[MD] Imaginings

[John Carl]

Platt,
Thanks for sharing your insights and suggestions, they don't all harmonize
with the specific school of possibility that I am thinking through.  For DQ
University is a tribal college.  An actually existing one.  In trouble with
accreditation precisely because it is not in the standardized SOMish mold.

The way I see it, installing the MoQ as the "operating system" on a tribal
college in trouble with authority is just too juicy to resist.  The final
book that turns ZAMM and Lila into part of a trilogy, is written in oral
tradition for an oral people to transmit to future generations.  The book
about the Indians finally gets written, and it gets written in the hearts of
the people through a blending with their own teachings.  A path of
integration, the shamanistic journey comes full circle, back to Dusenberry's
Indians in the end.


On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 8:17 AM, <plattholden at gmail.com> wrote:

> On 7 Sep 2009 at 22:59, John Carl wrote:
>
> > I responded thus to Platt before, but more mention is needed of DQ
> > University.
>
> > We start with Metaphysics 101.  This is because you need to understand
> the
> > ground upon which your education is based.
>
> Agree. Also required course in the history of Western Civilization, i.e,
> how Europe and the U.S. got to be where they are, economically,
> politically, culturally.


John]

See, that's a bit Euro-centric for a tribal college.  Some grounding in
understanding the conquering power is good, no doubt.



> Also, a required course in world religions, a
> required course in the history and methods of science, and a required
> course in art appreciation. Finally, a required course in effective
> writing.
>
>
John]

Well... isn't that pretty close to what we've got now?  Or at least, what we
used to have which could be argued is what got us to where we are now.  I'm
striving for new approaches for even if what worked before, worked
(arguable) what is needed now is new.



> Reverse the learning process. Students do the reading, teacher answers
> questions about the reading.



I'm thinking of a link Ron posted a while back about the differences in an
Oral transmission vs. a written one.  I think for an Indian school,
affirmation of oral traditional methods on an academic scale would be more
attractive and useful.




> Set a time limit. Otherwise, classes could
> go on forever. Forget "communal consensus." (Students vote on who
> passes, fails)


All teaching should "go on forever" rather than be walled off in sections of
your life.

The teacher is part of this community and when trusting in consensus, even a
minority has power to halt the process.... I imagine the way it would work
is that the students would be eager to move on, but the teacher would be the
main force holding them back until they all demonstrably "got it".

Communally, this motivates the students to help each other "get it" asap,
and makes them part of the team.  The magic of team effort is something that
continues to elude you, Platt.  I do get that.  But if you free up the class
from a time-based schedule, I'd be willing to bet the real result would be
to speed up the process on average rather than slow it down.  In an
open-ended process, the group is rewarded for achieving understanding by
finishing early.


Test students on their understanding. Teachers judge
> quality of writing.
>
>
Amend to teachers judge students on the Quality of their expression to
include oral.


> > In fact, the school grounds should be themselves an ideal demonstration
> of
> > proper principles put in practice.  Designed in a circle with enough food
> > for all and gardened according to the wisest minds in a holistic pattern.
>
> The campus setting is not high on my priorities.



A college that teaches the right way to live should demonstrate what it
teaches.  When I went to boarding school, all students were required as part
of their education to work at the school at least 4 hours a day.  I took a
construction class that also gave me the opportunity to build homes on the
campus, installing our learning in real life and in our teen brains at the
same time, most effectively.


> Thanks for your suggestions, John. Specifics are always welcome in
> otherwise mostly abstract discussions.
>


 Well anything to distract you from Obama's speech this morning to the good
students of America.

John the button - pusher