Author: Sean Redding

Sean Redding 

Randall Cream

WRT120

December 6th, 2019 

Changes at West Chester University

         The immense struggle to focus in non-interactive classes is excruciating for most students throughout college. Sitting through an hour-long class of a professor talking loses the attention of many students, and as a result, reflects on their grades in that class. It is not only a waste of time for the students, but also for the professors as they spend days of their time preparing a lecture that many loose accounts for and have trouble keeping up with. My program proposition to solve this very common issue is for West Chester University to enforce more interactive classes, as well as introduce the reverse classroom method to many classrooms across campus. By introducing this new method, I believe it will be solving a large issue of staying focused in non-interactive classes. West Chester University will have high benefit as a result of this new program, as will the students who are actively apart of the school’s academic environment. By making these changes, West Chester University would also be catering to the educational theories of Percy and Freire by supporting their thoughts that students should have more control over their education and gain skills that may have been overlooked in a specified major.

         The new interactive program would include many components that would ultimately lead to the academic gain of the student, and the convenience of professors. Firstly, I propose that students be required to spend a certain amount of hours per semester doing out of class experiences related to their majors such as internships, shadows, and extended programs. For example, a nursing major may volunteer at a local hospital alongside professional nurses. The students would need to write reflections after each experience, and at the end of the semester, write an essay on how those experiences have aided to their major. Throughout these tasks, professors should remain active with students and would be required to meet with students a certain amount of times throughout the semester to discuss progress and personal questions the student may have. I believe that in doing this, students will be able to ask questions they may have been afraid to ask in classes and also would allow professors to gain a greater understanding for the student’s progress as well as use this observation to see what may need to be changed in class. It will also allow students who may have trouble paying attention during lectures to engage in discussions throughout class. In addition to these changes, the reverse classroom method would be inducted into many classrooms around West Chester University. This involves the professor giving a certain topic or reading for students to dissect and learn during their own time, then would come into class and have an open discussion with the students about said topic. By doing this, students with different learning styles would be able to teach themselves in a way that caters to their own needs, as well as allowing them to spend as much time on a section as they need. This new change would also benefit the university credentials as a whole, since this method would be allowing more students to retain information and understand more than before and therefore reflecting on their grades. With these new changes, I am almost certain that the direct outcome will be rewarding and make learning more enjoyable for both students and professors across West Chester University’s campus

         One great result from implementing interactive learning environments at WCU is that students with different learning styles will be able to learn in ways that are beneficial to themselves. Research proves that student’s individual learning styles are all unique to themselves and that person. With the reverse classroom aspect of the new learning program at West Chester University, students will be able to teach themselves topics and later discuss them in class, allowing each individual student to use methods that specifically cater to their learning needs. This immensely benefits the student, as they are retaining the material in class through a method that directly benefits their learning style. Freire’s ideas of students falling into the routine of academics is supported, as he states, “Narration (with the teacher as the narrator) leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated content. Worse yet, it turns them into ‘containers,’ into ‘receptacles’ to be ‘filled’ by the teacher” (Freire, pg.1). I believe this interprets to a lecture style class being repetitive and constantly having teachers at the head of the class, and this is something I am proposing we change.

         With this new learning program, students will also benefit from keeping active in discussions in class. The interactive aspects of the class will allow for students to take charge and stay active by vocalizing thoughts and experiences in class while also being able to have the required hours of activities beneficial to their major. This solves a common issue of students getting distracted or having trouble paying attention in lecture style classes. Freire explains the typical roles of students and professors in a true concept, stating “A. The teacher teaches, and the students are taught. B. The teacher knows everything, and the student knows nothing” (Freire, Pg.2).  Freire seems to suggest that professors are constantly put in the role of high power and students are never in control. With this change, the student has the ability to take charge.

