FS Talk Powerpoint

FS 102 Talk

Final Speech Outline

-Ultimate goal of education: ensure that all students graduate as educated, informed persons prepared to pursue whatever path they choose in life.

Dictionary.com:The act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoningand judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.

-Current problem: we have quantity of education taken care of, but the quality is lacking

-Three main issues preventing quality education:

                -Stress regarding grades and standardized tests (definition of success)

-Tests attempt to hold teachers and schools accountable, but instead create anxiety and pressure due to the stakes (whether it be college acceptance for students or job security for teachers).

-Society’s definition of success = monetary gain, meaning there’s a pressure for perfection in all things. Failure is not an option from students POV, so the ability to experiment, fail, and try again is a skill students are not graduating with

-This has led to increased anxiety levels in students of all ages, in both grade school and higher education. Both anxiety and depression have increased for young people compared to studies in the late 30s.

                -Society’s assumption that college is the best solution for all

-Just like perfection is expected, college is expected of students as well. It is advertised as a miracle cure leading to success and happiness. Looking at some famous college drop outs who instead pursued their passions, college is clearly not the best answer for everyone.

                -System’s focus on didactic instruction (facts and figures) rather than critical thinking skills

-15-20% Seminar, 70% Intellectual Coaching, and ONLY 10-15% didactic instruction. Rather than stressing students out with trying to learn everything, Paideia instead gives students a general base knowledge and the ability to learn and think in order to pursue whatever specifics they wish. Nurturing curiosity is key to quality education, and it is hard to enjoy learning and being curious with the competitive backdrop of comparing test grades with other students.

-Studies showed only positive impacts from implementing Paideia in schools around the country for a single year!

-Solution: Paideia, because it’s focus is much for general and practical. We’ve done a great job so far, but the education system is still far from ideal. We need to keep moving in the right direction, and that is going to include a lot of changes.

Final Speech Images

  

  

  

Works Cited:

Weiss, Patricia. The Paideia Curricular Framework. Digital image.Classicalhomeschooling.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

Fewings, John. Student Debt. Digital image. Fewings.ca. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

Perfect University. Digital image. Alivecampus.com. 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

Chenley, Diane. Stress and Anxiety. Digital image. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

Sitting in the Classroom and Learning. Digital image.comicstripgenerator.com. 20 Apr. 2014.

Three Pillars. Digital image. Augsburd.edu. N.p., 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

Week 11: Final Project Ideas

I found the idea of using the wall at Ravine as a canvas really inspiring. There are probably endless possibilities of what we could put up there - spray paint, chalk, or some other, entirely non-traditional art medium. Perhaps we could design some sort of mural or, like the "Before I die" project, use it to ask people a question.

Or maybe we don't need to use the wall at all! There are messages written on the ground in chalk all over campus all the time - giving directions, advertising events, or just general silliness. Is there some sort of activist message we could creatively portray all over campus on the ground in chalk? We would certainly have a lot of viewers. There's no avoiding the ground. :)

Just some general ideas...I'm still brainstorming specific messages.

            

Week 10

Friday March 28^th

Democracy Realized? Legacies of the Civil Rights Movement Conference

Topic: Higher Education: Institutions of Democracy or Bastions of Privilige?

Panelists: Terrence Mitchell, Founder & Executive Director of CREED College Readiness Program

    Lucius Outlaw, Vanderbilt University

    Stephanie Martin, Economics Professor at Allegheny

    Kazi Joshua, Director of The Center for Intercultural Advancement & Student Success

When I decided to go to this panel, I was curious about how much of the discussion would be focused on economic privilege and how much would be focused on majority privilege in higher education. The chosen panel members seemed prepared to discuss either, and the questions the moderators posed were open enough to allow the conversation to turn either way.

The first question: What is the role of education in civil rights?

                The panel agreed that there is potential for education’s role to be both positive and negative. An interesting point that stood out to me was the disconnect that has been created in the study of civil rights. I believe it was Mr. Mitchell who mentioned that schools have a tendency to place everything in their own neat little box, for example, the study of civil rights tends to be boxed into “black studies.” As we’ve made progress in civil rights, the immense importance in continuing that progress has been watered down so that it has become less focused on. So while the potential to play a positive role in civil rights is there, at the moment that role isn’t really being played out.

The second question: Education is referred to as the great equalizer. How does that apply today?

                Someone said that the question was whether education should be equality of opportunity or equality of result, and how do we achieve that? For example, to achieve equal opportunity, are minority quotas (such as those from affirmative action) okay? Personally, I agreed with the panelist response that affirmative action was and is necessary to achieve a quantitative change in the right direction, but that it is not a permanent solution. It is insufficient by itself to bring about qualitative change. Qualitative change comes from taking steps to stop homophobia, racism, sexism and other prejudices that have negative effects on the educational experience for students from all walks of life.

                Some topics in the panel weren’t necessarily fleshed out in full – I was hoping for more discussion on the economics of higher education. Professor Martin did discuss this briefly, mentioning that one in four students attend higher education institutions, and around four million of those end up at small liberal arts schools. There are plenty of people that are successful without higher education, so to have the opportunity is a privilege. Since this is the case, education really does have the power to either make progress towards equality by transforming the minds of students or to continue playing along with old prejudices, stereotypes and views. The college experience can, and often is, a transformative one with the power to allow young adults to see the perspectives of people from all walks of life. In this sense, it has the ability to be the great equalizer.

The conversations during this panel were interesting, but often seemed to deviate from the questions. Overall, it was very thought provoking and a reminder that while higher education is a great privilege, it’s far from perfect. There is still plenty that could be improved upon as we attempt to progress towards equality.

Memo of Understanding

Memo of Understanding

I would like to propose the following due dates for my updated paper and speech for FS 102 Vision, Imagination and Activism:

Updated Paper written by April 16^th

Updated Speech given by April 23^rd

Student: Elizabeth Person    ___________________

Professor: Amara Geffen     ___________________

Week 9 (Presentation Images)

"Pro-Life/Pro-Choice." Columbus Dispatch [Columbus] n.d.: n. pag. Print.

-Just like the rams in the photo are not making any progress one way or the other, we're in a fruitless political argument that we shouldn't be wasting time on.

"77% of Abortion Leaders Are Men. 100% of Them Will Never Be Pregnant."Www.protectchoice.org.                        N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

-My point here is this shouldn't be a political topic, and the majority of people making it political should have no say in the matter.

My Body Equals My Choice. Web. n.d. 25 March. 2014.

-Painting the phrase on her body emphasizes that women's bodies are their own. No one else should have control over what happens to them.