Author: Leah Schreffler

group: Amanda, John, Haley

In this discussion, we discussed shortcuts. The question was should a person take a shortcut or should they not? We talked about how taking shortcuts are only cheating yourself. We talked about certain instances where shortcuts are beneficial and are not as big of a deal. We discussed how taking shortcuts can affect a person, especially when it comes to education. Creating in school and taking the easy way out to have a good great will only affect you in the future. You will not be prepared as much as the other students are. If everyone were to take shortcuts, they would not be shortcuts anymore. Towards the end of the discussion, we discussed the project and talked about the different topics.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17iqzDHumN04nylDYiAhM0W9jx6Lqhec3_DaAAYoEs0s/edit

Members: Leah S., Riley B., Amanda J., Gabby L.

Team: Gabby L, Riley B, Amanda J, Leah S

Topic #1: The space of education at WCU. Freire’s challenge for us to reimagine the ways in which we learn doesn’t just ask us to re-shape ourselves intellectually; Freire’s ideas also suggest a need to re-shape the spaces of education. Use your understanding of Freire’s ideas to analyze the space of education at WCU, identifying and proposing the means by which WCU space can be developed to achieve the ends of Freire’s concept of learning.

Thesis- Creating a different way of learning needs change not just from the teacher but from the atmosphere of the classroom. The layout of all classrooms are almost exactly the same. Creating smaller classrooms instead of lectures will allow students to become active in discussions. Taking advantage of the areas we have (such as classrooms in dorms that are not used) and allowing students to use these resources can create a new way of learning.

Quotes: “The teacher talks about reality as if it were motionless, static, compartmentalized, and predictable. Or else he expounds on a topic completely alien to the existential experience of the students. His task is to “fill” the students with the contents of his narration—contents which are detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that engendered them and could give them significance” (Freire 1)

“Based on a mechanistic, static, naturalistic, spatialized view of consciousness, it transforms students into receiving objects. It attempts to control thinking and action, leads women and men to adjust to the world, and inhibits their creative power” (Freire 3)

Jason R
Juliana B
Timothy T
Riley B
Maddie B
Mahammad R
Ruthie L
Jake H
Sean R
Nick P
Christian P
Michael R
Jake D
Gabby L
Leah S

Our discussion was about Banking education and problem posing. We talked about which type of education is best for students and we all agreed that problem posing is the only option. I think problem posing is the only efficient way of learning because a student comprehends the information instead of memorizing it. A person cannot learn if a person is filling them with information like a robot. There is only so much a person can remember and when the class is for an entire year, that is so much time wasted if they do not take anything from it. Banking method can hurt someone’s education more than it can help it. In high school, education was mostly memorization. In college, some of the general education classes are not necessary for one’s specific major and most people do not learn or comprehend anything from it. This is a waste of time and money for the student. Learning is about comprehension and understanding, not jamming everything into your brain and hoping you remember everything. Banking is a concept that should not exist. I wish my high school taught me to comprehend and understand information because I feel that I am behind some people because all I have ever learned is memorization.

During this discussion, we discussed about the third prompt of the writing project. We focused on two main questions which were, “How does a student befriend a professor?” and “Is it relatively easy or hard to establish a relationship with them?”. The whole group agreed that it depends on the personality of the student. Some students are open and have no problem establishing relationships but then there are the students who are introverted and struggle to get out of their comfort zone. We also talked about how the atmosphere of the classroom can affect the student to teacher relationship. For example, if the student has a class with students who are older and more involved, it might be difficult for the student to become comfortable with the class and the teacher. Another thing we talked about was the “gap” between students and teachers. Because the teacher is the boss to the student, it can be difficult for some students to look past this. We talked about different ways students can create relationships with their professors, such as sitting in front of the class, being involved in discussions, or just introducing themselves when they see their professor in public. Teachers have office hours which are specifically to help students. Teachers and students have to work together to create the relationship that is needed for success.

Leah Schreffler

Laura McGroary

Amanda Jiang

Sam Livorno