         Not only will this program benefit the students, but it will also benefit the professors. With the required meetings with students throughout the semester, I believe that the professors will be able to gain a greater knowledge as to how much students are understanding the topics and ultimately result in professors knowing what needs to be improved as a whole class as well as individual students. Freire expresses his thoughts on how teachers perceive knowledge in a classroom in an incorrect manor, saying “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, pg.2).  With this quote, Freire is acknowledging the common mindset of professors having authority over knowledge, and I believe with the required meetings, professors have the chance to allow students to give them insight on how classes need to improve.

         This program would be positively affecting West Chester University’s credentials and reputation as a whole. With all of the changes being made, students will be able to retain more knowledge from classes than the previous methods, therefore leading to better grades on tests and essays. The university as a whole would be benefitting if a higher percentage of students had higher grades. As Freire states in his explains in his writings about the resolution of student

Teacher standards, “To resolve the student-teacher contradiction, to exchange the role of depositor, prescriber, domesticator, for the role of student among students would be to undermine the power of oppression and serve the cause of liberation” (Freire, pg. 4). In this statement, I believe Freire is stating that if these common behaviors in the classrooms are resolved, it will ultimately benefit the educational community as a whole cause.

         The Interactive and reverse classroom learning program proposition for West Chester University undoubtedly has an immense amount of benefits for students, teachers, and as an overall community. With benefits that include allowing students to teach themselves in ways beneficial to themselves, keeping active during and outside of class, allowing professors to gain knowledge on student’s needs, and overall raising the university’s credentials, this program would prove to be a much-needed change for our community, as well as support Percy and Freire’s ideas on education.  

Sean Redding 

Randall Cream

WRT120

December 6th, 2019 

Changes at West Chester University 

All throughout college many students are forced to sit through gen-ed’s and lectures that easily cause the student to become distracted and unfocused. Even with classes that deal with one’s major, students are prone to zone out in class and retain less information. I believe that one major change that would be beneficial to the overall education community at West Chester would be for the school to enforce more interactive classes as well as bringing the reverse classroom method into action. By allowing classrooms to be more interactive and hands on with the major, students can stay in tune with a class and achieve a higher level of learning. 

A benefit to the interactive classrooms is that students would be able to constantly be kept involved in the class, not allowing students to zone out or lose focus from the class as commonly done in classes that are lectures. A good example of what interaction in classes per major would look like is maybe requiring students to perform a certain amount of hours for some type of mock field work. A more specific example would be for a criminal justice major in pursuit of being a police officer or detective being required to do a internships or ride alongs at the local police departments. Not only would this be a great change from a standard lecture class, but students would also be gaining experience and information on what their desired major would be.

With the ability to interact directly with the major, student can receive the best and most realistic learning experience. As some majors do have this, such as nursing programs in the hospital, and practice teaching in real-life classrooms, but almost all the other major are left in the dust. With these interactive hands-on classes students can get a taste what it is really like in the field, and if they really want to pursue said career. Not only will they be graded based on hours worked, but the student would be graded on weekly reports on what they did for job. This allows for students who can’t pay attention to lectures and normal class setting to learn in a way they can retain the information being taught. 

A common struggle for students with ADHD and ADD is that information is not being taught in an appropriate method for their minds to be absorbing any of the information. Alongside this, it is also extremely difficult for students with these disorders to pay attention in classes when the professors are constantly just giving lectures every class. By allowing students to take part in the reverse classroom methods, these students that have different learning styles will be able to teach themselves information in ways that are beneficial to themselves, seeing that every student has different learning styles and the standard lecture class is not fit for every learning style.  By having reverse classroom styles and expanding the interaction in classrooms, Percy and Freire’s educational theories are being supported in the fact that students at West Chester University would now have more of an opportunity to take charge of their own education. 

Not only does this new improvement benefit the students, it would create a style of teaching for professors. Every week the students will hold a discussion style class directed by the Professor, where they talk about what they did in their hours worked and what they did and did not like. Since many students are nervous and conflicted to speak in open groups, the professor will be required to meet with students periodically and catch up face-to-face. This benefits both professor and student allowing to interact and see how the student is doing in class and being able to make sure the student is grasping the information being taught. Doing this would create a new style of teaching that strays away from traditional lectures and create a new space for students to connect to their professor about the work they’re doing.

