine for there to be an ethnic or, in this case, a religious majority. In fact, anywhere a person might travel on this earth, there's bound to be a certain group of people who outnumber other smaller groups of people. It seems that our school accepts the fact that most of the students are going to be " white and delight-some" faithful LDSers who all went on missions and who plan on staying in Utah for the rest of their lives while, at the same time, seeks to level the playing field for the rest of the students who don't fit that description.

Upholding a policy of tolerating diversity can also broaden the student-body's perception of the world. It's well known that Americans are regarded as being rude by people of different nationalities because of our tendency towards informality and our opinionated nature. But if one just takes a look around campus he or she will see many foreign students from a variety of countries and this is for the benefit of the student-body as a whole, since it affords us a glimpse into the effects of globalization. Should we just act like a doormat and adopt multiculturalism in order to replace the backwardness of Utah? The answers should be a resounding no! We Utards shouldn't completely forget that the dominate culture is the "white and delight-some" one. Racial issues aside, there needs to exist a dominant ethnic group in every society in order for there to be order. Just look at what happened in Iraq after we as a nation toppled Saddam Husein. The two ethnic groups that were vying for dominance, the Sunnis and the Shiites, were kept from killing each other because the former leader of that country was a Shiite. But now because there is no dominate ethnic group, they're killing each other left and right.

Thank God we live in the United States though. To be honest, our country's history is stained with the indelible legacy of racism, but thanks to the civil-rights movement, we now understand the concept of equal protection under the law. And it's because of our traditions of honoring the rule of law that there will never be a situation, at least on a larger scale, like the one in Iraq. As a matter of fact, if educating the younger generations is done right, then there doesn't need to be a dominate ethnic group, as the rule of law would act as a check against one group working to commit genocide against the other. And It's obvious that Weber State shares in the ideology that lends itself to the ideas expressed above and partakes in the spirit of honoring diversity.

Not by the color of his skin...

2011-11-06T12:43:00.001-07:00

Before I answer the question of diversity at Weber State let me be clear about my bias. As an undergraduate I majored in Anthropology. Most anthropologists consider Anthropology, “the study of human diversity.” Still, researchers come at the study from two apposing views. Both groups catalog diversity but they are trying to prove two completely opposing points. One group wishes to disperse any concept of commonality. They wish to prove that all aspects of thought, personality, bias, and belief are culturally constructed, and so all conventions are relative and unreliable. The other group studies diversity to find commonality. They wish to prove that diversity is superficial, that under it all we are all still human. As a personal bias I tend to lean more toward the latter view. The interesting thing is that both sides feel completely vindicated by the data. Each group looks at the same research and claims divergence or commonality, depending entirely on their pre-conceived bias.

So is Weber State a diverse school? Does it face problems of diversity? If by diversity you mean a variety of religious, ethnic, or racial backgrounds, then perhaps Weber State is less diverse than most schools. If you mean do students at Weber State approach life from a variety of mental backgrounds, then yes Weber is exactly as diverse as any university holding the same number of students.

Let me give you a hypothetical example. Let’s imagine three people at Weber State were evolved in an argument about a hot button topic, like abortion. Two of them are white, LDS, heterosexual, and male, and the other is African American, Buddhist, Lesbian, and female. Let’s imagine that the two men take their expected pro-life role and the woman takes her expected pro-choice role. (I am aware that either group could take either position, I am speaking hypothetically to prove a point.) So we could easily conclude that the two men, who have more in common, support the same view because of their commonality, and that the woman chooses a different view because of her difference. But, let’s assume that one man has chosen his position because of his compassion for the unborn child while the other wishes to protect the sanctity of sex as a means of procreation. Imagine the woman has also taken her pro-choice view because of her sense of compassion toward women burdened with unwanted pregnancy. In this situation the diversity lies between the two men and the commonality between the two proponents of compassion. This example is hypothetical but by no means unrealistic and illustrates that race, religion, gender, sexuality, even positions on political issues beliefs and biases, are superficial to diversity.

