Author: Nicholas Nolan

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S1mhsWLMHyeKqTziqltVTeDBH4-Yp_Xh4JH884uM6mU/edit

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13d_VrkST1_8VmrfFOheCbjrxUYxJ3knc7tXxcDSPreU/edit

Topic 1

Education beyond the major.  You’re getting a degree in something, but mostly you’re not:  majors have between 40 and 60 credits within the field, leaving most of the degree spent elsewhere.  How does education beyond the major work for students who are focused on (x) but taking (y)? Identify the problem and then use the work of Percy (and Freire as desired) to assert (at least) four ways in which education beyond the major supports significant, necessary learning at WCU.  Each of your ideas must be supported by critical ideas from the work of Percy.

Topic Selection: 1- Education beyond the major

Team Selection: Abbey Johnson, Isabella DeSario, Nick Nolan

Working Thesis: When working to get a degree in college it is important to focus on courses that are directly related to one’s field of study, while also getting a well rounded education and opening one’s eyes to a variety of experiences and fields.

Sub Points:

• Students become more prepared to face a wider variety of issues in their career that classes specific to their major might not directly address
• Students become more well rounded in the learning and understanding of the world

Supporting Ideas:

• “For there is nothing the educator can do to provide for this need of the student. Everything the educator does only succeeds in becoming, for the student, part of the educational package. The highest role of the educator is the maieutic role of Socrates: to help the student come to himself not as a consumer of experience but as a sovereign individual.” (Percy 6)
• “It may be recovered by leaving the beaten track. The tourist leaves the tour, camps in the back country. He arises before dawn and approaches the South Rim through a wild terrain where there are no trails and no railed-in lookout points. In other words, he sees the canyon by avoiding all the facilities for seeing the canyon.” (Percy 1)

 Isabella, RJ, TJ, Nick

Leader did not show up.

Nick Nolan, Abbey Johnson, Isabella DeSario

Up to this point, students at West Chester have experienced a multitude of classes on their schedule. Each class is different in the way they are taught and how information is presented. However, students believe they are not in control of how or what they learn in each of their courses. They feel as though their education can only go so far outside of the classroom without being suffocated by the professors limitations that venture beyond the lecture. In Paulo Friere’s, “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education”, he develops the idea in the mind of the reader that they may be able to use their own power in order to provide themselves a better education. Students know very little about what they can do outside of the classroom to make sure they are in control of their own education. Many are under the impression that they have very little control over what they can learn or how they do so. Although it is generally thought of that it is a teacher’s responsibility to control a student’s learning, a students at WCU must take their own initiative in order to not waste this time of growth in their education.

The first impression from a class can make a world of a difference for  Many. However, they feel like they are just sitting and are expected to retain the information. Students on campus feel as though their learning is chained to the classroom and do not feel like they have the freedom to prosper outside of it. This is shown in the beginning of Friere’s, “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education”, when he says, “The teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority, which she and he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students” (Freire 1).  This quote from his writing demonstrates and relates to West Chester University’s Professors and how their ways do not differ. Courses and students themselves could both benefit from allowing more freedom in the classes.

Many have discussed how students could take initiative, but there are not a variety of ways they could do so without having to get approval from the school or professors.  An option could be to use their own abilities to create a student led blog page. This page could offer the students to have their own freedom without a professor breathing down their necks.  This blog page can have offers for tutoring, explanation of a class lesson, or just a group discussion about how the class is going. This idea would not require the approval of anyone, and would greatly benefit those who participate the most.  This is only for students and is not only for one class. The idea gives everyone an equal opportunity to progress in their education if they want to be included on the page. This also benefits the school as a whole because the courses can be clarified by students and have a positive impact on grades for all.  A program similar to this can prove how students can take their education into their own hands and push themselves further than they would have in a classroom alone.

Team Selection: Nick Nolan, Isabella DeSario, Abbey Johnson

Topic 2: Student Power

Thesis: Although it is generally thought of that it is a teacher’s responsibility to control a student’s learning, a students at WCU must take their own initiative in order to not waste this time of growth in their education.

Quotes:

“The teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority, which she and he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students” (Freire 1).

” Authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication. If it is true that thought has meaning only when generated by action upon the world, the subordination of students to teachers becomes impossible” (Freire 3).

Group: Dana Roeder, Sami Kakar, Abbey Johnson, Isabella Desario

We discussed in our group that we believe teachers can also learn from students while in the classroom. The group agreed with the statement as there are many way pupils could instruct teachers on many topics. All that needs to be done is open communication and discussion during class. These two keys will lead to success in the classroom for students, but it will also benefit teachers as they are learning themselves. By doing this, teachers can hear opinions and facts that they never had before from students. Having open discussion helps students and teachers alike due to the openness and ability to help form more opinions. Any type of classroom environment like this invites people to be more open to discussion of any type. Many teachers refuse to believe this because they do not view themselves as equal. Teachers may not realize it but they have a lot to learn from students. It may be general knowledge, but it could be involving todays trending topics.