I believe that this newly proposed idea would reflect much more significantly on the student’s academic scores. As a direct result of this new method, students will not only have a deeper understanding for classes under a specific major but will have significantly increased scores on tests and projects. For many classes students are unable to understand the information due to the fact that they may not be paying attention in lectures or simply cannot understand, and as a result, will produce poor test marks. Even students that are able to pay full attention to the lecture still have problems with test taking which reflects negatively on their grade. As everyone can agree, students should not be graded on how well they are at taking tests, but how well they received the information being taught. Having a class of students who do not understand the topic fully may also cause distress for professors, as it is a struggle to tend to every student’s needs in the classroom. The University would benefit also from the higher grades and GPAs being produced in said major, and knowing the students are getting the best learning experience. This change can convince upcoming freshman, and students enrolled at other schools to enroll at WCU to learn this new style of teaching. With the interactive classrooms, students will be able to produce higher grades and deeper understandings for the topics overall. 

In the end, working with a company to help further your education would create many opportunities for students looking to excel in school. Not only will the students get to see what they’re going to school for first hand, they will also have the ability to stay away from the normal classroom setting. The many affected by learning disorders such as ADD ADHD will get to learn in a way that helps them instead of hurts them.  With these changes WCU and many colleges alike can change the way students learn.

Leader: Tyler Evans

Group Members: Sean Redding

This week Tyler and I discussed if this writing course prepared for other WRT courses and improved our writing skills. As discussed, this class I was introduced to a new style of teaching that was very interesting and strayed from other writing courses in the past. Initially I thought the first level of WRT would consist a teacher telling you how to write papers on a college level.  Instead a new way of teaching was introduced where the students are directly involved with other grades, such as peer-reviews and discussion groups. I have seen this done in past classes, but this was different, as one and other were contributed their own thoughts in order to achieve a final product. Although this class had many deadlines which personally is tough for me, this class was preparing the student for higher level courses and real-life jobs where deadlines are normal thing. I do wish more was done during class-time with the assignments, but Prof Cream met with student one on one and got to teach and show what he was looking for in each assignment. In the end this class introduced a new way of teaching that overtime improved my writing skills and ability to make deadlines.

Sean Redding 

Randall Cream

WRT120

December 6th, 2019 

Changes at West Chester University 

         All throughout college many students are forced to sit through gen-ed’s and lectures that easily cause the student to become distracted and unfocused. Even with classes that deal with one’s major, students are prone to zone out in class and retain less information. I believe that one major change that would be beneficial to the overall education community at West Chester would be for the school to enforce more interactive classes as well as bringing the reverse classroom method into action. By allowing classrooms to be more interactive and hands on with the major, students can stay in tune with a class and achieve a higher level of learning.

A benefit to the interactive classrooms is that students would be able to constantly be kept involved in the class, not allowing students to zone out or lose focus from the class as commonly done in classes that are lectures. A good example of what interaction in classes per major would look like is maybe requiring students to perform a certain amount of hours for some type of mock field work. A more specific example would be for a criminal justice major in pursuit of being a police officer or detective being required to do a internships or ride alongs at the local police departments. Not only would this be a great change from a standard lecture class, but students would also be gaining experience and information on what their desired major would be.        

With the ability to interact directly with the major, student can receive the best and most realistic learning experience. As some majors do have this, such as nursing programs in the hospital, and practice teaching in real-life classrooms, but almost all the other major are left in the dust. With these interactive hands-on classes students can get a taste what it is really like in the field, and if they really want to pursue said career. Not only will they be graded based on hours worked, but the student would be graded on weekly reports on what they did for job. This allows for students who can’t pay attention to lectures and normal class setting to learn in a way they can retain the information being taught.

