Violence is by no means going to stop through education but perhaps some will refrain from performing violent acts so that they can stay in school.  School is a right up the the age of 16 but after that, it is a privelege to stay in. Thus I believe that if one appreciates education the violent instinct can be controlled.

I have never studied a class that was so “inter-“ before; so interdisciplinary, so intermethod (not quite a word, but in my personal, made-up definition, using different mediums, teaching style (I am still working on that hand-raising compulsion), and viewpoints to express an idea), and so intertopic. Although I usually find that diability is not a topic that I find myself drawn to on a regular basis, I pleasantly found myself drawn to the discussion last night. I think what was missing from Exile & Pride, for me, was Clare’s personal story. While the environmental information and stories about the different women’s communes were interesting, I much preferred the personal stories of the “freaks”, Ellen Stohl, and the fragments that Clare shared.

Beware what you ask for! I tracked down the source for those models in pink. Whaddya think??

After leaving class today, I thought about Edmunson's assertion that not only do his students treat their education like a consumer product, but that they also lack a certain sense of self-hatred needed to really grow as a student.  In our discussion this afternoon, we touched a little bit on what that meant, but I was left thinking about some of the factors that may lead to Edmunson's students feelng the need to be constrained, unexctied and always looking for the fastest track to the next thing.  One of the things I was struck with today was how much pressure is put on students to alays be doing just that.  What I mean by this is that many of the student who spoke today about their educational histories spoke about the kinds of pressures that have been placed on them for their entire lives.  It seems like there is a constant push to be the best, so you cen get to the next level, so you can be the best there, so you can move and continue to compete.  In this kind of system, you're not only the consumer, but you're also the product.  It seems to me that, for 12 years, students are taught how to best market themselves in 3 pages or less and how to look impressively well rounded by the numbers.  To then expect them to view college as anything more than another link in that ongoing chain seems a bit unfair.