A new model for "engaged learning"?

We've been talking a lot about "engaged learning" at JBU. Perhaps this "personalized curriculum" approach will be the way a lot of institutions help students learn in the future?

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/the-littlest-schoolhouse/8132

http://schools.nyc.gov/community/innovation/SchoolofOne/default.htm

Review of "Cry, the Beloved Country"

We're using this 1940's classic for our Freshman Reading program at JBU. We even got some plaudits from a national conservative scholars' group for making this pick (not that everyone is happy about that recommendation). It's a powerful book about truth, justice, and reconciliation, and I think our students (those who engage with it) will get a lot out of this work.

But it was written over 60 years ago, and there are times that you feel that some of the issues involved have passed us by. The blatant racism in the book will be hard for our "uber-tolerant" teenagers to relate to. I keep thinking, as a consequence, is that our students need to be challenged where their current blindspots are. Perhaps this book will do that on the materialism side of things or the call to personal faithfulness in an unjust world? We'll see.

Review of "The Reason for God"

Keller's the man. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a repackaged C.S. Lewis, but hey, you can't go wrong with that approach. Keller's particularly effective ju-jitsuing the usual "rationalist" arguments against Christianity (if you attack religion for being based on "presuppositions," for example, you need to come clean about your own presuppositions as well). It's easy to see what Keller has had such success, particularly with young, urban intellectuals.

Review of "The Big Short"

As part of a reading group that I'm in, we discussed "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis. Lewis is always enjoyable to read, though, as with many such efforts, I'm always left wondering whether the story is too "neat" and "coherent." Maybe this is just my historian's bias to believe that reality is always a lot messier than a journalist, businessman, or political scientist might make it out to be.

The narrative force of the book sometimes resulted in me rooting for the coming economic meltdown just so that all of those bad guys would get what's coming to them. That ain't good. But it's also not what happened. The guys (and they're all guys) at the top on both sides of these big bets still came out fine. So for me the bigger conclusion is that having big business and big government working closely together and being staffed by the same ivy league crowd isn't good for the our country no matter who's in charge. I guess I find myself siding with those on the left and the right who want to see the big banks broken up, which doesn't seem to be what's going to happen with the current financial reform package. The "establishment" wins again!

The End of Men?

Here's an article that's been getting a lot of attention, in particular in regards to gender and higher education. There's no doubt that there's a major and world-wide cultural shift taking place. The causes and consequences of this shift are much more difficult to ascertain.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/the-end-of-men/8135