         A common struggle for students with ADHD and ADD is that information is not being taught in an appropriate method for their minds to be absorbing any of the information. Alongside this, it is also extremely difficult for students with these disorders to pay attention in classes when the professors are constantly just giving lectures every class. By allowing students to take part in the reverse classroom methods, these students that have different learning styles will be able to teach themselves information in ways that are beneficial to themselves, seeing that every student has different learning styles and the standard lecture class is not fit for every learning style.  By having reverse classroom styles and expanding the interaction in classrooms, Percy and Freire’s educational theories are being supported in the fact that students at West Chester University would now have more of an opportunity to take charge of their own education. 

         In the end, working with a company to help further your education would create many opportunities for students looking to excel in school. Not only will the students get to see what they’re going to school for first hand, they will also have the ability to stay away from the normal classroom setting. The many affected by learning disorders such as ADD ADHD will get to learn in a way that helps them instead of hurts them.  With these changes WCU and many colleges alike can change the way students learn.

Sean Redding

WRT120

                                                                                Project #3 Proposal

Problem: Too often students have to sit through classes that they don’t care about, and or pay attention when not in the mood to learn. Students with ADD and ADHD suffer the most, not being able to sit through lectures without spacing out. AT WCU students are expected to sit through lectures and try to retain everything a professor says, then get tested on if they were paying attention during those lectures.

Solution: I believe that if WCU were to enforce more interactive classes and have students take part in the reverse classroom concept. This will allow students to be invested in the class rather than spacing out and missing information. Student will learn/teach in their own ways and get graded accordingly.

1. Allow students to teach themselves in a way that is beneficial to them since every person is different.
2. This would support both Percy and Freire theories on letting students take charge of their education
3. Having more interactive classes rather than lectures would keep students involved rather than zoning out and not retaining information just being told to them.
4. Students with mental health issues retaining to attention will allow students to learn and grasp more concepts hands on.

My overall experience with the discussion group was positive and helpful. Being able to converse with other students was definitely a positive aspect to discussion groups, as I was able to hear other student’s input and thoughts on the topics. Hearing others opinions and feelings on certain topics was enlightening and allowed me to see things from another perspective. While I did enjoy the overall experience of the discussion group, I would like to add that some of the topics were not as interesting as others, therefor there were times where it would be hard to connect to others and hold a conversation about said topics. Other than that, my overall experience with these discussion groups has been positive and I believe that the concept of a discussion group is extremely enlightening and helpful to all that take part in it due to the fact that everyone is able to hear other opinions and viewpoints of important topics.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U15GK23mIWm7CNnf-F-zaiHiwAs2175hIwJK3WhLbM4/edit#gid=0

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xPpG7fwizCETU0p9T1yVcxrcvPy68UwkBKCY_Ndvn4s/edit?usp=sharing

Sean Redding 

Randall Cream

WRT120

November 7th, 2019 

                                                                        Final Draft 

            No matter where you reside, the criminal justice system is a prominent feature in each and every community in the United States. There is a vast amount of job opportunities in this field, from police officers, judges, and probation officers to FBI agents, blood spatter analysis, and criminal behavioral analysis, criminal justice jobs are a key component to any working society. As a criminal justice major, it’s hard to choose just one field to go into, and even harder to obtain all of the skills needed to go into the criminal justice fields. Luckily, our community has many opportunities for interactions that can help with this specific major. Students might be able to go on a ride-along, have internships, study the local news for crime in the area, and even sit in the local court room during open case trials.

            As stated by Freire, “One cannot expect positive results from an educational or political action program which fails to respect the particular view of the world held by the people. Such a program constitutes cultural invasion, good intentions notwithstanding.” (Freire, Ch.3). I believe that this quote is suggesting that one cannot expect to excel in a certain field if they only focus on the core requirements of the major but will succeed if they are familiar with other elements in the major.  Specifying this concept to a criminal justice major, something like a ride-along, or internship specific to a criminal justice student’s field of interest would be beneficial to their overall goal. By doing an internship, students are able to be placed in an environment similar to the real-world experiences outside of college. Internships would be a preparation for life outside of college, especially when it comes to criminal justice majors. Being prepared in the criminal justice field is important, as many jobs in this field require a vast knowledge of the job and subject before entering. 

