Hello Raul, David, and Gary,
Raul posted a message that we were to send a brief update on where
we stand. As I am either silent or verbose, my brief update has turned
into a more massive compilation of responses to Learning Rubric 2. As
this is my first quarter at Evergreen, I would enjoy any feedback
(comments, suggestions, advice, jokes, etc.) any of you would like to
provide. You can chat with me face to face as I usually attend class,
or I can be reached anytime through email.
<>Thank you, Kealani
When
I read the program description for Patience, I knew it was the program
that I
wanted to take. Having attended the
academic fair and talked with students taking Recognition, I knew it
was the
program of my dreams. But, I thought it
was all too good to be true. Every couple of weeks I'd log onto the
Recognition
website, reviewing the information provided there.
The information didn't change, so I starting planning what I'd
study. During the summer months, I carefully plotted all the academic
knowledge
that I should cram into my head in the next year. However,
my strategic plan of study began to unravel the moment I
walked into the Cedar Room on the first day of class.
The
aroma of the wood surrounded me, enveloping me in memories of my last
week of
summer. I'd travelled to New Denver,
British Columbia in order to live in cedar domes, while creating
culinary
delights for ten women on a Yoga retreat.
While there, I also found time to luxuriate in saunas, hot tubs,
long
lake walks, and scenic mountain voyages (spotting much flora and
fauna). The
week before the Yoga retreat, I'd helped straighten and roof a shed for
a
wheelwright in Northern Idaho. Suddenly, I realized that I didn't want
to be in
class. After the past two weeks of creative activity employing multiple
intelligences; I wanted to be out doing, being, living.
I
expected my three professors to walk in, hand out a syllabus, and drill
me with
all their expectations for the coming year.
In other words, I expected there to be a grid of strings,
restricting
acedemic movement within certain areas.
Essentially, I expected that my summer "syllabus", which drew
primarily from my logical and linguistic intelligences (standard
acedemic
fare), would be the typical style of study expected.
Instead, I was shocked to find that this wasn't so. I learned
that I had total freedom. I left the second day of class inspired to
develop a
new plan of study, one that would be deeper, incorporating my multiple
intelligences.
My
first three weeks followed a cycle. I'd think of a brilliant possiblity
of
study, I'd research it, and then my enthusiasm would fizzle out. I
couldn't
imagine spending a whole year studying it. Then, another idea would pop
into my
head, and I'd repeat the process.
Massage, human resources, counseling, cooking, writing, dancing,
researching world mythology, and reading women's literature were just a
few of
the topics I obsessed on then disgarded.
I had so many thoughts of what I could do. I
explored these ideas on the internet and at the
library--looking through books, tapes, movies, magazines, newspapers,
and
websites. I participated in many
inspiring discusssions in class, on the bus, in the library, through
email, and
over the phone.
The
world was my classroom, and my head was spinning with ideas. And yet,
in that
third week, while my boyfriend had a 100 pages of notes, assignments,
and
calculations I had nothing concrete. I seemingly had nothing. Aside from a few concrete webx responses,
all I had were unrecorded conversations,
untracked books, and unprovable research. I panicked. What had I
been
doing? Had I become paralyzed by the possibilities? What had I been
thinking?
How was I going to prove to my professors that I had been learning,
studying,
growing?
I
felt overwhelmed, my academic history the antithesis of the freedom
inherent in
the Patience program. I went to a highschool that was based upon a
medieval
curriculum structure (trivium and quadrivium).
All academic studies were intensely rigorous, and intensely
monitored. My studies at the University
of Idaho were easier yet still contained the same structure of
student-teacher
interaction and expectations--likewise, my two quarters spent at
Whatcom
Community College. I had choosen
Patience because of it's freedom. But now, that very freedom felt too
free.
I
felt I needed structure. Thus, the weekend before week four, I sat down
and
once again asked myself the four questions I'd been repeating to myself
over
and over and over: (1)What do I want to learn? (2)How do I want to
learn it?
(3)What do I plan to do with what I learn? and (4)What difference will
this
make? Only this time, I wrote out a tentative plan for my quarter. Once I had something down, I started to
calm. I started to realize that all that research had paid off, that
somehow in
the process of all the chaos I'd figured out what I wanted to do.