Many other students this week criticized the idea of “color blindness.” I agree that it is wrong to ignore diversity, but diversity is not related to color, religion, gender, sexuality, or political preference. All those things are superficial. To understand what we have in common and where we diverge demands that we look past these superficialities. That is what people mean by color blindness, not that they don’t see diversity but that they don’t see color as a viable means to judge someone.

It is impossible to determine a school’s diversity by observing superficial qualities. To determine if Weber State is a diverse school or not demands deep understanding of the underlying values. Values, as I stated in the beginning, which I believe most people hold in common. Diversity, in the common sense of the world, is a mask that hides our true commonality.

There are a lot of ways this could go...

2011-11-04T10:33:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure what issues Weber faces with regards to diversity. I'm sure the same issues exist here as anywhere else, but I'm not sure where the conflict zones are at Weber. I could speculate that having many students from Saudi Arabia could cause strife about religious beliefs and contention about the U.S. activities in the Middle East, but I don't know that it is the case. I would feel confident stating that the predominance of the LDS church in Utah, coupled with that church's stance on homosexuality, would cause homosexual students to feel unsafe.

Most of those feelings come from my time at UVU. I know many gay students who feel completely unwelcome in this state, but are generally welcomed at that school. Again, I don't know the feelings on this campus, but I don't think Weber county is any more or less friendly than Utah county.

What I really think is interesting is how easy it is to talk about diversity by focusing on one group of people and lumping them all together. The definition of diversity is being made up of a variety of pieces. It's important to remember that each student is as diverse within themselves as the student body is. Hispanic students are not just Hispanic. They have religious, gender, sexual orientation, political, and many other identities. A Hispanic student and a student from the Middle East probably have more in common with each other than two Hispanic students. I know that I have more commonalities with gay men or women than I do with the majority of hetero white males.

Diversity? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Diversity! We're in Utah!

2011-11-03T16:39:00.001-06:00

Utah is a land of opposition. It seems the state cannot function without extremes. Of course, in reality, most Utah people (and certainly those at Weber State) are good, decent, open-minded, and accepting people. The problem is that we rarely hear from them. It seems that the only people we see and hear are the extremists. There is an undoubtedly "holier-than-thou" atmosphere in much of the state, but it has been my experience that it has nothing to do with religion. In California, I had several LDS friends, and they were never judgmental or condescending.

At the same time, I often see a great deal of Mormon-bashing and inappropriate behavior from people who wish to distance themselves from the Mormon culture. They often seem to have an overwhelming desire to make it as clear as possible that they are not of the LDS faith, and do so in very inappropriate, unnecessary, and offensive ways.

Another problem I have encountered outside of religious clashes is a sort of passive aggressive xenophobia. I do not know that I would call it racism, because I truly feel that most people here are past blatant racial discrimination. But I often sense a great deal of fear in this state. People do not feel very comfortable with foreign ideas, and by foreign I mean anything that isn't distinctly Utahn. There is also still a lot of work to do in terms of racial justice in this country, and particularly in this state. If we look, for example, at the ethnic breakdown of students at Weber State, and compare them to the ethnic make-up of the Ogden population, something is off. Twenty-eight percent of Ogden residents are Hispanic, yet only about seven percent of Weber students are Hispanic.

Returning to the larger question about diversity, I must say that to me, this is a very strange culture. I grew up in Delano, CA where the city is incredibly mixed (in race, ethnicity, religion, politics, etc.). People embraced their differences and the city was a peaceful and harmonious place. What made it so interesting and vibrant was the way people acknowledged differences and celebrated them. There were other issues there, namely economic inequality and a lack of opportunity for the poor (regardless of race or ethnicity), but in terms of race, we never had any problems.