            Another concept that relates to knowledge outside of a specific major comes from Walker Percy’s theories and works on education. Percy says, “A student who has the desire to get a dogfish or a Shakespeare sonnet may have the greatest difficulty in salvaging the creature itself from the educational package in which it is presented” (Percy, pg.4). In this quote Percy was stating that a student who is strictly restrained to the limits inside one specific major may have the most difficulty excelling in the major. For a criminal justice major, there are many very simple ways to explore and to get in touch with the community in order to benefit in their majors. One way could be simply to stay updated on criminal justice related news in the community. A student could learn a large amount about what a criminal justice job would be like in a specific community by familiarizing themselves with the typical happenings of the community itself. By learning and getting familiar with the typical issues and crimes in a certain area, students can prepare for what they would be dealing with after graduating and entering the criminal justice fields. If a student were looking to become a police officer in Philadelphia, reading Philly’s local news and seeing about the many on-foot chases officers in Philadelphia have to partake in may lead this student to conclude that they must work on being physically fit for that specific job. This would then put them ahead of a student who did not have this knowledge and had the same goals. 

            Another way a criminal justice student can learn outside the classroom is participating in a “ride-along” with officers in the local police department. Participating in a ride-along is definitely a great learning experience for those students who would like to experience the day-to-day activities of a police officer’s duties before committing to the job. During a ride-along, the student would be allowed access to sit in the passenger’s seat of a police vehicle and ride with an officer to see what police officers really encounter. Students in Criminal Justice that want to go into the police force can request to do this with local police departments within the community. In doing this, the student can get a taste of what it is like to be on the force and see what police officers actually do on a daily basis.  Freire stated, “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’” (Freire, p. 2).  In this quote Freire talks about how education can often lead to oppression, and that the way to succeed in education is to have students experience things for themselves. By participating in a ride-along, students definitely are breaking away from the educational oppression that Freire speaks about.

                A huge influence and factor in every criminal justice system is the court. The court system is a way for citizens who may have committed minor violations to explain themselves and have chances at redemption, but also allows for criminals of society to stand a fair trial. All crimes committed in West Chester go through the Chester County courtroom, which would make the court room a great place for criminal justice majors to get a deep understanding for crimes and violations in West Chester. Students are able to sit on any open court case, and in doing so, can definitely learn a lot about the crimes in a certain area. Not only would students be able to physically observe and study the typical crimes through the courtroom, but they can also recognize the ways that judges may handle certain situations. Knowing how crimes and violations are handled in certain areas and societies is a huge part of understanding the society itself. As Percy states, “The great difficulty is that he is not aware that there is a difficulty; surely, he thinks, in such a fine classroom, with such a fine textbook, the sonnet must come across” (Percy, p.4). I believe that in this quote, Percy is stating that students have difficulty in certain fields because they simply do not understand the difficulty in the subject and do not go above and beyond outside of the classroom in order to understand their said topics. For example, students that simply show up to class, take the tests, and leave may be worse off than students who had taken advantage of their resources. Those students who had taken advantage of their resources would then be more experienced in the field, as they had already had the chance to explore, understand, and experience the subject first-hand. 

In conclusion, criminal justice majors have many hidden advantages in society, as they are able to acquire skills and excel in their fields just by examining their community. Students may take the opportunities to excel by participating in internships, a ride-along, physical research of a society’s crimes, and sitting in a court room during open-case trials. Not only do these activities allow students to gain knowledge on crime topics, but these also allow students to experience criminal justice jobs first-hand before graduating. With that being said, it is more important than ever for students to realize the importance of research and internships, as they can gain a vast amount of knowledge by participating in said activities and gain the upper-hand on those who have not had these experiences, as criminal justice fields can prove to be extremely competitive. Once students realize the sheer importance of these activities, students will excel and succeed in the criminal justice world.

Pros: I really like this idea for improving learning. Instead of failing tests, students can receive the knowledge over time instead of one big test after lectures.

