Education Commons^™

An Education Carol, Benjamin J. Fruchtl

Student Publications

This work is rendition of a small play written by Ben Fruchtl. This work analyzes one of the essential questions of the course, Social Foundations of Music Education, and questions how educators can change models of education to make learning more relevant in and out of school.

A Neocolonial Warp Of Outmoded Hierarchies, Curricula And Disciplinary Technologies In Trinidad’S Educational System, Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams

Africana Studies Faculty Publications

I re-appropriate the image of a space-time warp and its notion of disorientation to argue that colonialism created a warp in Trinidad’s educational system. Through an analysis of school violence and the wider network of structural violence in which it is steeped, I focus on three outmoded aspects as evidence of this warp--hierarchies, curricula and disciplinary technologies--by using data (interviews, documents and observations) from a longitudinal case study at a secondary school in Trinidad. Colonialism was about exclusion, alienation, violence, control and order, and this functionalism persists today; I therefore contend that hierarchies, curricula and disciplinary technologies are all enforcers …

Course-Based Science Research Promotes Learning In Diverse Students At Diverse Institutions, Nancy L. Staub, Lawrence S. Blumer, Christopher W. Beck, Veronique A. Delesalle, Gerald D. Griffin, Robert B. Merritt, Bettye Sue Hennington, Wendy H. Grillo, Gail P. Hollowell, Sandra L. White, Catherine M. Mader

Biology Faculty Publications

Course-based research experiences (CREs) are powerful strategies for spreading learning and improving persistence for all students, both science majors and nonscience majors. Here we address the crucial components of CREs (context, discovery, ownership, iteration, communication, presentation) found across a broad range of such courses at a variety of academic institutions. We also address how the design of a CRE should vary according to the background of student participants; no single CRE format is perfect. We provide a framework for implementing CREs across multiple institutional types and several disciplines throughout the typical four years of undergraduate work, designed to a variety …

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 …

When Write Is Wrong, Elizabeth E. Butler

Student Publications

A trio of girls attempt to have an education in a society where it is inappropriate for females to learn. Malaya is the group's leader, and is called into question (and later punished) when the town officials find evidence of their educational practices.

Fearless: Professor Hakim Williams, Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams

SURGE

With his consistently energetic and enthusiastic personality, his progressive teaching methods using discussion and debate in the classroom, and his desire for his students to develop more comprehensive understandings of the problems facing education in a global context, Dr. Hakim Williams fearlessly uses his passion for change and justice in education to enlighten his students, sharpen their critical thinking skills, and change their outlooks on the future. [excerpt]

An Open Letter To The Class Of 2013, Center For Public Service

SURGE

Upon graduation I will have received no honors. After four years of college, thirty-seven courses, ten labs, two sets of major requirements and several almost complete minors, I have won the ultimate consolation prize: a diploma. I know that not everyone has the privilege of going to college and I also know that those who start college do not always make it to the end, some not even through the first week. However, in the world of academia, students are pushed to strive for the best grades. Even at Gettysburg College where global awareness, critical thinking and an integration of …

The Secret Life Of Schoolgirls, Emily A. Miano

SURGE

Even as a Catholic, I hated Catholic school. I hated our uniforms. They were a horrible yellow and green, with skirts that felt like heavy curtains and shirts made of 2% cotton. On hot days the shirts would stick to your body and slowly creep up to your armpits every time you moved.

