Fieldwork introduction

    Our experience with fieldwork was one that got both of us out of our comfort zone without a doubt. We both are Juniors in college and obviously have been through High School. Neither of us, however, had ever spent much time looking back on our experience or think about how we were taught. Early in the class we started learning about some techniques, ideologies, and methods for education. With all honesty, this drew our attention very little as since it was out of our normal realm of education and interest we did not pay it much time. Eventually, we started talking about how education affects the communities that we live in. This sparked our attention as both of us care about our community deeply. Our interest and investment into the material that we were learning only from there increased. When we stepped into the High School for the first time we were filled with memories and reflective moments. When we sat down in our classroom for observation we became curious. And when we got the opportunity to create our own plan we realized that these types of things can help to form a community. From here we decided to try to create something that is near to both of us and what we believe our community needs the most. We decided to create a project that combined philosophy and literature. This mission is personal for both of us as we are both men of virtue and faith. The idea that we would be able to foster philosophical and ethical thought made us ecstatic. Now, we hope to share this with you. As you go through our page and look at our project, think about what you can do with the skills you have to make your community better. Additionally, think about your own thought process to evaluate if you think in accordance to philosophical and ethical ideas

Marchant: Early in the semester the class was introduced to EL education’s core principles. The one that stuck me the most was about creating ethical members of society. As the class went on we learned more and more about the importance of education in philosophy, Media and Moral Education: A Philosophy of Critical Engagement by Laura D’Olimpio. Is one particular source that cemented my already deep belief in the importance of philosophy. The way we treat people must be a primary focus of education as that is the key to having a strong community. My partner and I both have discussed this importance with each other. Moreover, my relationship with Mr. Kempf has grown strong and has shown me a great value in what it means to work with an individual that has a strong moral compass and a good work ethic. Additionally, I see that with the current curriculum adding in the lessons that could make a big difference would be no hard task as the current material can lend itself well to the points that need to be made. Specifically, within English literature there is a ripe opportunity to show the applicability of ethical and philosophical living.

Works Cited:

D’Olimpio, L. (2018). Media and Moral Education. London: Routledge, https://doi-org.vmiezproxy.vmi.edu/10.4324/9781315265452

 

Classroom portrait:

Kempf and Marchant Blog 6 classroom portrait

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HR: Google Images, EL Education Core Practices,

www.canva.com

Activities

(Immersive activity) Groups of students choose a scene and character/characters from Romeo and Juliet. They then will identify if the actions of these characters are supported by Self-Reliance or not. Once this has happened the students will write an essay on the connection or lack thereof. Finally, they will write an essay connecting the two texts and create a presentation where they will make a plan showing what they would change about their chosen characters’ actions so that the ideas of Self-Reliance would support them.

 

 

 

 

(Guided Practice) We chose a section of Romeo and Juliet and Self-Reliance. Mr. Kempf reads the section of Romeo and Juliet and the students read the Self-Reliance section on their own. After this familiarization with the sections of the texts Mr.Kempf and Mr. Marchant talk about the connection between the characters we have chosen in Romeo and Juliet. We explain that this character’s actions are supported by Emerson and use the section of Self-Reliance as a reference. Additionally, we discussed what we would do in that character’s situation so that we fall in line with the ideas of Emerson. This was demonstrated in our teach-in recording.

Proposal Team Expeditionary Unit

 

 

 

Fieldwork Reflection

“Give me the grade and set me free,” is the mentality my partner and I walked into the roundtable discussion room we met twice a week at the first day of fieldwork 411 in January. While others leave the last few days of class with this unfortunate mindset, we leave encouraged, immersed in philosophical ideals, and full of anticipation regarding what’s to come with my investment within education in our community. Walking into a class it’s easy to have the mentality of “what can I get out of the class?’ In my engagement with Major Hodde, Mrs. Holton’s 9th grade class, and our fellow classmates, we’ve been able to take a look at the beauty in investing in others. Passion within the educational realm isn’t a given. Long days, dragging semesters, and boring content make it easy to become complacent in both learning and teaching. What we’ve found is that by putting on a big smile and welcoming conversation, others become inspired and are more likely to do the same. This became most evident to me as my partner and I sat in front of 19 freshmen in High school who had that same look in their eye as I had not long ago. These students were new to High school and there was still that passion there. Their candles burned deeply and I knew if I could inspire them to keep those candles of passion burning, they could be an inspiration to others and we’d have a chain reaction! I’m no expert on communication or inspirational speech and neither is my partner, but taking the time to listen to a young student’s idea and offer encouragement brings with it a feeling of accomplishment paralleled by few things. In a world where people feel so small, taking a few moments to hear what someone has to say can ignite a passion within them to develop as a reader, writer, and learner. Thankfully for Casey and I, we learned this early and were able to utilize our strengths as teachers for the entirety of the semester. Education is advancing every day, but if fieldwork has taught us one idea to take to our future educational endeavors it’d be that the world around us needs role models and people willing to step up and lead others in and out of the classroom. Ralph Waldo Emerson is great and Romeo and Juliet are neat characters but if the students aren’t engaged in what is being taught, everyone is wasting their time! No two students are the same, and we have had the unique opportunity to be exposed to this and put our skills to practice in reaching not one student but all students. We’ve implemented a variety of activities to include oral, visual, and hands on so that at some point in the class each student will feel passionate about the subject matter being taught. Casey and I understand the need for educated youth not only in our communities but all around the world and we’ve maintained the mentality that if we can ring our passion and eagerness to a few, then in time we’ll have the opportunity to reach many. That being said this could only have happened with the aid from VMI, Maj. Hodde, Mrs. Holton, and the Students in her class. We want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this opportunity to grow and maybe one day help others to do the same.