Cons: Draft was overall very good, only point of advice would be adding transition sentences between paragraphs.

Percy: Your Percy and Freire quotes are all very well used and described throughout the essay.

Pro: Paragraphs are very in-depth and give detail to the reader. Very good at explaining the Percy quote/analogy.

Con: I like your points a lot in this paragraph but i believe there could be a better Percy quote for this point.

Percy: Quotes are good, but should be more spread out throughout the paper and another quote.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B1MuUKObTSu9CMmdoEqKlExy4r_nY0BsT0Fiq6ofYkQ/edit?usp=sharing

Sean Redding 

Randall Cream

WRT120

November 7th, 2019 

                                                         Final Draft 

         No matter where you reside, the criminal justice system is a prominent feature in each and every community in the United States. There are a vast amount of job opportunities in this field, from police officers, judges, and probation officers to FBI agents, blood spatter analysis, and criminal behavioral analysis, criminal justice jobs are a key component to any working society. Each community has different needs depending on its location. For example, the city of Philadelphia may have a higher crime rate than a small rural town like west chester, and may need more officers equipped for this type of action. As a criminal justice major, it’s hard to choose just one field to go into, and even harder to obtain all of the skills needed to go into the criminal justice fields. Luckily, our community has many opportunities for interactions that can help with this specific major.

         As stated by Freire, “One cannot expect positive results from an educational or political action program which fails to respect the particular view of the world held by the people. Such a program constitutes cultural invasion, good intentions notwithstanding.” (Freire, Ch.3). I believe that this quote is suggesting that one cannot expect to excel in a certain field if they only focus on the core requirements of the major, but will succeed if they are familiar with other elements in the major.  Specifying this concept to a criminal justice major, something like a ride-along, or internship specific to a criminal justice student’s field of interest would be beneficial to their overall goal. By doing an internship, students are able to be placed in an environment similar to the real world experiences outside of college. Internships would be a preparation for life outside of college, especially when it comes to criminal justice majors. Being prepared in the criminal justice field is important, as many jobs in this field require a vast knowledge of the job and subject before entering. 

         Another concept that relates to knowledge outside of a specific major comes from Walker Percy’s theories and works on education. Percy says “A student who has the desire to get a dogfish or a Shakespeare sonnet may have the greatest difficulty in salvaging the creature itself from the educational package in which it is presented” (Percy, pg.4). I believe Percy was stating that a student who is strictly restrained to the limits inside one specific major may have the most difficulty excelling in the major. For a criminal justice major, there are many very simple ways to explore and to get in touch with the community in order to benefit in their majors. One way could be simply to stay updated on criminal justice related news in the community. A student could learn a large amount about what a criminal justice job would be like in a specific community by familiarizing themselves with the typical happenings of the community itself. By learning and getting familiar with the typical issues and crimes in a certain area, students can prepare for what they would be dealing with after graduating and entering the criminal justice fields. If a student were looking to become a police officer in Philadelphia, reading Philly’s local news and seeing about the many on-foot chases officers in Philadelphia have to partake in may lead this student to conclude that they must work on being physically fit for that specific job. This would then put them ahead of a student who did not have this knowledge and had the same goals. 

         One way criminal justice students can learn outside the classroom is with “ride-alongs” with the local police department. A ride along is when a police officer takes a citizen on a shift where they can sit in the passenger seat to see what like on an average shift. Students in CRJ that want to go into the police force can request to do this with local police departments within the community. Doing this the students can get a taste of what it is like to be on the force and see what police officers actually do on shifts.  Freire stated, “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” (Freire page 2). In this quote Freire talks about how education can cause oppression, but being out in the field with police officers can help introduce students to real world situations to learn on their own.

         In conclusion, criminal justice majors have many hidden advantages in society, as they are able to acquire skills and excel in their fields just by examining their community. It is more important than ever for students to realize the importance of research and internships, as they can gain a vast amount of knowledge by participating in said activities. 

Pro: I think this is a good point to learn outside your major. It relates perfectly to your quote as well.