So forget that Catholic School girl fantasy because there’s a lot of baggage that comes with those knee socks. [excerpt]

Information - Access: Denied, Riccardo M. Purita

SURGE

I have been privileged during my lifetime to always have the opportunity to learn about something if I wanted to. When I became interested in music and psychology—or even when I was learning how to apply for college—I googled it. The resources to obtain information have always been there for me: access to computers, the internet, books, journals. It is hard to imagine my life without a computer or access to books to learn about the world, and even harder to imagine if I did not know how to read or write. For this, I can thank my education and …

Liberal Education And Moral Education, Daniel R. Denicola

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Mark Van Doren, the noted literary scholar, once remarked, "The college is meaningless without a curriculum, but it is more so when it has one that is meaningless." Many current critics of undergraduate curricula in America assent to the crucial need for programmatic renewal in our colleges and universities. They bemoan the cookie-cutter sameness in far too many of them. The oddity is that U.S. colleges have long touted their "diversity" while largely holding fast to rather traditional pathways. This illuminating volume goes beyond formulaic nuts-and-bolts recipes for constructing curriculum: it seeks to interpret and analyze the contemporary landscape of …

The More She Longs For Home, The Farther Away It Appears: A Paradox Of Nostalgia In A Fulani Immigrant Girl’S Life, Kaoru Miyazawa

Education Faculty Publications

Nostalgia, which is derived from the Greek words nos (returning home) and algia (pain), refers to longing for the loss of the familiar (Kaplan, 1987). The loss of our connection to the familiar is a painful experience as such loss is connected to a fundamental loss, the loss of ourselves. By losing a connection to familiar people, objects, and places that continue to remain the same from the past to the future, we also lose the continuity within ourselves. And this discontinuity of our past, present, and future selves creates anxiety within us (Milligan, 2003). The painful experience that accompanies …

Strategic Directions For Gettysburg College Update & Upcoming Major Facilities Projects, March 2011, President's Office

Reports from the President’s Office

The four central themes of Strategic Directions-Engagement, Distinction, Access and Connection-remain the best guideposts to lead us towards our goals and aspirations for Gettysburg College. However, the current context does require us to sharpen our focus, prioritize further, and better capitalize on opportunities and synergies. [excerpt]

Strategic Directions For Gettysburg College Update, February 2011, President's Office

Reports from the President’s Office

Much has changed since the Strategic Directions for Gettysburg were articulated in 2007. We have had transition in the leadership of the College in key positions including the president, the provost, and the vice president for development, alumni and parent relations. The economy has shifted seismically and in ways we certainly would not have predicted in 2007. Demographic projections related to the diversity of high school students and their geographic distributions have become a reality. The emergence of online learning opportunities and for-profit education, together with a high unemployment rate and significant increases in student financial need, have created a …

Class And Categories: What Role Does Socioeconomic Status Play In Children's Lexical And Conceptual Development?, Jennifer Bloomquist

Africana Studies Faculty Publications

At one time, academic inquiries into the relationship between socioeconomic class and language acquisition were commonplace, but the past 20 years have seen a decrease in work that focuses on the intersection between class and early language learning. Recently, however, against the backdrop of the No Child Left Behind legislation in the United States (which has been criticized as a culturally biased education policy that, through highstakes testing and broad-based, uniform curricula, discounts the value of non-standard home language varieties largely spoken by working-class children), there has been renewed interest in the relationship between class, language use, and the assessment …

Strategic Directions For Gettysburg College, June 2007, President's Office

Reports from the President’s Office

Gettysburg is a college deeply rooted in the American experience. It was born of democratic values, strong optimism, and the firm conviction that only a liberal arts education fully awakens and prepares people to live purposeful lives as citizen leaders. Our founders were champions of freedom and liberty, progressive thinkers, and staunch believers in the power of the liberal arts to prepare leaders to meet the challenges of our young nation.

Those beliefs were tested on the fields that surround our campus where a century and a half ago men gave their lives in a battle that defined our nation’s …

Biography And The Curriculum, Daniel R. Denicola

Philosophy Faculty Publications

In recent years many critics have written of the pervasive dehumanization and possible rehumanization of education. Plighting their troth to the autonomy and integrity of the human person, these commentators scour the educational landscape in search of policies and practices that depersonalize. They have often attacked teaching methods and the social and institutional situation in which teaching is undertaken; a few errant knights have even assailed the enterprise of teaching itself. Less often has curriculum content been questioned, and when it has been, the critics were usually concerned about "irrelevance." There is, however, another way in which the curriculum is …