1- All
work must be word processed, double-spaced, using 12-point font (preferably
Times New Roman or Arial), and include page numbers in the upper right-hand
corner. Please include a cover sheet that includes only the following, centered
on the page, in the following order: your name, course assignment, date
assignment is due, course name, my name; please staple your papers in the upper
left-hand corner if submitting a hard copy.
2-
Review your essays from the
semester. For your final essay consider these questions: How have your
thinking, feelings, attitude, or beliefs changed? What has remained unchanged?
What does it mean to be multiculturally competent? What does it mean to advocate for social
justice in higher education settings? What does it mean to be an ally? What
might be missing from conceptions of multicultural competency for higher
education practitioners? How did you use the classroom discussions and dialogue
groups to gain insight about yourself, diversity, and identity? What
differences will this class make in your own professional practices as an
educator, practitioner, scholar? What else is important for me to know, that
you want to add, about you and your learning this semester? This essay should be approximately
1000-1250 words.
I.Critical Reflections & Reactions (6 total; 30%) A very important part of this course is learning to carefully reflect. You have all read and written throughout your academic and work careers. But careful reflection is not often something we are asked to do. At work, one is rewarded for quick decision-making (although it must be thoughtful). But being thoughtful can be different from being reflective; being thoughtful is using careful reason, while reflection is concerned with ideas and introspective pondering. We often consider issues with reason, yet we are often so “hurried” or “inexperienced” that we do not ponder over time. This is seen as a luxury within our society, yet it is critical for engaging the big issues that shape and frame our very existence. I also hope you will be reflexive in addition to being thoughtful – turning these ideas back onto yourself in order to shed light on your own beliefs, values, philosophy, and identities. Many philosophers have noted that to develop knowledge, one must know oneself. If we do not understand our own belief systems, we cannot realize how they constrain us from engaging new ideas. The more reflexive you are, the better able you will be to securely open yourself up to new ideas, without feeling threatened. Understanding your beliefs usually leads to expanding the ideas you engage with and eventually your knowledge base. To grow as an educator, practitioner, and scholar, you must also grow personally. We often try to separate these two process, but I believe they are integrally connected. Therefore, I encourage you to think about all our class readings, activities, and discussions in relation to your own experiences. Some good generic questions while reading each chapter/article include: What ideas were new to you – eye openers. How and why did they make you think differently about diversity, multiculturalism, power, privilege, and social justice?Which points in the chapter/article were well substantiated, questionable or wrong. You may agree with a point the author made, but believe they did not make a strong enough case. Strive at times to examine the logical development.In what ways does a chapter/article for one week compare to previous week’s readings?What are the implications of this chapter/article for improving current policies and practices?Did the material introduce you to anything about which you want to learn more? How does a particular chapter/article shed light on an educational issue you are concerned with? To help facilitate your reflective process, you will be required to submit six (6) reflective essays on your learning, development, and experiences regarding your growing self-awareness, increasing diversity knowledge, and developing skills. In each reflection essay, in addition to drawing explicitly from the course material, consider referring specifically to other experiences (i.e. class discussions, current news/media, professional interactions) that have influenced your thinking. Use the above generic questions to help you frame your reflections. These essays should not simply be a recounting of an experience you had, or a simple summary of something you read. You must delve deeper—what meaning is there, what connections exist, how does the reading or experience expand your knowledge and skills, how does it challenge you, how does it create an opportunity for you to be a change agent (or not)? Two (2) entries are assigned by me—the first and last; use the prompts below for these two submissions. Four (4) additional entries will be of your choice, and may be submitted on any date on the syllabus indicated by *Reflective Essay. Your essays should be approximately 750 words, unless otherwise indicated. When exactly you turn these in is up to you; I have provided 8 opportunities for you to submit your additional four essays. Your reflective essays will be evaluated on your level of reflective thinking, depth of critical engagement with the material, complexity of self-reflexivity, and demonstration of personal and intellectual risk-taking. Your journal entries should be both reactive and responsive to some aspect of the week’s readings, make connections to your own personal experiences, and show how you are evolving in your thinking about diversity, multiculturalism, power, privilege, and social justice, and various social identities. I expect your essays to follow proper APA style and formatting, including use of citations and references; these are not informal, colloquial essays, and as such should not be written as if you are sending an email or text to your BBF.
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