Author: Katherine Sola

Praise: really good essay so far
Constructive: maybe try finding stronger words for descriptions
Percy: quotes work very well

Leader: Ruthie

Group Members: Sam Weitzel, Leann Carroll and myself

Today is our discussion group lead by Ruthie, we all discussed what our motivation is for learning and asked ourselves how we learn best, we also related this to Percy. We talked about how we are required to take classes that we might not be as interested in but are required to take. These kinds of classes can be draining for most students, but if you make it interesting in your own way then it can be more enjoyable. We also discovered that all of us in the group enjoy learning with a group of people rather than one on one and learn more efficiently with hand-on activities. Aside of the discussion question that we talked about, we talked about the previous essay and the upcoming essay. We related on the excessive amount of times that we met with Randall and how we didn’t understand anything in the Freire writing. It was a very productive group discussion and I believe we went over the topics we were meant to and also had the chance to talk about other class related topics.

Group members: Leann Carroll and Katherine Sola 

Leader: Sam Weitzel

In Walker Percy’s writing, “The Loss of the Creature”, he asks “How does one see the thing better when the others are absent?”. In our group we discussed this question in depth and found that some people could focus and or learn material easier if it is in a small group. We thought that by having fewer people in class it would give others who don’t necessarily speak in large groups would participate more knowing that not many people would be listening to their ideas other than the teacher. Personally when it’s a small group I am much more comfortable to ask questions to my professor and I engage more in the topics, whereas when I am in front of large lectures I usually don’t pay attention very much or engage at all. This group discussion was very beneficial as it brought up many great conversations in our group and allowed us to connect on this topic.

 Topic: #1 Space at WCU

Team: Samantha Weitzel, Katherine Sola, Leann Carroll

Thesis: The layout of any place that people learn at is a big factor to success. Having space between academics and personal life is critical. Here at West Chester University, residence halls and academic buildings are a good distance away from each other making it easier to keep those two things separate.

Quote 1: “To that end, it enables teachers and students to become Subjects of the educational process by overcoming authoritarianism and an alienating intellectualism; it also enables people to overcome their false perception of reality.”

Quote 2: “The truth is, however, that the oppressed are not “marginals,” are not people living “outside” society. They have always been “inside”—inside the structure which made them “beings for others.” The solution is not to “integrate” them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become “beings for themselves.” Such transformation, of course, would undermine the oppressors’ purposes; hence their utilization of the banking concept of education to avoid the threat of student conscientizaçao.”

  In Brandon’s discussion our group talked about whether we agreed or disagreed with Freire’s way of learning. In his writing, it seems he makes points that contradicts himself and the things he says. A quote found in his writing that best supports my claim is, “Here, no one teaches another, nor is anyone self taught. People teach each other…”. I believe this quote is very contradicting and requires a deep thought process in order to understand. From what I understand, Freire is trying to explain that one cannot be taught by a teacher or a student, one must find it within themselves to be taught information that is being told to them by teachers or any form of educator.
Aside of Freire, we also discussed all of our living situations currently and for the following year. Most of us are looking to rent an apartment or house off-campus, but are discovering that it is really expensive. 

In conclusion, our group discussed several key facts in Freire’s work and we pretty much all disagreed with the content he proclaims in his writings.

Group Members: Brandon, Gabe, Sara, Cait, Seamus, Haley, David, Sam, Amanda, Sam

In this group we will be discussing our opinions on Freire’s points that he mentioned in his writing. These are going to be the two focused quotes: “The teacher teaches and the students are taught” as well as, “the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing”.

We’ll meet Thursday 9/12 at 1:15 p.m. at the tables outside of Starbucks (next to the Green Library)