HMXP 102

Dr. Bickford

Paper One Assignment

The Self and Education

Due Date: 2/5

So far this semester, we have been talking about the individual student’s responsibility and the teacher’s responsibility in educating the student.  We have discussed how “blocks” may come into play in the classroom, some metaphors we use when thinking about education, and the ways in which teachers help us to come to a new understanding about our beliefs and knowledge. 

With these ideas as a starting point, choose one of the topics suggested below and develop a unified (clear thesis) and coherent (clear connections among the parts) paper of 3-5 pages (double spaced, 12 point font) in which you clearly take a stand on one side or the other.  Be sure to offer valid arguments not only for your side, but also against the main points for the other side.  This means you have to look objectively at both sides of the issue before you begin.  Your argument should be mature and logical (no unsupported opinions), and your supporting evidence should be convincing—many specific examples and details. 

Include ideas, either quoted or paraphrased, from at least TWO (preferably more) of our reading assignments.  You may also choose to include movies, shows, or music shared in class or otherwise known to you, but you still need to use at least two of our readings.  Consider, for example, what our assignments have told us about how we learn, what makes communication succeed or fail, how we talk about abstract ideas, what our responsibility is for learning, and what the teacher’s responsibility is for teaching us.  Be sure to quote, summarize, and paraphrase according to MLA standards and formatting.  You will need a Works Cited page listing your sources at the end of the paper.

Suggested topics:

1. To be well educated, people should/should not seek exposure to facts and ideas that go against their existing beliefs.  Give examples of how doing so would/would not help to educate a person.
2. An educated person needs/does not need good writing and speaking skills (sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and especially vocabulary).  Give examples to support your opinion.
3. Education should/should not include not only memorization of facts (dates, etc.) but also a broadening of understanding of the world around us.  Give examples to support your opinion.
4. The teacher should/should not consider him or herself as a “midwife” (see your notes on Plato).  Give examples to support your opinion.
5. A feeling of autonomy does/does not help a student to feel more responsible for his or her education.  Give examples to support your opinion.
6. Does education foster or hinder self reliance?  Does your answer depend on the type of education in question?  Give examples to support your opinion.

Please remember to turn your paper into turnitin.com by 5PM on the due date.  Papers not turned in both in hard copy to me and electronically through turnitin.com will not be read.  Email me if you have any questions about how to set up a turnitin account.

The class ID # is 2566121

The enrollment password is HMXPS09 (this is case sensitive).