** For some reason this did not post last night, so here it is**
Today I was part of the Tunnel of Oppression project at my college. My classes developed research posters that informed about different aspects of oppression correlating with the skits in the tunnel—sort of a ‘do you want to learn more’ situation. Honestly, I don’t think it went far enough. There is a real opportunity in things of this nature to do experiential learning. Some of it could be service learning based, but the core idea is to have the students in the environment witnessing the effects of oppression. When someone touches an issue first hand it provides them with a different perspective than someone who has only witnessed it through the glitzed and glam TV imagery or purely through research. To use football terms, it is the difference between playing Madden NFL football and actually playing a game of tackle football and getting hit. Very different scenarios unfold.
In general I feel like there is a lot of opportunity for growth in my teaching and I am starting to sense that spark of creativity that makes me want to do it and to do more. I have to find a balance first, of course. I cannot continue to string myself out with over a half dozen unique course preps each semester. That is not helping anyone in the long run.
Some Thoughts:
- I was reminded this evening that I focus better when I don’t have the TV playing in the background.
- I miss Minecraft.
- Games are simply a distraction to avoid dealing what I’m really missing.
- I am still hopelessly in love.