Class/Room Mediated

"The most important intellectual ability man has yet developed - the art and science of asking questions - is not taught in school. Moreover, it is not "taught" in the most devastating way possible: by arranging the environment so that significant question asking is not valued." - Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner

This video is a composed of both question and solution. It is easy to witness the problem proposed by Postman and Weingartner. The problem perpetuates when a student opens a lecture hall door and sits down to be a passive observer instead of an active creator. We, as students, do not have to continue to observe! We need to initiate questions in the lecture setting. We need to help dictate our learning. Questions exist with every individual, and it is important to establish a platform for the pursuit of solutions. I believe that the university needs to be the platform.

Contrary to what most think, students are not looking for entertainment in the theater seating of a lecture hall. When students enter the room, we are searching for meaning. We can find entertainment with the click of a button and the vibration of a phone. Instead, students are looking for purpose in a subject. It is easy to see that purpose exists in a classroom, but for some reason it has become routine and structured on point rankings. Success within a class is determined by the number of scan-tron bubbles accurately filled in. We can do better.

Create a meaningful platform for discovery. A teacher becomes one because of their passion for learning. A teacher stands at the front of a lecture hall for a reason. Teachers teach because they find meaning in their subject. Show the students why you stand there! Show the students what you found! Give us your questions! Let us chase solutions!