Day 3

Malika's topic is interesting because I don't think many people know what's going on in Darfur. There are so many bad things that are happening there, and we aren't doing enough to stop it. Even though "Save Darfur" was a big organization at my high school, a lot of people don't even know what Darfur is, let alone that it's a region where there's a genocide going on right now. I thought she brought up an interesting point, that we are becoming numb, or immune, to mass destruction. We have been through a lot, with hurricane Katrina, 9/11, etc, that mass murder makes the headlines, but it is not shocking. It's not bad enough that people are getting together to do anything about it.

Lauren's presentation about ADHD was interesting too because helping a child through childhood is not just on the individual. Every party has to do their part. The student, parents, and teachers, need to contribute to the student's success. If one part is weak or nonexistent, the chances that the student succeeds and becomes like their peers is unlikely. Then there's the question of how do make it a reality. How do you change education to accomodate students? When Lisa gave her presentation, we talked about special ed. co-teachers, and that they weren't effective. So how does the education world make school a better place for ADD and ADHD children succeed?

Joyce's topic brought up a totally new perspective about non-traditional education. It really redefines what success is. The success in the Montessori and Waldorf school system is not based on grades, it's based on achieving goals and getting work done. Montessoris are focused on the children learning and doing the homework that they want to do when they want to do it. We talked about Montessoris in my child development classes in high schools, and I think they are given a packet of assignments for the whole week. The students can complete it in any order, as long as the packet gets done by the end of the week. It strengthens time-management skills from very early ages. It's a really interesting and different way to learn compared to traditional school. It would definitely strengthen your paper if you can find anything that tracks students from Montessori schools to collegiate success, to see if they do as well as traditional educated students.