Something Post: # 2

I would like to expand further on the notion mentioned in class that the University of Denver is a continuation of a bubble we have experienced that keeps us sheltered from the outside worlds and is potentially harming its students in the long run. Since a young age, I have always had supportive and caring parents. At times, this may lead them to be overprotective. Enforcing a strict curfew, always having to tell them where I'm at, being forced to study, being involved in multiple activities, etc. Now when I look back at this though I think it was for the better. I was taught the lessons of work-ethic, it demonstrated good priorities, I stayed out of trouble and I learned how to balance a busy schedule. I wasn't the most mature in my young age and needed some guidance how to conduct myself and was shielded from negative outside influences, with my parents acting as positive role models.

However, now I am older and considered a young adult in the eyes of society. Therefore, I am responsible for myself and have the capability of making my own choices. This is the way it will be for the rest of my life, so therefore the University of Denver should treat us like adults and let us make difficult choices and pave our own paths. I remember a good example mentioned in class in which the coddle us for a whole week during freshman orientation, taking us through registration and easing us into the college routine. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing! Change is more difficult for some people than others and this welcoming party sets the tone that we are a part of the DU community and that they should feel comfortable being themselves here. Although there a certainly several (well maybe quite a few) awkward moments repeatedly introducing yourself to people... sometimes the same people it was an important time for me to make new friends. I am still close with several people from my FSEM class and people I met during orientation. They also let you know about all the efforts campus security is making to ensure our safety. And although there have been unfortunate cases of Fondling and Sexual Assault (which can not be completely avoided on any campus) they do a good job at keeping us safe and healthy. I remember a case where a lacrosse stick in a bag was accidentally mistaken for a gun last year and there was a shut down. Things like this remind me that there aren't going to be people walking around with guns (weapons in general) and that for the most part the campus is drug-free. I remember during my freshman year there was a student who police escorted out in handcuffs after finding Molly in his dorm room. So in these aspects, it is good that DU is cracking down and making an effort to make DU a safe learning environment. I remember there were many students that still had to go to Detox after the first weekend, so it is clear that all incoming college students don't have the responsibility to avoid these outside influences.

On the other hand, is a full week of glorified campus tours and quarterly meetings with an advisor really necessary? I feel like a motivated student wanting to make the most out of their education would find out about clubs and extra-curricular events, find out how to get to class on their own and hit the gym if they felt inclined to do so. I mean after graduation, there won't be people holding our hands and walking us through everything in our workplace environment... we'd learn these things out from personal self-incentive observation and experience. And with one of the biggest goals of college being to prepare us for our post-academic careers the way we are eased into college seems counterproductive and misleading. College is also a place to get out of your comfort zone, face adversity and ultimately be put in uncomfortable situations (which all lead to personal growth). We are supposed to expand our horizons and learn how to adequately problem solve.

Additionally, a lot of the professors have the same methods of teaching so we get accustomed to certain styles of learning and sometimes don't know how to react when faced with a different situation. The "Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts in Writing Studies" article referred to this as entrenchment where we are faced with a similar situation so many times that it becomes ingrained within us (automatic), but can limit our adaptive potential. Attempting to handle a different situation in the same way may be entirely inappropriate but since we are so used to this we may overlook clues that would tell us to act differently and blindly repeat what we are used to. This is something quite a few students experience. They get into habits which are successful for them but if they are asked to do something they are unsure of how to approach they stay there stunned and confused... like a deer in headlights. This initial state of uncertainty is natural and is a necessary precursor of reflective thought, as put by Dewey. But instead of purposefully thinking and looking for indicators of the solution, DU students tend to run for the help of peers and professors without having actually critically thought about it themselves. This is certainly one of the factors that would have led Dewey to ultimately calling education inadequate in "How we Think". Education is about the process of coming to a solution as much as it is in memorizing facts (which often is mistaken as learning by DU students as they cram for an exam the night before).

DU also provides plenty of opportunities for getting outside of the bubble! It is one of the top study abroad universities in America in which students have the possibility of immersing themselves within an entirely different culture and academic setting. There are also countless volunteer chances, such as mission work. I studied abroad in Australia and learned early on that DU has very specific academic expectations on how things are done and these same expectations aren't universal. My first scientific paper was returned to me with red markings all over it, a color most DU professors don't even use due to the strong negative connotations, on how my format was not acceptable (which there was apparently a rubric for). I had fallen into the trap of assuming what I already knew was acceptable for a new situation, and although this paper may have been perfectly acceptable bu DU's standards it did not sufficiently meet the standards of the University of Queensland. So despite being in the same field, there can be vast differences in the way things are done outside of the University of Denver that we should be attuned to. That was an aside, but further opportunities for breaking free of the DU bubble have been presented in my ecology and conservation biology classes where there have been excursions to sites off of campus for research purposes. Furthermore, we are provided free light-rail service with tuition and this is an indicator in itself that we are encourage to get out a explore. We are the Pioneers for crying out loud. The thing is, not enough students actually take advantage of all of this and end up spending 4 years within their bubble (which DU is therefore only partially responsible for creating).

A few ways in which it could improve in preparing us for our post-academic professional careers include diversifying the campus faculty and student bodies. I have realized how much emphasis is put on grades in essentially every one of my classes prior to Reflection and Contemplation and, as you explained, the act of being graded on everything we do is not something we'll experience after graduation. Therefore, it isn't right for the faculty and student bodies to be one homogenous body of like ideas, but should have different experiences and come from different backgrounds so that we learn more from each of our peers and professors. Additionally, they need to stop trying so hard to get every student to succeed by prodding them continuously to the direct path. In life, success isn't always achieved and by them doing this to potentially help the FEW it is limiting the growth of the MANY.

In recap, I believe that while DU certainly has aspects which create a bubble around it, it is also the responsibility of the student to utilize the countless opportunities in which it does provide in order to diversify our views and activities.