I feel that many people in this state often want to pretend that we are all the same. That is a serious mistake. This whole idea of "color-blindness" is nonsense. We cannot afford to pretend that we are not different. Rather, we should learn to see our differences as what makes us strong and interesting. My dad used to tell me from an early age how God had created different people with different religions, skin colors, customs so that we would learn from one another. He was a staunch Catholic, but later I encountered that same message in the Qur'an. So if there is something in which we really are all the same, it is the human desire to have love, peace, and acceptance. Yet to achieve this, we have to work together and learn from our differences.

Medieval Notions

2011-11-03T12:54:00.000-06:00

Students often come to college absorbed in their own world view. Their egocentricity is displayed through their writing, their class comments, and sometimes their interactions with others. When they are exposed to more diversity, as often happens at college, different responses are elicited. Some students flat-out reject diversity or the views or others and become angry and defensive. Others use the view points of others to confirm their own worldview. And some students recognize both the similarities and differences between themselves and others and find a way to reconcile the two or expand their understanding. A survey of 200 students focused on students’ experiences with diversity at their university and what connections exist between diversity and intellectual and ethical development (http://www.diversityweb.org/digest/sp.sm00/development.html). In response to this survey, one respondent showed that he was able to increase his understanding and move beyond his restricted view of the world as he listened to other interpretations and perceptions of the world and heard new ideas:

As someone raised in an ultra-conservative environment, as a Hasid in Brooklyn, I had little access to the diversity experienced in most American educational institutions. Not until my exposure to "secular" education, primarily here at college, did I realize how closeted my erstwhile experience was. I was indeed surprised how myopic I was in relation to the majority of other students around me. To be certain the world of the Yeshiva definitely stressed and enhanced my mental tools for critical thinking and theoretical analysis. However, I was totally unprepared for the extreme relativism that is part of the liberal arts education. Still harboring medieval notions of an absolute truth, it took some time for me to realize the delicacy of multiple interpretations--that many interpretations not only don't contradict--but even contribute to the fuller understanding of the subject at hand. A case in point is the heated subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Until I arrived here, my views were totally antagonistic towards the victimized minority. Now, however, with exposure to many thoughtful views, especially ideas about colonialism, I see things a bit differently. It now appears that both Palestinians and Israelis have been victims and victors; there is no singular truth to this quagmire. The injustices run deeply on both sides.

By listening to and learning from others who represent different systems of belief and have had different experiences and by becoming familiar with new theories and histories, he was able to enhance his own understanding and build up his critical thinking skills. Not all students are as open to this process, however, and they may not get as much out of this experience as did the student noted above. However, it is important for students to be exposed to diversity through a liberal education.

Well, I could be wrong, but I believe diversity is an old, old wooden ship that was used during the Civil War era.

2011-11-03T11:15:00.001-06:00

I would say that Weber is a fairly diverse campus – what I mean is, compared to most cities in Utah, there is a lot more ethnic diversity on campus. We have a number of foreign exchange and ESL students who attend school at WSU. The problem/issue I see with this is students from the “majority” might not know how to react/respond to people who are different.
Growing up in a predominately white, middle-class state, many students have had little interaction with diversity. They leave their white neighborhoods and show up on campus where many women walk around in burkas and other traditionally religious clothing. It can be a little surprising the first few times. Walking through the halls and hearing a group of people speaking a different language is a new experience for many students.
The hard thing is that it’s hard to realize that these “foreigners” feel the same way when they hear people speaking English, especially if they’re speaking fast, using slang, and/or have an accent.

I have conflicting views when it comes to the importance of diversity – or at least the acknowledgement of diversities.
I believe that learning how to interact with all different kinds of people is extremely important. Having a solid world-view (or understanding that there are many other cultures and beliefs in the world) is crucial become a well-rounded human.