Con: Use Freire more throughout the draft, and at the end when using his quotes and how they connect to the topic.

Percy: This is a very good quote connecting to Percy and great explanation following.

Pro:

I think this was a nice Percy quote for your topic, because when learning outside the classroom it is easier to obtain the lesson and learn. Whenever Im in class staring at a lecture i easily get distracted and the teachers point will not get across, but when Im active outside of school studying or doing extracurricular activities I pick up concepts better.

Constructive: I believe it would be beneficial to vary your vocabulary. For example, this paragraph contain the word ” you” multiple times. If this was changed, it would allow this portion of the essay to flow nicer, and create more of a rhythm in your tone.

Percy: I believe you clarified your Percy argument well. The way is was worded was straightforward and summarized it nicely.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B1MuUKObTSu9CMmdoEqKlExy4r_nY0BsT0Fiq6ofYkQ/edit?usp=sharing

Sean Redding 

WRT120

November 3rd, 2019 

Project #2 Draft

A lot of students arrive to West Chester University dead set on a certain major, or they don’t have a clue on what they want to do in life. With a large selection of classes and gen-eds, many students are able to achieve higher learning in different fields other than their major. With classes such as public speaking and writing, students gain a learning opportunity outside their major that can help them in the real world.With all of the courses WCU has to offer, there is much more information to obtain than just inside the limits of a singular major. 

Many majors require a vast knowledge in other subjects or fields in order to completely succeed in said major. For example, if someone were unable to speak publicly as a business major, and were planning on presenting business ideas or running their own business, they would not be as successful as a business major who were able to successfully speak in front of groups of people in order to pitch business ideas. In my opinion, having information in general fields can always aid to specific majors. As stated in the works of Percy, “A student who has the desire to get at a dogfish or a Shakespeare sonnet may have the greatest difficulty in salvaging the creature itself from the educational package in which it is presented” (Percy, pg 4).  I believe this quote suggests that it would be hard to truly master a major unless you had succeeded in other areas that aid to said major. Another example of this would be a major in Cultural Anthropology. A majority of this major revolves around field work, and recording said field work. If a student had no strength in writing, they would not be able to accurately record said findings in their fieldwork. In fact, not being able to accurately depict findings through writing is imperative to the major. If one does field work about a foreign culture and inaccurately depicts them in their writings, that culture may be offended, and it would also be inaccurate fieldwork all together. 

Another point to be made about students taking classes outside of their major, is that these extra classes help to prepare students for the real world. Classes like public speaking, basic math and writing classes,psychology, and yoga ultimately prepare many students who all have different majors or even just in life. Taking yoga classes as an elective teaches students different methods of stretching and meditation. Taking a psychology class can ultimately help any person understand more about people and their personalities. Classes like these can not only aid people who have already decided their major, but also aids people who are undecided. These classes teach skills that can be useful no matter what major a student may have. As stated by Perry, “Has been appropriated by the symbolic complex which has already been formed in the sightseer’s mind” (Percy, pg. 1). This quote seems to suggest that by being close-minded to a specific major and not taking advantage of the skills learned in the elective or gen-ed classes, they may not be taking advantage of the full college experience.

In conclusion, taking classes that aren’t directly associated with a major ultimately can benefit a student in their own major, and can benefit students throughout life. 

Leader: Sean Redding (Myself)

In today’s discussion i wanted to talk about how media has impacted on how society views things and holds value to it. Unfortunately, it decided to down pour today, and no one seemed to show up (as expected.) Since that is the case, I’ll just talk about it on here. One thing I have noticed that connected with the reading, is the value of something great becomes diminished once every starts seeing/using it. For example, The Grand Canyon used to be held to a very high standard when it was talked about being one of the most beautiful places to see. Now in today’s society you can go on the internet and see almost every single part of the canyon, maybe even more. With everyone already having seen such a beautiful sight it diminishes in value. Sure it is still amazing, but it would be even more amazing if only a few people have ever seen it. With social media every event now has someone recording, taking pictures, or somebody ready to pull there phones out. Percy sees that social media diminishes value into extraordinary events, and makes them less important to witness in person.