Essentially,
I want to live out a multiple intelligence education.
In the next year, I hope to employ as many intelligences as
possible.
Thus,
here it is, the first of my many revised and tentative plans:
Patience-Fall
2004
Educating
the Mind, Body, and Spirit
(Employing
Multiple Intelligences in the World)
Literature
of Patience: 4 credits
Writing/Personal
Exploratory: 4 credits
Individual
Project Work: 8 credits
Writing
Response
papers: Week 5, Week 7, Week 8
WebX
interaction
Research
(practice?) on how to write Evaluations
<>
As
this is my first quarter at Evergreen, this aspect of my studies is
primarily
structured to prepare me for the evaluation process.
My response papers will draw either from ideas I encounter from
my reading, from the webx, from the learning tool prompts, or from
requests by
you. Applying myself in this area will
give me the necessary practice to confidently complete my evaluations.
Literature
Pedagogy
of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire-0826412769
Intelligence Reframed by Martin Gardner-0465026117
A People's History of the U S by Howard Zinn- 0060528370
The Art of Changing the Brain by James E. Zull-1579220541
Native American Testimony-Peter Nabokov- 0140281592
Teaching to Transgress by Bell Hooks-0415908086
Choice Theory by William Glasser- 0060930144
Decolonizing Methodologies by Linda Tuhiwai Smith-1856496244
Natives and Academics by Devon Mihesuah- 0803282435
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Steven C. Hayes-1572309555
Methodology of the Oppressed by Chela Sandoval-0816627371
<>
This
is a valuable body of literature. Through encountering the ideas within
these
books, I hope to learn more education, choice, and freedom. This
knowledge base
will then propel me, allowing me to directly apply this knowledge in my
next
two quarters.
Individual
Project Work
1.
Yoga: 1-2x/wk
2.
Aerobic/Strength/Stretch Exercise: 3-5x/wk
3.
Meditation:
-Exposing myself to various
religious/philosophical viewpoints on reality/life/being (derived from
I Ching,
Bible (NIV), Bhagvagita, Astrology,
etc.)
-Attending 2-day Yoga Meditation
seminar in Seattle mid-November
4.
Volunteer: Conversation partner
-I've applied to be an EF
Conversation partner. I'm waiting for a response. If this falls
through, I'll
look into non-profit agencies.
5.
Travel:
-San Fransisco: Kasey Chambers
concert, tour of city/museums, meeting a newborn (exploration of the
experience
of motherhood)
6.
Counseling:
-I will be seeing a counselor every
week for cognitive strategies in improving life/emotional conditions.
7.
Nutrition/Cooking
-Continued research and practice in
cooking, nutritional values, healthy diets, etc.
Through
my individual project work, I hope to suppliment my academic work,
making it
more applicable to the intelligences of my mind, body, and spirit.
Typically,
when I am in school I sacrifice my body for my mind. Essentially, I am
more
unhappy and unhealthy. I tend to have more migraines, and more colds. Through my project work (which strongly ties
in with my kinesthetic, interpersonal, and existential intelligences) I
hope to
live a more balanced lifestyle. This
balance will be the foundation on which I hope to build on in the next
two
quarters.
Tentative
Winter quarter plans:
-Read
remaining Patience books: The Dancing Wu
Li Masters
by Gary Zukav, Ceremony by Silko, Broad and Alien is the World by Ciro
Alegria (travellers toPeru),Genocide of the
Mind by Marijo Moore
-Read
additional books on mythology, religion, gender, and
sexuality
-Learn
Dreamweaver in order to build a webpage for my winter and spring
experiences
-Travel
to Portland.
-Possibly
attend the Art of Living course, a six day meditation/yoga/spiritual
training
-Start
developing some photography techniques
-Enroll
in a dance class (Orissi, or other)
Tentative
Spring quarter plans:
-Travel
in Hawaii: visit each island, experience my cultural heritage
-Native
Hawaiian studies: history, mythology, and language
-Learn
hula: two halau's are a possiblity, or study with sister-in-law
-Practice
photography
-Continue
website
-Help
plan and facilitate a Yoga retreat in Hawaii (with Yoga instructor
worked with
in New Denver)