The problem I have stems from the discussion we had yesterday with Adrienne about Diversity. In the survey she showed us, about ¼ of the students said they had been singled out because of gender, race, sexual preference, etc. They had felt some sort of discrimination for something that is beyond their control. HOWEVER, she also said the school is looking to do some research to try and justify a senate seat to represent the views of the LGBT society, because there is a senate seat for African American students, international students, etc. This is all fine and dandy, but I believe that while we should learn about and celebrate diversity in culture and belief systems, race/gender/sexual preference, etc. should be an irrelevant classification.
I feel like the whole discussion is basically “let’s put everyone into specific boxes that we think fit them best. Then, let’s give each box the same respect and treat each box equal.” This is really annoying to me. Why don’t we just not put them in boxes if the idea is to treat them equal. It seems like an unnecessary step to segregate people in my mind, then try and give each one the same attention. It is human nature to categorize. It is also human nature to give preference to one thing over another. However, I just don’t feel the need to categorize and judge. I try and just treat everyone equally. (I’m not perfect. I admit that I prejudge, but the difference is that I try hard not to act on those judgments and am willing to change them as I learn new information).

My experience with diversity was somewhat limited growing up. The only minorities I really had any experience with were Polynesians (one family in my neighborhood) and a few latinos who lived a few streets away. I was culture-shocked into being a minority when I moved to Brazil for a few years. There, I was really able to overcome a lot (if not most) of my prejudices. I grew to love the Brazilian people and was able to understand that I can something from everyone. And if I have things to learn, shouldn’t I try and learn them?

2011-11-02T13:00:00.002-06:00

2011-11-01T16:14:00.002-06:00

I was too busy with midterms last week to write my blog post about midterms.

As for diversity, I think I meet quite a few interesting, different people (By the way, we didn't discuss that comma rule that I just used in the workshops). Working in the writing center allows me to meet a lot of people that I probably wouldn't speak to otherwise, whether it be from lack of opportunity or a lack of interest. The majority of these "diverse" people that I meet, however, show up at my other job. I work at Hot Topic in the mall. Surprisingly, the majority of people who come in are not your stereotypical goth or emo kids, but instead, I see a wide array of people, everything from jocks to strippers (no joke). In fact, I remember one time a couple weeks ago that was just strange. A guy came in with what appeared to be train conductor's clothes on and was wearing a Wario hat. He looked like he hadn't shaven, or bathed even, in about a year. Needless to say, he smelt horribly. But hey, who am I to judge? I went up to him and started a conversation. From the reaction that I received, I am just going to guess that this guy doesn't get to talk to people very often, mostly because he was extremely excited and loud. From what he told me, he had been train hopping for about five years now, going from city to city to see different concerts. To me, this seems like a pretty cool lifestyle, minus the dirty, smelly part. I still think the guy was strange, but I don't think many [people would have talked to him for as long as I did, that is if many people would even have approached him.

Diversity is a weird topic. I generally try not to judge people right away, but I think that, as humans, we are naturally inclined to do such things. Even then, I put these judgements aside and give everyone a chance, just like I would expect them to give me. Most of the time, I think people let their immediate judgements get the best of them. Whatever. Those people are boring. Imagine how dull the world would be if everyone was the same. I, for one, am happy for smelly, dirty, loud, train hopping concert goers.

Diversity

2011-10-31T19:28:00.000-06:00

We gave you a little bit of a teaser for Wednesday's discussion, but I thought I would ask here, as well: what kinds of issues do you think the (or any!) university is facing with regard to diversity? Is it really that important? What are your experiences with diversity issues on campus? In the community?

No Midterms! However...

