Our last Friday in Crimea, we students of Crimean politics and culture embarked on a four day road trip across the southern coast of the peninsula. In typical Colorado College fashion, we managed to see a remarkable amount in such a short period of time. So without further ado, here’s an account of our whirlwind …
GS 554 — Classrooms in Motion: Hip-Hop Based Education
Our discussion of Marc Lamont Hill's Beats, Rhymes, and Classroom Life: Hip-Hop Pedagogy and the Politics of Identity produced many themes and questions. Here are a few. Feel free to continue discussion by posting comments. Themes: Teachers being afraid. The importance of storytelling in cultivating meaningful relationships. The various levels of resistance (social, institutional, and …
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GS 554 — Classrooms in Motion: Digital Youth
Our discussion of S. Craig Watkins's The Young & The Digital: What the Migration to Social-Network Sites, Games, and Anytime, Anywhere Media Means for Our Future spawned a number of thematic elements and questions for further discussion. Themes: The difference between technology as a pedagogical tool or an impressive classroom gimmick. Fear of teachers being …
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GS 554 — Classrooms in Motion: Multiculturalism
It was our privilege to have Dr. Juan Gonzalez visit our institute for two days to provide his insight, personal experiences, and research into culture and ethnicity as it relates to childhood, coming of age, and pedagogy. Here are a few of the subjects we've touched on in class discussion with links courtesy of Dr. …
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GS 554 — Constructing Youth
It's day two of the summer Experienced Teacher Institute, "Coming of Age: The Culture and Literature of Youth in America." Participants are reading and discussing selections from Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood by Steven Mintz. Mintz's history of childhood in America presents and challenges the following five myths: The notion of childhood as …
Crimean Subbotnik
In the early days of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin instituted Subbotniks, or Saturdays devoting to volunteering and furthering of the public good. In that grand tradition, led by our fearless professors, we the students of Colorado College devoted this Monday afternoon to a Subbotnik worthy of the name. (The name itself comes from the …
Conquering Fortresses, Breaking Language Barriers, and Rocking Cafeteria Dance Parties
Crimea has been drawing vastly different groups of people to its beautiful shores for millennia. A small peninsula jutting off the southern tip of Ukraine, Crimea sits at the top of the Black Sea. Visitors to this beautiful area can still visit ruins left by Ancient Greek travelers and the vestiges of the Silk Road. …
The End
Class is over, Robbie and Henrik have left, and I'm stuck in that odd limbo between finishing everything that I had to do and departing tomorrow. It's been a good time for introspection, reminiscence and gathering my thoughts on the block and the semester. I've learned and grown so much, studying abroad. This class was …
Sample Journal Entry
We've been doing a lot of writing in Jordan, but instead of formal papers, our professors have opted to require journal entries. The idea is that we can get at the same sort of analytical ideas that papers would without spending time editing or paying close attention to footnotes. Between all of the travel and …
The Best Intro to a Block Ever
The Amman portion of the Mediterranean Semester is run through an educational program called Amideast and it was at this school where our class met at 9 Monday morning. We took our bags and boarded our bus to Wadi Rum, a vast desert controlled by tribes and famous for its red color and really big …