Fabulous Day

So today isn't fabulous because it's "black Friday" or because it's the day after Thanksgiving.

It's fabulous because I found something amazing while reading The Chronicle today. Someone's response in something I read was that she was wondering what would happen when Maya Angelou passed and that this is the answer.

Start with the little piece on the Chronicle here:

Say Something

Then continue to feast your eyes and ears and soul:

Stage

Walking

Mama (Get your tissues out for this one)

I'm pretty sure this is her, too

Another good one (performed at the New York Film Academy)

Bi-Racial Hair

-Why she is the Youth Poet Laureate

Bi-Racial Hair

--Mini film made based on her poem

Zora Howard. Remember her name.

Philosophy, Social Theory, and Other Stuff

Recently I've been thinking about the many things I don't know and haven't studied (or have studied but don't remember) and how these unknowns could really add to my education. I feel the need to return to my roots of sociology, refresh my memory of classical and contemporary social theory, and look at them from the education perspective. I also feel the need to get a good overview of philosophy, something that I haven't studied. I took a philosophy of law class in college, but that course was very specific...I didn't get a broad background in philosophy. So I'm interested in learning about philosophy in the same way I'd like to refresh my social theory, and I'd also be interested in learning more about educational philosophies as well.

In my online searches, I've happily stumbled upon an introductory philosophy text (entirely online with links to youtube and everything) that I'd like to read. Do I really have the time for this? Probably not. Do I have other articles to be reading and other papers to be writing? Absolutely. --Is that going to stop me? No.

Getting started:

A. List the five or so most important questions or problems you think about.

-What is the purpose of life? (Specifically, the purpose of MY life...)

-What is the purpose of education?

-What does the future hold? (Overall, and specifically with regards to the fields of technology and education.)

-How can modern technological advances be used for "good" and for connecting people all over the world?

-How can I do good in this world in this life?

B. If you had virtually unlimited financial resources at your disposal what would you begin doing with your life?

-I would probably continue my education, travel a bit (hello, Greece!), and start up an organization to help educate disenfranchised populations or improve education on the whole.

C. What is Philosophy?

Philosophy is many things - a thought process, a belief system, a way to make sense of the world.

D. How do you use the term "philosophy"?

When I discuss the views/opinions I have on something that I've put a great amount of thought and research into. They are ideas I usually arrive at based on my experiences in life, and I usually maintain an openness about my philosophies - I am willing to consider new information to add to or otherwise inform my philosophy.

E. How do others use the term "philosophy"? Give examples.

Usually it is in reference to something someone has an opinion about (not really a philosophy at all) and usually something someone has pondered/experienced/learned from and about a great deal. Some people merely state an opinion and say that is their philosophy about something - for others it is more than mere opinion.

F. What good is philosophy?

Philosophy helps you think, helps you connect thoughts and experiences, and perhaps adds a certain type of value to your thoughts and experiences. It implies reflection at the least, and is often coupled with observation and/or experience, and can help give meaning to these thoughts/feelings/experiences.

G. What importance might philosophy have in your future?

Who knows!!!

Notes:

Relevance of Greek philosophy to modern times: At the time of Socrates/Plato, Greeks were transitioning from an oral to a literate culture, and people were beginning to question the myths that had been passed down over time. Now we are shifting from a literate culture to an electronic culture and "We are at the beginning of a period in which we are attempting to develop a morality for the new age."

Theory of education - Alfred North Whitehead:

-Romance

-Precision

-Generalization

Belief Systems

Different belief systems and periods: classical, modern, postmodern

--Starting with unconscious acceptance despite inconsistencies; acceptance of ideas from authorities; accept ideas from the desire to please/be accepted; postmodern culture promotes thought patterns that are uncritical and not reflective.

--Philosophy emerges when belief system cannot answer the important questions

--Students go to college believing that all claims are opinions and everyone can believe whatever they want (similar to cognitive development theory), they do not want to be disloyal and reject their belief system and also want to believe in eternal life (i.e. going to heaven).

--Insincere, uncritical tolerance

Thoughts:

Interesting discussion of the Matrix and the blue pill vs. red pill with regards to philosophical thought (& cognitive development?)

DONE WITH CHAPTER 1!

Don't Mistake Correlation for Causation

Let me preface this blog by saying that yes, I am blogging to procrastinate, and no, this blog has nothing to do with school or class readings.

So you've heard the saying "don't mistake correlation for causation," right? So between my undergraduate major (sociology), minor (psychology), and my grad school education, I've taken roughly 6 courses that somehow relate to research methods, and about half of them have been quantitative. Well, I have always enjoyed the various examples I've heard of not mistaking correlation for causation because they are almost always funny. Anyhow, after watching an episode of South Park, I've got a new example!

Here are three examples of mistaking correlation for causation. I'll let you guess which one is the example from South Park.

1) Someone is doing research on shark attacks and they make a discovery. An increase in shark attacks occurs when there is an increase in ice cream sales, and a shark attacks disappear entirely when ice cream sales are at their lowest point. What do we need to do to prevent shark attacks from happening? Clearly, we need to stop selling ice cream!!!

2) A researcher is studying crime in an urban area and thinks there may be a way to lower crime rates in the city. In this large urban area, there have been several murders over the past year, but in a suburban area not too far away, there has been only one murder in the past five years. The researcher also notices that the large urban area has roughly 30 churches while the suburban area has only one. Isn't it clear why there is so much crime in the urban city? The abundance of churches!!!