2011-10-31T18:01:00.002-06:00

I don’t think I have any midterms this semester. I had a great deal of exams and large essays that felt like midterms a week or two ago, so I’d have to say midterms are going splendidly! I’m also not sure if these slacker prompts are supposed to be five hundred words, so I’m going to rattle on about other things for the next four hundred and thirty-six. First of all, who gave the o.k. for the cast of Twilight to put their handprints in the Hollywood forecourt at Grauman’s Chinese Theater!? Right next to the world’s most talented and iconic cinematic figures of the last ninety years! It’s a travesty! The only redeeming occurrence was the theater’s public statement noting that it would never allow any reality TV star his or her own signature block. This is probably in “The Situation’s” best interest because if they did, in fact, give him a place among the stars, I would have to save up my meager earnings over the next few months so as to afford a jackhammer with which to uproot his signature stone and drop it on his Versace sunglass-sporting, east-coast troglodyte head. A meteor cannot strike the Jersey Shore soon enough; the very existence of that tribe of sub-humans is evidence enough against any benevolent deity. Anyway, I went to Burt’s Tiki Lounge in Salt Lake recently to see one of the most legendary greaser rockabilly bands of all time, The Koffin Kats, and was very pleased with the atmosphere. Burt’s unashamedly embraces the fact that it is a complete dive, unlike the bars in Ogden, which unsuccessfully try to disguise the fact that they’re wretched holes in the wall. The best food, drinks, and company are always found in the most unsuspecting (and sometimes disgusting or frightening) places. If you see a biker covered in tattoos and barnacles in the entryway, you know you’re in for a good time. On the other hand, if you see a host of beige people grinning at one another through clean plate glass, it’s typically a good indicator that any points of interest are to be found elsewhere. On a somewhat related topic, I’ll be carrying around a jar with the words, “Cole’s motorcycle fund” scribbled across it, and I beg you all to drop any loose change in. Anyone who contributes shall see his or her name appearing under the “Special Thanks” heading in the credits of my documentary about America’s Native reservations (through which I plan to travel via motorcycle.) Anyway, I’ve run out of things to say, so tune in next time for another one of my vehement tirades; I’m sure there wont be a shortage of material in the upcoming week.

Midterms?

2011-10-30T12:12:00.002-06:00

Only one of my classes had a midterm - and it was optional, so I chose not to take it. It was basically a make-up for people who didn't do well on the first two exams. I got an "A" on both exams, so I didn't really feel the need to take it. Other than that, things around here are going well. I'm more-or-less caught up on all my homework. I haven't really let it take me over yet, so that's unusual for this time of the semester.
On a less scholarly note, my book is almost ready for publishing - and by that I mean, the publisher is currently finishing up formatting and design of the cover, then it's off to print! HOORAY! A two and a half year writing project has finally died and is about to be immortalized in at least a few minds...

That's about all I got for now...
Except for a few movie recommendations.

"In Time" was a good film. It doesn't' have political overtones - it is political. It's basically Occupy Hollywood, but it was still entertaining to watch and had a fairly unique premise.

"Anonymous" is a great film and one that I will watch at least once more. It is very well done and has some not-so-well-known actors who show what they can do. Overall, Must See for anyone who enjoys Shakespeare.

Midterms, Work, and Soccer!

2011-10-27T23:52:00.001-06:00

Midterms are going well for me. Two of my classes are English classes, so I do not have midterms for those. Of course, I just finished a chapter for this class, and I am working on expanding a paper to 15 pages for 3210, so that is stressing me out more than any midterm would. For history, I just took a midterm and did really well on it, so I am happy about that. I also just took a Political Science midterm and got an "A." Now, I have to start on a major writing assignment and a group project for that class.

It seems like every semester is more difficult than the previous one. Still, I am managing. It helps to have a loving and caring wife, great professors, a supportive boss, and awesome friends. I am trying to take it one semester at a time. I should be done with most of my coursework by next summer, leaving only my capstone project—and hopefully graduation—for the fall of 2012.

This always seems like the most stressful and difficult part of the semester. We are halfway through it, and I am already exhausted, yet the other half still remains. At least when the semester is beginning, I am fresh and excited about my classes. And at the end, the hard work seems worth it because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The only thing getting me through the semester (and particularly this week) is my beloved Real Salt Lake. I do not know what I will do in the off season. Going to Rio Tinto and yelling and screaming for ninety minutes has been a tremendous stress reliever. I forget about all my assignments and troubles, I let the rush and excitement of the game take over my brain, and I release aggression in a very healthy way (others might disagree about this) during game days.

I guess there is always next season to look forward to. Until then, I will be hard at work at the center and in each of my classes.

2011-10-27T18:38:00.002-06:00

Yay! Mid-terms are finally over. It has been nice to have a couple days to relax and not have to worry about everything that is due in the same week.

