Education Commons^™

Education: A More Powerful Weapon Than War?, Maja K. Thomas

Student Publications

In this paper, I analyze the impact of education on civil war onset, utilizing variables measuring length of compulsory education and number of internal armed conflicts in a given country per year. Using data from the Quality of Government Institute’s Quality of Government Standard Time Series data set, I test this hypothesis and find that an increase in compulsory education length decreases the expected number of internal armed conflicts. The results suggest further importance of education as a great equalizer among individuals as well as nations.

Dissecting Dialogue: The Value Of Music Education In Esl/Ell Programs, Kyle R. Furlong

Student Publications

Among educators and philosophers alike, critical dialogue is widely regarded as one of the most effective ways to communicate and educate in the classroom. In his quintessential work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire reflects upon the importance of dialogue stating, “Only dialogue, which requires critical thinking, is also capable of generating critical thinking. Without dialogue, there is no communication, and without communication there can be no true education.” This point is reinforced in other notable texts such as Teaching as a Subversive Activity, which describes the “new education” as not only student and question centered, but “language-centered” as well. …

Notes From Mrs. Hadgu's Class: Conceptualizing Music Education Curriculum For A Changing World, Logan B. Santiago

Student Publications

How can we conceptualize curriculum and school knowledge to better address important questions of social change, contingency of knowledge, life in mediated worlds, and inequalities? To answer this question I wrote fictional stories from students about their favorite moments from their 8th grade music class. Each account deals with a specific activity or instance in which the teacher included social change and/or student centered knowledge in the curriculum. The explanation at the end of the accounts details the reasons for creating each activity and the relation of the stories to texts utilized in class.

“Charleston, Goddam”: An Editorial Introduction To Act 14.2, Brent C. Talbot

Sunderman Conservatory of Music Faculty Publications

In this editorial, I trace the events following the tragic and racist shootings that occurred at the A.M.E. church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015. Drawing upon anti-racist scholars and musical activists, I make a case for getting political and for cultivating activism in our classrooms. I ask our field to critically reflect upon our participation in a system that advantages Whites. I suggest that one possibility to engage in dialogue around issues of race is to encourage an environment of musical creativity where—together with students—teachers study and write music that speaks to our times and addresses issues …

Outside Ourselves: Becoming Better Teachers Through Ethnographic Fieldwork, Brent C. Talbot

Sunderman Conservatory of Music Faculty Publications

"Two questions students often ask me are: “why do you travel so much?” and “why do you engage in so much research?” My answer to both is relatively simple, “to become a more informed person and teacher.” [excerpt]

Mia's Music, Miranda L. Bubenheim

Student Publications

Mia’s Music is a story narrating what I view as an ideal curriculum being put into practice. Music educators have an advantageous and unique position to explore a medium with students that truly has the power to bring people together and help them to understand one another. A curriculum based in the cultural themes that students identify with will challenge them to learn through sharing their experiences and understanding others'.

Link Racial Past To The Present, Jill Ogline Titus

Civil War Institute Faculty Publications

Americans have been putting a great deal of energy into commemorating the 50th anniversary of some of the key moments of the civil rights movement. This burst of memorialization has inspired one new museum in Atlanta and the redesign of another in Memphis. The Smithsonian and Library of Congress are launching a new oral-history initiative, and films like Selma bring the movement to life for those who rarely read a history book or visit a museum.

This year brings more anniversaries: the Selma-to-Montgomery March, the passage of the Voting Rights Act, and the Watts rebellion. And the commemorative stakes are …