The main theme I came up with from the chapter of Bell Hooks' book was the desire for inspiration.
I think that the author is trying to say that in order to reach the point of self-actualization, one needs to feed off of the insiration the recieve from another. In this chapter, the inspiration discussed is a professor or teacher. I can really relate to part where Hooks says "Most of my professors were not the slightest bit interested in enlightenment. More than anything they seemed enthralled by the excersize of power and authority within their mini-kingdom, the classroom" (70). Even in my first semester of college, I had 4 of my 5 professors be completely disconnected with what they were talking about and had more fun pointing out kids that were using their cellphones. It is hard to get inspired about a topic or a certain problem if the one educating you on it doesn't care about it. There was however one professor who really inspired me to reach my full potential. Because he cared about me as a person and what he was trying to teach me, I, to this day, feel so inspired by him and feel am a better student because of him.
Also, Hooks goes onto say that there are a few teachers, however, that do inspire us and those are the ones that help us reach our goal of self- actualization. (70)Because I am going to be a teacher one day, I feel this opened my eyes. After reading this chapter, I now know how much harder I will have to work so that I can be one of the few teachers that in the end, does inspire students. I will never be the teacher just going to teach because it is their job. I am going to teach because I am inspired myself, by a few passionate teachers, to follow in their footsteps as inspirational leaders.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Inventing the University
After reading through this essay for the second time, I came to realize, I didn't understand ANY of it before. Reading it again slower and more focused I am now starting to put the pieces together. I am not a good speller nor good at finding out what words really mean. I realized how many words can mean multiple things. THe word that I think I am now understanding is "Commonplace." I know that after reviewing the term in class and now reading it over and over in the text I finally see that I was wrong in my first definition of it.
I now can see that when referring to commonplace, the author is referring to an already reviewed topic. I realized that it isnt about two people coming to an agreement or reaching a peaceful state of mind. I now know that this commonplace is a thought that isn't original. If I were to say, I think the sky is blue... that would be one of the most unoriginal statements I can make. Since the thought is mine but wasn't mine first, it is a commonplace. That is what I understand it to be. I am still learning about it and may still be confused but I think from my previous definitions, I am coming along to understanding the idea.
I now can see that when referring to commonplace, the author is referring to an already reviewed topic. I realized that it isnt about two people coming to an agreement or reaching a peaceful state of mind. I now know that this commonplace is a thought that isn't original. If I were to say, I think the sky is blue... that would be one of the most unoriginal statements I can make. Since the thought is mine but wasn't mine first, it is a commonplace. That is what I understand it to be. I am still learning about it and may still be confused but I think from my previous definitions, I am coming along to understanding the idea.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
A Kind Word for Bullshit
" For many non-academics, academic writing is not just bullshit but bullshit of the worst kind." (Eubanks p.381)
When reading the text, "A Kind Word for Bullshit," I couldn't relate to much of what the authors were saying. I could barely even understand what they were trying to say, until I came to this quote. I believe myself to not be a specialist of any kind in academic studies. I'm not majoring in any science fields and I do not plan to be a doctor one day. Although there are many other fields that use academic discourse, I still don't feel like I specialize in any of them. Therefore, I consider myself a non-academic, as referred to in the text.
As a non-academic, when reading a case study or an important document, I always think of ways they could have said what they were talking about in easier ways. These ways would be more straight forward and without all the "bullshit" added in. Even in the text, there were parts where they discuss how the writers of academic discourse use jargon that the average reader will most likely not understand or feel like the aren't smart enough to understand. I have read things like that where I feel like I shut down because I don't know what the material is trying to tell me.
"A Kind Word for Bullshit" did in the end take a better stance to bullshit than in the book "On Bullshit," but to me... it was all just a bunch of bullshit.
When reading the text, "A Kind Word for Bullshit," I couldn't relate to much of what the authors were saying. I could barely even understand what they were trying to say, until I came to this quote. I believe myself to not be a specialist of any kind in academic studies. I'm not majoring in any science fields and I do not plan to be a doctor one day. Although there are many other fields that use academic discourse, I still don't feel like I specialize in any of them. Therefore, I consider myself a non-academic, as referred to in the text.
As a non-academic, when reading a case study or an important document, I always think of ways they could have said what they were talking about in easier ways. These ways would be more straight forward and without all the "bullshit" added in. Even in the text, there were parts where they discuss how the writers of academic discourse use jargon that the average reader will most likely not understand or feel like the aren't smart enough to understand. I have read things like that where I feel like I shut down because I don't know what the material is trying to tell me.
"A Kind Word for Bullshit" did in the end take a better stance to bullshit than in the book "On Bullshit," but to me... it was all just a bunch of bullshit.
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