Conversation Paper #2: Due Monday! And some links...

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Conversation Paper #2: A Post-apocalyptic Education, Part II

In Chapter 46 of Station Eleven, Jeevan is discussing the subject of Year Twenty education with some friends. One of them remarks, “Does it still make sense to teach kids about the way things were?” And Jeevan’s wife, Daria, responds, “I suppose the question is, does knowing these things make them more or less happy?” (260-270). 

So there is where you come in: I want you to imagine that you’re designing the first college for the Post-Flu Age. Now that we’re in a new world, we can start over again, with a completely blank slate. We really get to decide what would make the new generation of students “more or less happy”—and what would truly educate them for the future. So what should an education look like in a “perfect world”? This is your chance to imagine what education should be and what it could be rather than what it is today.

Consider what works about the modern university, what should be preserved, and what seems broken. Discuss at least one thing you would KEEP from the past—either a class, a field of study, or a method of teaching, and at least one thing you would CHANGE—again, the same types of things. You should also identify the overall philosophy that you think a university should embody: is it simply preparing students for careers and employment? Or is it to make them more responsible and educated citizens? Or is to teach values, morals, and ethics? What would you want the new generation to remember about the past, and how much of their education would create their identity as human beings, Americans, Oklahomans, or whatever country, state, or culture you would want them to identify as. In other words, what would make them happy and able to live a productive, informed life with a minimum of regret and confusion?

REQUIREMENTS:
  • You must use Station Eleven as an important part of your conversation, since you are literally in this world. Respond to specific quotes/ideas in the book.
  • You should use at least THREE secondary sources (articles, etc.) to expand your conversation. At least one should occupy a ‘naysayer’ role. Quote from these articles and respond to their ideas.
  • Should be at least 4-5 pages, double spaced.
  • Due Monday, April 23rd by 5pm

Some Links to Article that May Be Helpful:

* https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/technology-and-learning/read-robot-proof-if-you-only-read-one-higher-ed-book#.WtdULHa9KfY.email

* https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/us/holocaust-education.html





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