First, I'd like to thank everyone for the discussion today during class. It is fantastic to hear all the varied views on the subject of multiculturalism. We got about half way through the presentation, and I have a copy of the powerpoint here for you to download if you wish to see what other questions we were going to pose before time ran out.
I waited until after class today to actually write my reaction paper. I knew that as much as I wanted to write down all my feelings about multiculturalism, I would undoubtedly be "changed" in some of my views during the discussion. Sure enough, some of them did, and now I can reflect that in the paper. Procrastination pays off sometimes!
I was going to write about some reactions from class today, but after reading several different blog entries recently, I've noticed a tendency for people to qualify the end of their insightful, intellectual and powerful blog entries with the phrase "just a thought." I've found myself using that phrase and later deleting it just before posting. Also, we have a thread by Michelle that questions the validity of our thoughts. Considering all the fantastic discourse offered by everyone so far in this course, I don't think there is anyone who could be labeled "unintelligent."
I got home today with a huge headache. I felt as if I had just taken the SAT's--my brain was mush. Thinking critically for three hours is very difficult for me. I began to question whether I would ever be able to handle this sort of academic discourse on a more permanent basis!
Why do some of us seem to feel this intellectual insecurity? Perhaps because we have all been led through discourse to question our own long-held beliefs? Perhaps because we have read too many articles by well-seasoned academic authors and we feel we have such a long way to go to reach that point?
Thinking this through, I really don't think that any of us should feel that this process of intellectual stimulation and discourse makes any of us less intelligent than the other. We all come from different places and are in various stages of our academic development. I, for one, am in awe of the way we express ourselves in words and wish I could take you all with me as the school year resumes. Just don't give me a headache.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
beautifully stated!
Yes, well said! I think that many of us have been conditioned to speak once our thoughts are ready and formed into a neatly packaged presentation. Maybe, because we are musicians, we want to be our most prepared - we wouldn't sing something before a group that we hadn't rehearsed, after all! I think it takes exercise and bravery to learn to speak through the formation of ideas. I've got a headache too! no wonder!
Occasionally, I will Google one of the authors we're reading, but really, they could be 78 years old writing on a career's worth of reflection and thought....we're what, seven days into this process? Thanks for the perspective!
Post a Comment