Category: Current Events

Group Identity (Conclusion)

On By VickieIn Current Events, Education, politics, Self Development, WritingLeave a comment
Photo by Miguel Henriques on Unsplash

And here we are – the conclusion of a speech I gave in 2007. I have spent the past ten installments expanding on my thoughts and experiences from fifteen years ago. I enjoyed the process because I could directly see how so many of the problems we are seeing in education today were obvious much longer ago. And seeing where we are today, I would have to say that my concerns were warranted!

This will be the last installment, and I look forward to hearing others’ thoughts on this topic and on what they are seeing in their children’s and grandchildren’s schools. Thank you for joining me on this journey!

If you would like to go back to the beginning, you can find the FIRST essay in the series here.

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Group Identity (Part Ten)

On By VickieIn Current Events, Education, politics, teaching, WritingLeave a comment
Photo by note thanun on Unsplash

I cannot believe I am on the tenth installment in this series of essays on the focus of group identity on college campuses. I knew I had some things to say, but I didn’t expect it to be this long. But I continue here with probably the most devastating effect of focusing on group identity: the impact on a student’s self-image. For those who worry about what is happening on campuses today, and who are concerned about the direction of our society, the roots were planted long ago. And much longer ago than my personal experience. 

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Group Identity (Part Nine)

On By VickieIn Current Events, Education, politics, teaching, Writing2 Comments
Removed from many curriculum – as “unreliable”

This ninth installment of my series on education and the focus of group identity is particularly important to me. Only because I feel so strongly about this topic. I am completely opposed to the idea that students can only relate to literature written by authors of the same ethnic background and gender as they are and to literature written about people just like them. And although I used to lecture my students about this topic fifteen to twenty years ago, I am completely shocked at how this idea has become so mainstream today.

So let’s get into it…

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Group Identity (Part Eight)

On By VickieIn Current Events, Education, politics, WritingLeave a comment
A book with important lessons for students

I didn’t realize that this commentary would turn into so may individual installments. I am already up to the eighth! But I have definitely been enjoying going through this speech, which I gave at a conference in 2007. It has reminded me of many of the experiences I have gone through in my decades of teaching. 

This installment will continue with a discussion of the curriculum and more specifically what happens in classroom instruction when an institution focuses on group identity. If you want to go back and start from the beginning, you can access the first installment here.

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Group Identity (Part Six)

On By VickieIn Current Events, Education, politics, teaching, Writing2 Comments

This is the sixth installment in a series of essays on group identity on college campuses that comes from a speech I gave back in 2007. You can find the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth here. In this essay, I will continue discussing what happens with a fixation on group identity, problems I saw playing out 15 years ago. And these problems have only increased since then.

This installment begins with how group identity damages relationships between students. The speech is rewritten in the indented sections, and I interrupt periodically with my current comments about what I wrote so long ago. 

Photo by Mikael Kristenson on Unsplash
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Group Identity (Part Five)

On By VickieIn Current Events, Education, politics, teaching, Writing1 Comment
I don’t seem to have photos of me teaching, but here is a staged photo of me grading papers (while on the phone??) for an article about my writing.

This is the fifth installment of a series of essays on group identity on college campuses that comes from a speech I gave back in 2007. You can find the first, second, third, and fourth here. I will continue discussing what happens with a fixation on group identity, problems I saw playing out 15 years ago. And these problems have only increased since then.

This installment continues with the discussion of the detrimental impact group identity has on the relationship between faculty members and students. The speech is rewritten in the indented sections, and I interrupt periodically with my current comments about what I wrote so long ago. 

Continue reading “Group Identity (Part Five)” →

Group Identity (Part Four)

On By VickieIn Current Events, Education, politics, teaching, Writing2 Comments
Another not-very-good photo of me speaking at a conference!

This is the fourth installment of a series of essays on group identity on college campuses that comes from a speech I gave back in 2007. You can find the first, second, and third here. I will continue discussing what happens when the educational system develops a fixation on group identity, problems I saw playing out 15 years ago. And these problems have only increased since then.

The fourth installment begins with how group identity damages relationships between faculty members. The speech is rewritten in the indented sections, and I interrupt periodically with my current comments about what I wrote so long ago. 

Continue reading “Group Identity (Part Four)” →

Group Identity (Part Two)

On By VickieIn Current Events, Education, politics, teaching5 Comments
Movie poster for Absence of Malice, a movie I discuss later in this post.

In the first installment of this series discussing group identity on college campuses, I provided some background information on my history and background of the speech I gave in 2007 on the same topic. 

In Part Two, I provide information on the college where I was tenured at the time. I think that is important to the story because what was happening there seemed pretty extreme fifteen – twenty years ago. Today, such practices are mainstream in academia. But why was this particular 7,000-student college, tucked in the foothills of San Gabriel Mountains, at the forefront of identity politics?

I also introduce the first problem with a focus on group identity: the inability to develop relationships. 

Again, I will rewrite the speech, interrupting periodically with my current comments about what I wrote so long ago.

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The Damage Wrought by Group Identity on College Campuses

On By VickieIn Current Events, Education, politics, teaching, Writing8 Comments

Today starts a multi-part series on some of my experiences as a college professor. I found an old presentation I gave in 2007 called “The Damage Wrought by Group Identity on College Campuses.” In this series, I will be breaking down that speech, providing some background information on my points, and updating my thoughts on the topics discussed.

This introduction is the first installment.

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Thoughts on the Importance of Studying Theme

On By VickieIn Current Events, Education, teaching1 Comment

I recently took a road trip over several days. On the first day’s drive, the interior of my car was filled with the sounds of a wide variety of music, from Cat Stevens to The Shins to Elton John. But on day two, I was really looking for some silence. And that silence gave my mind space to wander.

I’m reminded of a story relayed in the biography of Charles Lindbergh, the famed pilot of the Spirit of St, Louis who flew from New York to Paris. Early in his career, he was a US Air Mail pilot travelling back and forth between St. Louis and Kansas City. In those days, before radios and complete music libraries tucked away in your back pocket, Lindbergh flew in silence. To ward off the boredom, he gave himself difficult problems to solve. One of those problems was determining how to fly across the Atlantic. And on one of his flights, he solved it and went to work.

I certainly did not go about solving such problems on my drive! But I did find some clarity that explained my confusion around how people discuss literature. Maybe not as sexy as being the first to complete a transatlantic flight, but in my corner of the world as a college professor, I appreciated the revelation.

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