Introduction:
Coming
into this course the current issues I thought we would discuss were issues that
were facing higher education, specifically. I imagined these topics would
include: budgets, access and cost, online learning, grade inflation, hiring
freezes, international students, etc. While each of these topics was in fact a
part of our class, I was pleased to learn about an even wider array of topics.
For me, I enjoyed discussing the "breaking news" issues such as: the
Penn State scandal, slut walks, occupy protest, loan repayment, drunkorexia,
etc. I believe these issues made searching The Chronicle and Inside Higher
Education an exciting process.
As for
the structure of the class, I honestly had not given much thought to how this
class would be structured or if it would be structured any differently. After
learning about the class structure and requirement of weekly blogging I felt
unsure of how the process would go. On one hand, blogging for a current issues
class seemed appropriate and almost necessary considering the ever changing
topics we would discuss in the class. Textbooks and even journal articles would
be outdated material. On the other hand, blogging was a foreign skill to me and
was definitely outside of my comfort zone.
In
addition to blogging being a new skill, keeping up on current issues is not generally
my strong suit. I usually know what is going on in the news but not in enough
detail to talk about or inform others on the issue. My experience in this class
really helped me focus on and learn in depth about an issue. After finding an
article on The Chronicle or Inside Higher Ed I would then need to research the
topic further and develop a more complete understanding of the issue. This
class pushed me outside of my comfort zone not only because I was forced to more
thoroughly understand the current issues but also because I publicly posted my
opinions for others to comment on.
My blogs:
This new
experience became easier each time I posted. Some of the blogs I feel
particularly proud of are:
1) In the
College Athletics blog I posted the blog: Are the New Academic Requirements forDivision-I Athletics too Strong? In this blog I argued that the Academic
Progress Rate that athletic departments implement for team eligibility are too
stringent. Although I support the need for eligibility requirements to help
keep student athletes accountable, I believe individual consequences are a
better approach than punishing an entire team and, in some cases, an entire
athletic program.
2) In the Access and the Cost of Higher Education blog, I posted: Should CollegesWithdraw Students who Threaten or Attempt Suicide? For this blog I came across an article that described a student who was withdrawn from his college because he admitted himself into the emergency room because he took too many pills. In my blog I acknowledged the liability universities face yet I do not support the act of withdrawing students who attempt or threaten suicide.
3) In the blog Really, this is Unbelievable, I posted: Addition of a Gay, Transgender,Bisexual Question on the College Application. My blog was based off of an article about an addition of a gay, transgender, bisexual question on the Elmhurst College application. I supported this addition and believe that the more inclusive universities can be the better. Since answering this question on the application is optional, students can feel included without feeling marginalized.
4) In the
Changing Numbers blog I posted the blog: Words Hurt! Changing the Way We Speak.
This blog focused on the power of language and how hurtful or ignorant we can
be. I stated that it is important for higher education professionals to educate
their students and coworkers and help them be more aware of the messages their
phrases send.
5) In the
Changing Numbers blog I posted: Changing the Way We Work- CultivatingCreativity. This blog basically discussed the issue many professors face that
students resist thinking critically or outside the box because they are so
focused on knowing the right answer or the answer that will be on the test. It
is important to begin to change the culture in higher education, not only for
our students but also among our coworkers. Critical, creative thinking will
transform our universities.
Reflection on blogging
experience:
This
class gave me a good idea of a creative, interactive pedagogical tool that I
can incorporate as a faculty member. I could see myself using this medium as a
way to get my counseling students thinking about certain issues in the
counseling field. One course that blogging may prove to be an effective tool is
for counseling ethics. Students can find old or current cases related to
counseling and ethics and create a blog based on that case while providing
their opinion and displaying their ethical decision making. Since there is a
lot of room for possible answers in ethical decision making, I believe blogging
would be an interesting way to learn how my students think about decision
making.
One thing
in particular I appreciated about the blogging component of this class is that
everyone was given equal "air time". I think it is natural to have a
class that is mixed with various levels of knowledge, experience, and
participation style and so blogging gave each person a chance to discuss
something they relate to and in a time frame that fit for their style. Blogging
allowed me to take enough time to conceptualize the content of an article,
process my opinion about it, and put into words a way to share it with the
class. My style of learning tends to consist of learning new information,
considering every angle before taking a stance and then verbalizing my opinion.
Blogging gave me the space to thoroughly go through this process. Higher
education classes tend to be material that is relatively new to me as compared
to my counseling classes and so I enjoyed learning from my classmates who each
have diverse experiences from various universities and personal backgrounds.
One
aspect of the class that was interesting and at the same time confusing was
that there really is no clear cut answer to most of the issues. This was
interesting because I like to discuss every possible solution before having an
opinion. The class certainly examined every side of each issue. At the same
time, it occasionally became confusing because it seemed like we talked in
circles about an issue. Some topics seemed as though each point was valid which
made the entire topic complex and confusing. I think this is what makes higher
education so exciting yet so demanding.
Summary of what I learned:
This
class allowed me to learn in many different formats: keeping up to date with
online current issue sources, sharing online blogs, reading and learning from
online blogs, large classroom discussions, small group discussions, and reading
selected articles. Each of these formats aided to my learning in different
ways.
Although
keeping up with online current issue sources at times became overwhelming, I
learned to sort through current issue topics and mainly focus on issues of
interest. Once I was able to easily sort through topics, it became much more
manageable. I do not believe one can be an expert on each an every issue that
surfaces but by sorting through issues, I could become informed enough to
create a weekly blog and comment on others blogs. One aspect to current issues
that was reiterated for me during this class is that it is something that I
will constantly need to be updating myself with since current issues are ever
changing.
By
forcing myself to create weekly blogs I not only needed to stay up to date on
certain current issues, I also needed to develop my opinion enough to write a
comprehensive blog to share with the class. I do not have trouble developing an
opinion but I generally do not argue my opinion to others. I enjoy hearing
others' opinions but do not frequently assert mine. Blogging forced me to do so
and I believe helped me learn how to continue.
I enjoyed
reading others' blogs because it helped me learn more about an issue and helped
me learn about the person and, in some cases, their personal experiences. It
was interesting to go to class and put a face with the name of certain blogs I
read over the past few weeks. This was a unique way to get to know classmates
and the way they think.
The large
classroom discussions seemed to move quickly. I found each discussion to be
interesting and I certainly learned something from each topic discussed in the
large group however I found more difficulty inserting my opinion in this
setting. This is another reason why the blogging experience was so useful for
me. Everyone was given space to discuss issues that were pertinent to them and were
given feedback or varying opinions to further consider the issue. Small group
discussions were exciting because this is where there is a more interactive
conversation. I enjoyed discussing my ideas as well as learning other
perspectives and background experiences.
Below is a list of each blog I
posted this semester:
1)
College Athletics
Are the
New Academic Requirements for DI
2) Access
and the Cost of Higher Ed
Should
Colleges Withdraw Students who Threaten or Attempt Suicide?
3)
Changing Numbers
Changing
the Way We Work- Cultivating Creativity
4)
Really, this is Unbelievable
Addition
of a Gay, Transgender, Bisexual Question
5)
Changing Numbers
Words
Hurt! Changing the Way We Speak
6)
Graduate Education
The Art
of Being Present
7) Higher
Ed in Colorado
Rival
Colorado Schools, How Do You Recruit?
8)
Graduate Education
Building
a Sense of Community Among Faculty
9)
Protest and Conflict
How far
would you go to pay off your student loans?
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