I think I did pretty well on everything that was due, though. The only thing that is getting me down is that in two weeks, it's like midterms part two. Ahh! And with the Ethics Bowl tournament coming up at the same time, I have a lot cut out for me.

I should get a head start on things while I can, but first of all, I am a masochist. I like to make myself stress out. And two, I tend to work better under pressure. I need deadlines.

I really can't believe there are only five or so weeks left in the semester. Maybe next semester won't be so rough.

Midterms

2011-10-26T14:52:00.000-06:00

Currently I’m only taking two other classes. One of them is a graduate synthesis class where I sum up everything I have learned in the education program and create a portfolio. The other is my Master’s Project class where I conduct my research study, write up my report, and do my defense. As such, I’ve escaped midterms and am focusing on writing my literature review instead.

No comprendo "midterms"

2011-10-25T17:14:00.002-06:00

I don't remember the last time I had a midterm. Even in my exam-based classes we just had three or four throughout the semester rather than a mid-term and a final. Most of my finals weren't even comprehensive exams. Maybe I was gypped.

Since this is a slacker prompt, I'll share that I watched The Cove this weekend with my 10 year old step-daughter. She already didn't like seafood, but now she wants to go to Japan and beat up the fishermen who were slaughtering those dolphins. I didn't realize how bloody some of the scenes were going to be, but I may have created an activist.

Then we watched Eureka and all was forgotten, for now.

Slacker Prompt

2011-10-25T14:33:00.001-06:00

How are midterms shaping up for you all?

É importante sabermos o que é que o Freire disse, porque ele tinha umas idéias boas!

2011-10-25T14:17:00.002-06:00

I found the discussion on Freire's paper very interesting - especially the 2 minutes of silent awkwardness at the beginning of class. It was very interesting to see how everyone responded to the leaderless situation. For the most part, we partnered up because we cannot work alone in a classroom setting.
This, too, would have upset Freire. Pairing up is closer to his goal than the lecture setting found in normal classes, but wants everyone to be equal. We can all learn things from our peers – and we are all peers. There are some things I know that others may not, and I know that are things that other people can teach me.
I did find it interesting in class how some people were so against this discussion method. I personally found it exciting and new. I can see their point that if this method were followed for a full semester, the amount of knowledge acquired by the students would be drastically less than if they were lectured to… but the usefulness of that knowledge might be far greater.
While knowing about all of the classes needed to take to get a degree in welding at Utah State, the idea is relative. I may be struggling with a problem in some class or even in my life, and someone in a Freire-esque classroom might be able to offer a solution that I would not get from tem anywhere else.

Personally, I think that having discussions like that are great occasionally and in fact should be done more often, but having a teacher who can lead the discussion in a particular class is also very useful. The teacher is there to direct a discussion on a subject in which he/she is an expert.

The good news is that Freire’s ideas changed the way things were to the way they are… which is a good change. Students are more able to talk in class and offer up ideas That is a great middle-ground between the two extremes. While Freire may not agree, this is much closer to the ideal than either end of the spectrum.

2011-10-23T20:03:00.002-06:00

I like the idea of everyone learning from one another. I also like the idea of choosing what I want to learn when I want to learn it. But let's face it. I'm the type who needs deadlines. I need authority. And maybe I was just conditioned into believing this is the best way for me, but it's working.

If we went to class, and conditions were as they were the Friday before last, we might learn a lot, and we might gain insight and inspiration. However, if I want to learn the details of special relativity, I doubt it will be found in an English class where a bunch of people are sitting in a circle talking.

Say, my science classes were structured this way too. Instead of being among English majors, I am among science majors. The more advanced science majors, or shall I say, the science majors who have sat around in more circles than I, will be able to teach me a great deal, I'm sure. But through the years, the knowledge will become less and less. That is, if we made the drastic turn from the way it is now to the way we conducted class that Friday, we'd no longer be relying on authority to teach us but on people like me who have only learned what I know from other people who have learned from other people who are all not authorities on the subject.

