:)

"Hip hip hooray!  It's Lori's graduation day!"

-MH

Sleepy, sunny baby

I have been wanting to clear out my closet of all my library books for a couple months to get some space back. I did just that last week. The crazy part: I actually got sad to the point of tears because it was like a chapter closing in my life. Ah, the bittersweet feelings…
Yesterday they went back to Hyde Park to be of service to someone else. (Let's not forget that it was 1968 since one of them had been checked out!)

Some of these books I have had since last summer.
(sigh)

Pebble in a Pond

I am feeling a bit reflective so...

(I tend to reflect a lot during completion times in life such as graduation.)

In February 2005 (I write my date of purchase inside my book covers—geeky, huh?), my Research Seminar teacher, ongoing coach, and friend said to the class something to the tune of “If you want a readable volume of Western Civilization, go out and get Richard Tarnas' Passion of the Western Mind.” So I did. I take on good coaching.

I engaged in the text, not ever knowing that I would use it so much. I used it for my Advanced Project. I used it for my Paul lecture. I used it in almost every class and paper during my U of C degree. I use it again in Critical Thinking.

Fast forward three years.

Last night I was grading CT journals. Using the coach's journal assignment model, I came up with one of my own for Journal #3:

In Tarnas part II, we read about astronomy, astrology, Rome and the emergence
of Christianity. Please write 3 questions or 3 comments that reflect your own perspective on this section of Tarnas. Be ready to use these in class as small group and/or large group discussion.

In response, one student commented, “I really want to go to Rome!!!!!”

Another student commented, “When I began reading Tarnas, I thought it was very difficult to understand and believed I’d never make it through the text. Now that I’m starting to make some sense of it, I find that I really enjoy the historical perspective it offers. History has never been one of my favorite subjects but I find that I want to learn more about Alexander the Great, how the Romans conquered parts of the Mediterranean and Europe, and the influence the Byzantines and Moslems had on the West after Rome was defeated by the Barbarians.”

The moral of the story? Teaching is a pebble in a pond. I hope to make the same impact one day for students with a simple comment such as "Buy this book."

The last leg

A few follow up items:

I got my advisor's feedback on 4/22/08. I am in total agreement with him. I wanted to work some of that in so I appreciate the challenge and prodding. Here is how I re-worked that section:

“However, the adult learner “wants to apply tomorrow what he learns today” (p. 58). This immediacy can create a sense of urgency and can also create a curriculum challenge in developing effective learning experiences. Similar to the example of the merger above, providing real-life situations in which the learning may be applied facilitates a bridge for learning. The issue that this causes for the adult educator is that many foundational curricula are not problem-centered; they can be subject-centered. Knowles uses the sample of first-year and second-year social work students needing “basic foundational knowledge about the field—history, philosophy, public policy, institutional structure, etc.” and then not truly focusing on field experience until the third year (p. 58). By reorganizing adult education around problem areas, the students become more involved and engaged in the spirit of their work. They were still learning the basics, only in a different structure, focused more on problems in each year of the program. Although there are benefits to this approach, I assert that overall education of a content area cannot be sacrificed for pragmatic training of skills. Theory and framework, in addition to problem-centered skills, is imperative to depth of knowledge and in fully educating adults.”

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Regarding what I am trying to say about the ancients and problem-based learning, he was right on point with me! Defining terms in the Socratic methodology can prove to be an effective process to solving problem-based issues in the contemporary world. Often seen in the fast-paced world of today many people do not usually slow down enough to define the issue or the terms in the topics at hand. If adults did more of this (such as we see in educated adults that stem from higher ed environments) , and had a greater awareness of the productivity of Socratic dialogue, contemporary adults might think things through more before they jump to resolution.

From DW:

“Many of the ancient Greeks such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle used what we know today as the “Socratic dialogue” which is rooted in problem-based learning. Interesting! So now I’m thinking I’ve been selling “problem-based” short. What you’re saying here makes me think that the “problem” could be, e.g., the definition of piety or the question of how to live. Is that right? “

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I am so grateful for all of his and MGJ's assistance and thought-provoking questions. I worked in a few other changes; I will do one more scrub through (at least) and then off to final by 5/2!

Woo hoo! There IS light at the end of the tunnel!

At long last

I finally got myself more megapixels! Sony Cybershot DSC W80. 7.1 (better than my old Olympus 3 MP).

But wait! There's more!






Who has the best baby? :)

2nd draft is upon me

On 2/16, I got feedback from David:  

"This is a fine first draft.  I'm impressed.  I encourage you to stake the strongest and clearest set of claims you can and argue vigorously for them.  I also encourage you to find out more about the history of the University and of education.  Does it matter to your argument that the University is an invention of the middle ages, a time when Europeans weren't reading Greek literature, even in translation?  I've suggested some materials for you to look at.  You'll find others as well.  Talking more about your own sense of vocation as a teacher would strengthen your argument as well.

Excellent progress!"

I am now in progress of diving deeper into the questions he asked in his feedback.  I got more books from the library yesterday to address the things, based on his recommendation.  I also realized that the work on something like this can never truly be complete.  At some point, good enough will have to be good enough.  

Another tidbit is that I realized there is a theme in the area of my interest:  Adult education.  Maybe and Ed.D. would be ok to pursue?  I prefer a Ph. D. in a content area but we shall see.

Today I am focusing on my paper for Tragedy since my Hinduism paper is done (draft 1).  I also have Antony & Cleopatra to read so I better get busy instead of sitting here in my blog!

I also met with Arieahn this week (after my meltdown).  I have 2-3 courses to propose, working up course descriptions and objectives.  (Leadership Lessons from Literature, Communicating Across the Organization, and Implementing Corporate Training Programs).  Time to get busy!