Author: John Camperson

Group: John, Noah, Olivia, Gwen, Bella

We showed up to the discussion group at the tables inside of Lawrence next to Einstein’s at 3:30 and waited for 10 minutes and the leader did not show up.

Group Members: John, Emily, Mikayla, Julia, Haley, Mimi, Maura 

In this discussion group we discussed whether discussion groups are a waste of time or not. I think that they are a waste of time, but with more structure they could be more beneficial. The discussion groups are not led properly sometimes. Also, there is a lack of participation and when there is it is usually something that was already discussed. The discussion groups have the potential to become better than they are. Although the discussion groups allow for a change of scenery and make it so that you are not just stuck in a classroom, they are not as organized and put together as they could be. We talked about how students do not seem to try their best and put forth effort when it comes to these discussion groups. Sometimes the leader will not talk as much as they should, which leads to others taking charge. Also, sometimes the discussions are too short and end in like 5 minutes. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18p1joBkjYpOjdH2F0Os6FxmcJSnf1W76AFqOaGxQG1M/edit

Praise: I think the thesis clearly states what you are going to be talking about. The ideas are very good as well.

Constructive: I think there are a few run on sentences that could be broken down or shortened.

Percy: You have clear connections to Percy throughout your essay that flow good with your ideas.

Praise: Your thesis explains what the rest of the essay is about, as well as having strong connections to Percy.

Constructive: The second paragraph is a little short. Add a little more explanation to it and the problem that can be solved.

Percy: Strong connections to Percy and his idea of the sightseer.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N6ii1nkePINstzuxHXY8C-9miFGS7KkkL3bflU87i6k/edit

Praise: The points you made about teachers just giving the students power points to learn off of are well written.

Constructive: I think you should talk about Percy more in the first paragraph.

Percy: The quote that you utilized from Percy was a good choice for your essay and you did a good job with the explanation as well.

Praise: The first paragraph is well written and gets the ideas across well, as well as the use of Percy.

Constructive: In the quotes add Percy and the page number in parentheses.

Percy: Good use of Percy and his beliefs on sovereignty.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12B3ppzZNXBNNzryuCV2KVLMMNUtH2It-QtKM9rnQIXk/edit

Praise: The point you made about students taking classes that seem like a waste of time for their major is good.

Constructive: I think you should talk about Percy more in your thesis.

Percy: The quotes that you have selected go well with what you are trying to get across.

Praise: The points you made about students having much more work to do outside of class are good.

Constructive: I think you should include Percy more in your thesis.

Percy: The quotes from Percy that you utilized are strong and work well with the topic.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13xbC3M1sBNjJ_KJ-8H1cw1N3GzaP0ga1L1lfrusLs8A/edit

Group Members: Haley, Amanda, Leah, Maddie

In our discussion group we discussed shortcuts and how Walker Percy perceives them in “The Loss of the Creature.” We talked about how taking shortcuts in life can be detrimental to your future depending on the case of the shortcut that you are taking. People that take shortcuts, or the easier way tend to not be as motivated as others, which is not a good thing. This happens frequently in education when students try to take shortcuts in their learning. The students are just playing themselves. If they do not learn the entirety of the information that they need they will fall behind and hinder their own ability to do well. Taking shortcuts is not always a bad thing though. There can be instances when it does not have a bad consequence on you. Overall, taking shortcuts in education is not something that people should take lightly and if people decide to take on that path it can ruin their learning opportunities.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EA8d031nS7Rhe80EmiN_k2eqYJ1OXgI9lvQkCu-gnRw/edit

John Camperson 

Freire believes that there is a need for re-shaping the spaces of education, in order to get more out of it for the students. Through his concept of learning this will allow for an improvement of education. Re-shaping the spaces at WCU could go in all different directions, with a main focal point on helping the health science majors. Most students at WCU live on North Campus, which is where most of the classes are. Students that live on north campus that are health science majors are impacted negatively due to the health science center being located at south campus. Some of the ways that this issue could be fixed include buying out the land in between north and south campus, building more dorms for underclassman that are between north and south campus, as well as more academic buildings. 

There is a substantially large area of land in between north and south campus that could be bought out. It would not be that much money, since it is all mostly homeowners. If the university took over the land, there would not be a huge gap in between north and south campus. This overtime would make a great impact on health science majors. There could be new construction for the university in this space that they could acquire. The construction could be dedicated to making life on campus easier for the health science majors, who are now seen as somewhat of second-class citizens. Freire mentions how the students “adapt to the world as it is and to the fragmented view of reality deposited in them” (Freire 2). This is very true because the students that must get to south campus for classes have learned to adapt to the ways of transportation to get down there. Students would be much better adapted to a new campus with new space.  

With the new land that WCU can acquire, they can build dorms for underclassman in between north and south campus. Students that are health science majors could live in the new dorms, so that it can be easier for them to get from one side of the campus to the other. Right now, most of the students are living on north campus, so it is sometimes hard to make it over to south campus in time for a class. Building new living spaces for students will make their lives a lot easier, so they do not have to stress as much. Arriving late to class because of something as simple as missing a shuttle should not be a huge deal. Through Freire’s concept of banking education, there are practices including “the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply” (Freire 1). This connects with how the students must take the shuttle down to south campus to get to certain classes. It is not their choice to have a class or two across campus. The schedule is chosen for them.  

In addition to building more living space in the new acquired area, WCU could also build more academic buildings for students and staff. This could also be dedicated more for the health science majors, so that they are not scrambling around campus trying to get from class to class. Overtime, this could allow for the campus to become more whole. With a change of space, the students that are impacted will be re-shaped in a positive way. This will also impact the faculty and make the campus less split in half.  

The problem of the separation between north and south campus can be improved if WCU buys out the land, builds more dorms, and builds more academic buildings for the students and staff. The underclassman health science majors will greatly benefit from this change of space. The students will be re-shaped positively and will not be as stressed out about their classes. The location would be perfect, and it would be a change of scenery around campus.  

Topic: 1 

Team: John  

Thesis:  

Re-shaping the spaces of education at West Chester University would allow for a change of scenery. If the buildings on campus were rearranged, the students would do things a lot differently. Also, most students learn better in a classroom setting, compared to a lecture hall setting. If the lecture halls were all broken down into classrooms, the students would be more engaged in the learning activities that they are partaking in.  

Quotes:  

“It is not surprising that the banking concept of education regards men as adaptable, manageable beings. The more students work at storing deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world. The more completely they accept the passive role imposed on them, the more they tend simply to adapt to the world as it is and to the fragmented view of reality deposited in them” (Freire 2). 

“Students, as they are increasingly posed with problems relating to themselves in the world and with the world, will feel increasingly challenged and obliged to respond to that challenge” (Freire 4). 

Group Members: Mia, Gwen, Emily, John, Bella, David, Maura, Ethan, Ava, Amanda, Julia, Mikayla, Liv 

We discussed the ways people are taught. We talked about how people learn from teaching others, while they are getting taught by the other people. Learning happens quite frequently outside of the classroom. People learn from going through different experiences. Those experiences leave a mark in people in terms of learning. One very important component is simply communication. If you are communicating with others, then you are learning. People do not all have the same way of learning. There are many ways that people understand certain things. Certain people can learn things easier than others. Often these instances when the person you are trying to teach does not learn. Instead you are the one that does the learning and you learn even more. Overall, through personal experience you gain knowledge that is unobtainable in the classroom. Also, not everyone learns the same way, which means there are all sorts of different ways to learn certain concepts.