This sounds like a slippery slope, but all I am saying is there needs to be some structure and some authority.

The Need for Headship

2011-10-21T11:49:00.002-06:00

After experiencing what a revolutionary classroom is, I'm leaning more towards a happy compromise between all-out anarchy and the more structured system we presently have. I believe that human beings need some sort of headship in all arenas of life. We see this in the family structure and in various forms of government. The idea that the father is the head of the household might seem a bit old fashioned, but I believe that humans naturally seek to identify who holds the position of headship in all things. Take for example a system of governance where individual voters are allowed to choose the people who will delegate laws. Even though the people collectively decide which persons get elected, it is still up to the politician to present him or herself as a leader of sorts. In a democratic republic such as the United States of America, regardless if the citizens are involved in the decision making process there still needs to be a person who represents the head of the nation, and that person is the President.The Classroom is no different.

The classroom is a learning environment,and so a completely democratic system of governance would not work at all. It is true that a professor does learn from his or her students, but that doesn't mean that every class period should be taken up with banter from students. The principle of headship needs to come into play here as well. Headship exists wherever humans do because humans gravitate towards it. Even in a Marxist society you'll find figure heads or personality cults. Yes it's true that the education system can stifle a student's intellectual development, but that shouldn't be cause for abandoning having structure.

So you say you wanna revolution?

2011-10-21T11:38:00.000-06:00

This weeks “class” goes down in history alongside the long list of failed Marxist revolutions. Since Marxism has been such an abject failure as a social or political philosophy I don’t know why anyone would assume it would work as an educational approach. Here are some problems with the approach. First, the teacher/student relationship is not oppressive but liberating. It is fallacious to impose a sense of equality on to an unequal relationship. Ignorance is oppressive. When a student admits to himself that he is ignorant, he takes the first step in learning, the first step toward his liberation. An oppressive relationship would be a teacher trapping a student in ignorance by refusing to share knowledge.

Ah but what about original thought? Here, again, knowledge empowers the student. A student with a full understanding of a subject is better equipped to expand, redirect, or rebel against convention. If you gave me some numbers and let me work with them for several decades, I might be able to come up with some of the rudimentary aspects of algebra, or you could teach me algebra and I could start working on calculus. Better yet, teach me calculus and I can start working on quantum physics. Successful revolutions, the American revolution or Gandhi’s revolution in India, were not uprisings of the ignorant against those in power, rather the oppressed were led to freedom by leaders who understood the system well enough to reorder it.

This concept is accepted in most disciplines. A math teacher does not just give their students numbers and questions and let them stumble around hoping they will come up with theories and systems to solve them. A welding instructor does not just give the students torches and let them loose on the metal. There is innovation in mathematics and in welding, but it comes from the highly educated, not from ignorant flailing.

The reason Marxist philosophy can survive in the English department is because we fear absolutes. The graduate students in this class spent the first half of the semester reading articles that obscure conventional knowledge, “There is not set form for a paragraph” ect. Teachers doubt they know how to write, so they cover themselves by asking the student to come up with the answers on their own. In lecture, the professor does not teach but facilitates lengthy, often digressing, discussions that provide nothing, Then, as assignments, the teacher asks the students to read articles and simply write a summary and reaction. This removes all responsibility from the professor. The student is given nothing of value since their reactions are already based on previous experience. They simply reiterate their own pre-held, often misguided, opinions. When it comes to grading, the professors either revert back to the conventions and punish the student for not knowing them, or they approve anything. “If that’s how you see it then you are correct.”

This attitude over took the arts departments a century ago. Art teachers do not teach value, balance, line, or form. They simply bring models and paints and let the students go nuts. As a result, artists produce cans of crap that are put into museums. In the art department it is easy to mask the failure of the system by claiming that the cans of crap are revolutionary and beautiful according to a relative scale, but do you really want a plumber that plums like Picasso paints? Do we want students who write essays the way Gertrude Stein writes poetry?

