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NonaFarahnikFirstPaper 8 - 23 Feb 2010 - Main.MohitGourisaria
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My thinking phase: I am writing this here to preserve some thoughts though I do not plan on including all of them in my first (or final) draft. | | | 8. An advisory board of students involved with different facets of the school who report to Dean Schizer on a monthly basis.
9. There are already some nice 1L rituals in place (student/faculty dinner for example). I do not yet know enough about the 3 year trajectory for events like that is, but let's at least tie together what we have in a cohesive way and give it some thematic muster. | |
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> | [Nona -- I think you have captured some of the most important/necessary institutional changes above. My question is this: Many students have a sense of what changes we need (with varying biases and preferences), but isn't the problem that we haven't opened our eyes to the vast and endless seas before us (using Saint-Exupéry's image). It seems to me that the above changes are the planks and nuts that can be used to build the boat. But unless we yearn (as you say) for the immense, would these changes have any tangible effect on what distances we take our boat? The A-student (whatever that may mean), the B-student, etc. must all determine that these grades are meaningless for purposes in which they are used. Unless they understand the fallacy of it (by aspiring for the endless), wouldn't the reformed institution just create new meaningless standards?
-- MohitGourisaria - 23 Feb 2010 ] | | | - Institutions and Burcu. When I was a freshman, I lived in a dorm with a girl from Turkey named Burcu. Burcu remains one of the wisest and most special people I have ever met. We shared many stories and hours of conversation that forever changed me. Unfortunately, she goes months at a time without a telephone or email so I cannot get in touch with her to get/confirm some of the details of this story. When Burcu was 15 or 16 the mayor of Ankara, Turkey, presented her with the key to the city for her work with street children. Burcu had always been troubled by the high number of street children who did not go to school, did not work, and were involved in petty crime/problematic behaviors. She wrote a letter to the Mayor about her view on solving the problem: a free summer camp that would be anchored by a curriculum rich in Turkish history. She reasoned that if they could inspire these young children with pride for their city and their country's past, their attitudes would change. The Mayor loved the idea and came up with the money, campgrounds and teachers for a few hundred kids. He held a big ceremony for the camp's opening. An hour or so later, after the politicians and press had left, young Burcu was suddenly in charge with no curriculum or oversight. She found her footing and worked with the teachers to come up with a successful program, which she repeated the next summer. Afterward, there was a significant decrease in the number of kids who hung out in the streets.
- Antione de Saint Exupéry said "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." This class makes me yearn for the vast and endless sea. How do I build the ship? |
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