3) In a small town in Colorado, a law is passed that bans the selling of fast food, which means that the local KFC has closed down. Another law is passed allowing for the use of medicinal marijuana, and this medicinal marijuana store has opened in the place of the KFC. In this town, (unbeknownst to the local doctor) men are purposefully exposing themselves to radio waves to induce testicular cancer so they can get prescriptions for marijuana. Due to the alarming rate of testicular cancer in town, the doctor argues that the KFC must be reopened because they did not have a testicular cancer epidemic when there was a KFC in town.

Interesting Reads

The course readings I've had recently for my disabilities studies class have been very interesting. I thought this week's topic of "Ethics and Politics" might not be as exciting as previous weeks, but I think this weeks readings provided perhaps even more issues to think about. The readings were mostly about eugenics (historically in the US, Britain, and Germany and the relation to modern-day prenatal testing), and the "mad" movement (which I had only been slightly familiar with).

Who has the right to decide that a life is not worth living?

At what point do people with mental illness lose the right to make decisions about their physical bodies?

-These are just a couple questions that popped into my head after the readings - questions that I know will be tumbling around in my head for some time.

Readings for my curriculum class have also been great. Right now we're reading some Parker Palmer and bell hooks. I have to say, though Palmer is indeed a good writer and is very, very full of passion and care, there's just something about bell hooks that jumps out and grabs me. Perhaps this is not the most relevant thing to be pointing out, but just the differences in the style of writing sort of separate their perspectives (which are in some ways very different, and in other ways, similar). I feel that every word, every sentence, every paragraph and chapter of Palmer is carefully selected and strung together with intent. There is a reason for every word and each idea builds. hooks on the other hand...well, her writing isn't haphazard or anything, but it is full of energy...it's like...her writing is actually charismatic. -Is that possible? I'm sure I'll have more to say about both once I've completed the readings, but it's so interesting to see the ways their two different perspectives complement each other.

Today I got to (just about) the end of chapter 4 in Palmer, and I have to say that I spent lots of time thinking about this chapter as I was reading it because I really identify with it. At first, I was wondering where he was going with his discussion of community (i.e. therapeutic, civic, and market) but I like where he ended up because I share his epistemological perspective. I mean...I always love talking about subjective vs objective thought, and the importance of the relationship of the "knower" with the "subject" and that there is indeed a relationship, not just among people in the academic community, but between people and inanimate objects and thoughts, such as the subjects we study, and the underlying questions or "secrets" that pull us into them. I understand that to some people, it may sound ridiculous, but I don't think being moved by ideas is any less "out there" than being moved by poetry, art, and music.

For example, I was so sure I was going to major in psychology when I went to college, and when I finished my first year, I had 20 credits in psychology. On a whim, I decided to take a sociology class and...well...I tossed my psych major out the window. Sociology really touched me...Merton, anomie, deviance, Goffman, the presentation of the self, social structures, social roles, hierarchy, social stratification...it isn't just the learner learning, and it's more than the student reaching out to touch the subject, it's the subject actually reaching out to pull you in. I also feel that way about education, and of course, as I've moved along in my education, I see the relationships among the different subjects I've studied, the relationships among people in my studies (faculty and peers), and even the connection of myself to what I'm studying. --I really feel Palmer in this one.

I've begun my research for my disability studies paper...I've found about 50 articles related to my topic, now I'm in the process of reading abstracts and weeding out what I don't need. I've already found at least four that go in the "not relevant" pile and I've gone through about ten. Hopefully I'll find a couple real gems, but none so far. I think ideally I'd like to address teaching, learning, and pedagogy...though I'm open to where the literature will take me. I just think that those three pieces are critical to curriculum, though, of course, institutional structure is, too. I'm thinking with teaching it's who is teaching and what is being taught, with learning it's who is/should/has learned from the disability studies perspective, what is taught, and where is disability studies taught (i.e. is it a silo department or interdisciplinary across curriculum), and with pedagogy it's the question of how disability studies is taught. Hrm. I'll need to ponder that a bit more.

In other news, I have a review due next Thursday for the Teaching Matters panel I attended last week. I've had a harder time thinking of connections to the reading than I did with previous panels, maybe because it feels like a rehash of the same material as the topics discussed at each session are very similar. Anyhow, I was thinking that a new dimension would be the benefit that not only first year students get from learning communities, but also the student mentors that lead these groups. --And guess what showed up in my mailbox today? The most recent edition of Educational Horizons that I receive through Pi Lambda Theta, and it's all about the benefits associated with being a student mentor! How cool is that?! Just the perfect piece I need!

Midterms and Beyond

Well, I managed to survive midterms. Well, it wasn't technically midterms, but it was a period of time (coinciding with midterms) where several papers/presentations/projects were due. I had my group presentation for my disability studies class, my article review, presentation, and review from a panel discussion for my curriculum class, and (fanfare, please) my final assignment, my big legal research paper for the ed law course I took an incomplete for last semester. I actually enjoyed writing it though at times the research was painful (it was difficult finding case law on my topic).

My attention can now be focused on my final teaching matters review, class readings, and final research papers. I've already started my research, as I have ideas of what I'm interested in researching for my classes. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do my curriculum paper on online pedagogy and my disability studies paper on disability studies in higher education curriculum. I thought there would just be too much overlap if I did something in disability studies and higher ed curriculum for both classes. Then there's my independent study. I've been pondering just doing a research paper on something I'm interested in related to technology and education but I've also been thinking of actually doing research based on a previous lit review.

I've been compiling data from a state DOE accountability site and just keep confusing myself with the data. What's important? What if what I thought was important wasn't? What if it doesn't mean anything? Can I use these numbers to help guide me to people/schools to interview? I've already dedicated a few hours to compiling the data. Hopefully I'll be able to make some sense of it.