This week, we were visited by a guest lecturer in the form of University of Cincinnati Professor Sarah Stitzlein. Prof, Stitzlein is a professor of the philosophy of education, and as such, guided her talk and the following discussion that we had as a group towards the impact that education can have on the development of children and young adults as they make their way through life. Most importantly, Prof. Stitzlein discussed the debate over the Common Core system of education and asked the difficult question of what all people should know. The discussion that we had was stimulating and thought-provoking -- a great way to consider what aspects of life are most valued by our society, and which skills and learning should be the most highly regarded in a perfect world. Because education plays such a critical role in molding the minds of the world's youth and creating the next generation, I consider teaching as among the noblest of professions and the educational system as one of the hardest systems to construct and control. Regardless, Prof. Stitzlein's visit was vital in making me reconsider where and why I have found success in life, and how I can pass on what I have learned to the next generation.
| What are the most important things you have learned in your life?
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What did you learn in your life that led you to choose UC and your current major? I am a firm believer in the concept of destiny--that God has a plan for each and every one of us. While we may make the decisions that lead us down the path of that plan, ultimately, very little about our lives is in our control. As such, I have learned from an early age that it is important to be open to change, to novel experiences, and to the undoubted obstacles that will challenge the achievement of success. I have also learned that it is important to explore your interests, no matter how diverse and unrelated they may be. Higher learning is what separates man from beast, and the ability to love learning that which separates man from machine. As I have matured, my interests have grown not only in scope, but in depth. I have found myself working towards a better understanding of the arts and music and history and politics and language and culture, in addition to the medical sciences. I have never given up on my exploration of any of these passions, and can still spend hours at a time researching, discovering, and learning more about these fields. Indeed, being a polymath and developing a broad base of knowledge like the scholars of antiquity has always held a certain fascination for me. Finally, I have learned that learning must be turned into action in order to reach a level of self-transcendence (that magical thing that sits atop Bloom's revised pyramid). In other words, it is vital to apply what you learn to the world around you to make a positive impact for others, for the earth, and for generations to come. I came to the University of Cincinnati in part because of the innumerable opportunities that doing so allowed me to explore. With extensive Advanced Placement credit, I have the time and availability to take interesting classes outside of my focus area. With stellar programs in a multitude of fields, I have the incentive to reach beyond my major and concentrate my studies in other areas as well. Thus, UC offered the perfect breeding ground for my imagination to run wild with language, politics, culture, social policy, and all the other interests that have or will grab my fancy. The fact that I have learned to be open to change has enabled me to see the benefits of doing so with regard to my major. Initially a biomedical engineering major, I next transferred to a path in the medical sciences and then biology before finally settling on neurobiology and liberal arts. Now, I am able to prepare for medical school (after which I hope to put the learning I will have developed into action) while at the same time exploring other interests. With minors in Spanish, Psychology, and Medical Science making up my second degree and a minor in Political Science, I have used my time to really focus on those diverse areas of interest to me while here at university. In addition, by combining these disciplines together into a focus on Access to Mental Healthcare in Hispanic Populations here in Cincinnati, I am taking even this second degree into the real world, where I hope to at least advance the knowledge base in this field. What life lessons were you taught outside of the curriculum that made the biggest impact on you? How were you led? The biggest lessons in life will not come from the material taught in a classroom. Rather, this material serves as the foundation upon which one can climb to search for the lessons that are bigger and more important. All of the aforementioned most important lessons in my life are ones that were not taught out of a textbook nor a powerpoint. These lessons, instead, were taught by parents, teachers, and friends in times of need, difficulty, or triumph. They were often learned the hard way, after many mistakes or missteps. At their core, they were grounded in the lessons of the classroom, the novels that I read, the history that I remembered, the science that I was taught, or the skills that I learned. But in the end, this foundational learning was not able to break the surface on its own. I had to build upon it, use it to do the things and meet the people which would then teach me the real lessons that are not written in any curriculum binder, but which all teachers wish that students will learn. | Do you think going to a public school instead of a private one made a difference? I think that going to a public school had an immense amount of impact on my life. This is especially true because of the specific public school that I attended. William Mason High School is the largest school in Ohio, and also one of the most racially and ethnically diverse. I grew up with friends who were from Florida and New York, but also those who were born in India, Taiwan, Venezuela, and Ethiopia. While of course I had been invested in multiculturalism from a young age given my multi-ethnic background, living and befriending so many different people with so many different customs, life stories, beliefs, and backgrounds grew my appreciation for diversity and my love for the celebration of culture. I was fortunate, also, that Mason High School has been so consistently ranked as one of the most academically achieving in the state as well. Because of and in part causative of its success, the school offered me college-level classes not only in biology, chemistry, and physics, but also in literature, the Spanish language, and government. As such, I was able to explore and develop my diverse interests before even having matriculated into a university. Was the content more important than the teachers who taught you or were the teachers more important than the content? The teachers, in my opinion, are infinitely more important than the content. A good teacher can change a student's life. (Just ask Cory Matthews or Shawn Hunter.) Truly, though, the teachers that I have had have helped to shape and guide me into the person that I am today. The first time that I remember feeling connected and cared for by a teacher was in the second grade. My teacher, who had also been my teacher during first grade, took the time to try to correct the way I gripped a pencil while writing. Aside from duties as an instructor in the classroom and in spite of the constant trouble that my 8-year-old self was causing, she taught me how to hold a pencil the correct way, and even bought me a grip for my pencil that would help me with my grip. Even if I have since reverted to my strange straddle of the pencil, I learned how to hold a pencil the correct way because of her help, and can still write neatly if asked to grip the pencil in the traditional fashion. It was the effort that my teacher took, however, that meant a great deal more than the skill that I learned. Because sh invested time into my improvement, I felt more appreciated and welcome in the classroom, and as a result, focused more intently in the classroom. This kind of investment into my development as a student was continued throughout my time in Mason City Schools. In the 5th Grade, I had a teacher who taught me the value in saying a lot with a few words. In the 6th Grade, I had two wonderful teachers who recognized my interest in world cultures and my proficiency in writing, and worked to advance me to the 8th grade. In the 8th grade, I formed a truly special bond with my American history teacher, with whom I once spent nearly four hours after school talking about the history of religion and who served as a mentor and guide for my projects in National History Day competitions. Throughout high school, I met, learned from, and formed connections with a number of teachers, to each of which I am infinitely grateful. I am especially thankful for my 11th grade English teacher, who gave me the kind of guidance and direction inside and outside of the classroom that really sparked up anew my passion for books and reading, and for being more than my future career endeavors. Together, all of these teachers have shown me that it is the connections which are formed rather than the material taught which most greatly impact students. |