The Banking System & Student-Centered Classrooms

2011-10-18T20:40:00.002-06:00

When I think about what school was like in the olden days, I envision a stuffy school marm or superintendent standing at the front of the classroom imposing his or her knowledge and authority over the small, submissive students. Although I’m sure not every teacher was as domineering as I imagine, I know I wouldn’t want to be a student in such a sterile, oppressive classroom.

Educators like Friere have helped move American schools from this system to one that is more student-centered. Though I like teachers guiding the classroom (as do most students, as evidenced by the classroom experiment on Monday), I enjoy hearing the perspectives from other students and sharing insights. I think that Freire’s discussion of the banking metaphor and his call for it to be replaced with a problem-posing system was very important in making this kind of student to student and student to teacher interaction possible.

Articles published in the 70s like Freire’s “The Banking Concept of Education” and Murray’s “Teach Writing as a Process Not Product” seem to articulate, for the first time—as far as I am aware, the concern for student needs, expression, liberation, and development in the classroom. Rather than telling students what they need to know and why or what to write and how, educators are encouraging fellow educators to develop a more reciprocal relationship with their students and to give them more freedoms in their writing and academic pursuits.

These ideas radically changed our educational system and the results can be seen in our everyday classroom. In the education department, classes are offered on all kinds of topics geared towards meeting the needs of students in a variety of ways. There is a class on cooperative learning where teachers learn to group students in different ways to encourage learning. There is a class on diversity in education where teachers learn how to adapt to and incorporate cultural differences into the classroom. A course on instructional strategies is taught to help teachers differentiate instruction to meet the individual needs of their students and to reach all learner types. Additionally, in each of these classes and most classes I’ve been in, the students are required to participate in group discussions, comment in class, give presentations, and even develop their own assignments. Friere’s articulation of the need for a student-centered classroom served as a foundation for these kinds of changes to be introduced into the classroom.

There is More to Education than Information Transfer

2011-10-18T15:52:00.002-06:00

I loved the Freire experiment and his essay on the “banking” concept of education. I especially liked how everyone freaked the hell out. Even I was uncomfortable, but that was the point. It really showed me how we as students and as human beings are more comfortable when we are being told what to do-- when we have a clearly defined path and a designated leader. It is much easier to be passive and to accept the status quo than it is to face the challenges of a democratic classroom.

As I said in my response, to someone who has never been oppressed, Freire’s ideas are pure nonsense. But to someone like me, Freire makes perfect sense. I grew up in Mexico, where my teachers taught with a meter ruler in order to make us learn, listen, and follow directions. Then I moved the United States, and although things were better, they were still not great. I grew up in Delano, California, the spiritual home of Cesar Chavez and the place where his movement made a giant civil rights statement. And while Chavez’s movement made working conditions better for the poorest of the poor and inspired people to reclaim their humanity, the education system there is still geared toward oppressing us and keeping us in our place.

In Delano, people are taught to take directions and follow orders. We are expected to take jobs in the grapevines, in the corporate warehouses, or in any other setting that does not require us to use our talents and our minds. I was an illegal immigrant until the age of 19. At that time, I joined the Navy. Ironically, it was then that I began to see my own potential and individuality. In my time off, I read a lot and became convinced that there was something wrong with our world in general, and our educational system in particular.

Freire is not talking about abolishing teachers but about making the teacher-student relationship more democratic. I am not going to pretend I know more than Dr. Rogers, for example. But I am also not going to pretend that I have nothing to offer even someone as educated as him. Freire’s views are only radical because we have been indoctrinated to think that information transfer is all education is, and that anything beyond that is subversive and dangerous.

If the purpose of education were simply to transfer information, teachers really would not be necessary, especially in this digital age when information is readily available even in our phones. A good teacher is not there simply to pass on information. A good teacher will challenge students to think for themselves and to use the information they receive to make the world a better place. But we as students must be willing to take on the challenge, uncomfortable and burdensome as it might seem.