Leader: Sean Redding

Topic: In the reading ,The Loss of The Creature, Percy Walker writes about how media has impacted our interpretation on things such as the Grand Canyon. We will also discuss on how once something gets viewed, it starts to lose value in our eyes.

Location: Sunday 1PM @ Tables outside of library/starbucks

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_gWoKHCU3_QMcE4wi3HBRbzmnkH4ebACl8IHZIRPX68/edit?usp=sharing

Sean Redding

WRT120

Student Power

            As Freire suggests in his analysis of education, progress results from a student’s own power, not from a professor changing their actions. It is the individual student’s responsibility for their own success, and at WCU, resources for student independence and individuality are plentiful. College as a whole is not just shaping pathways for student education, but also allows students to grow independent by living apart from parents on campus, independence in the classroom, and joining the countless campus activities that WCU has to offer. In doing these things, students are able to gain a whole new aspect on life.

            Different students learn in different ways. A key to performing successfully as a student is to identify your own learning style. At WCU, professors are expected to teach thousands of different students per week, and each student has a different way of learning. This means that the professor cannot be expected to teach in a way fit for each student’s mind. In instances like this, it is up to the student to study on their own terms in ways that are compatible with their own learning styles. “Problem- posing education, as a humanist and liberating praxis, posits as fundamental that the people subjected to domination must fight for their emancipation. To that end, it enables teachers and students to become subjects of the educational process by overcoming authoritarianism and alienating intellectualism” (Freire, pg 6-8). Students at WCU are offered many supports in their independence in education and in life, as WCU offers learning amenities such as success coaching, and tutoring. Students who use all of these given resources will definitely be able to improve and work independently in their educational process.

            Another way in which a student may achieve emancipation is by taking advantage of the numerous clubs and sports that WCU has to offer. In high school, students had the same friend groups for years and are now being thrown into college alone. While this may be stressful for some, it is also extremely beneficial to the emancipation process. Making new friends and joining clubs allows a student to find their own individuality and allows people to find other students who can relate to them. As stated by Freire, “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’” (Freire, p. 2-4). I believe this quote clearly supports the reason that through finding individuality comes emancipation and independence.

            In conclusion, students have many opportunities to gain emancipation at WCU. Through understanding Freire’s ideas and analysis of education, I propose that students may be able to find their needed independence at West Chester University through the plethora of student clubs and organizations, as well as through learning and obtaining their own individual learning styles.

Topic #2 Student Power

Team Members: Sean Redding

Thesis: Surprisingly enough, college shapes the pathways for young student’s rather than just education. Attending a university allows students to break the norm in their lives. From living with parents, being forced to hang around the same people, and being able to join on campus activities, colleges like WCU allows students to break free and get a whole new aspect on life. 

Quotable sections:

PG2 P4

“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.

PG6 P8 

Problem-posing education, as a humanist and liberating praxis, posits as fundamental that the people subjected to domination must fight for their emancipation. 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. The world—no longer something to be described with deceptive words—becomes the object of that transforming action by men and women which results in their humanization.

Sean Redding

Jason R, Liya S, Juliana B, Timothy D, Riley B, Maddie B, Ruthie L, Jake H, Nick P, Christian J, Michael R, Jake D, Gabby L

This week in our discussion group, we talked about the style and differences between banking education and problem-posing education. Everyone in our group unanimously agreed that problem-posing was the better style of education. We discussed how students would rather take ownership in their education rather than being overloaded. One girl used the analogy that our brains are like containers, and how you can only fill it so much. One of the weaknesses of banking education is that real learning and experience comes from hands on individual work, rather than being lectured in a classroom. The group also agreed that the “Gen Ed” aspect of college is inconsequential, due to people having to learn subjects they have no interest in. I have experienced this firsthand this year in my physics class, where I try to pay attention then all the lecture goes in one ear, out the other. Hopefully in the future the education system well get down a perfect method that helps students and teachers.