Thanks Bill. Wow, that is a wonderful explanation of what on the surface is 
alot of gobbledy gook. 

But why the need for all that verbiage to make a simple point? I stand by my 
earlier position that ed psych folks are alienating themselves by the use of 
too much jargon and their point is being lost on my readers. They have some 
great points to make but they are completely buried and I believe, ignored by 
most readers who are turned off by all of this language that requires you to be 
in the inner circle to understand it.

My admonition to education and ed psych people is to lighten up and open up. If 
I have a hard time reading their work, I imagine it's quite the challenge for 
the average person-on-the-street who just wants to be confident his kids are 
getting a good education. I don't have greater confidence when I come across 
things I can't make sense of, I have less, because IMHO truly great minds can 
communicate with anyone, c.f. Sagan, who could teach the simplest person to 
think critically to Pinker, who can put insomniacs to sleep.

And I am equally hard on psychologists, BTW.

This all smacks of politics getting involved someplace....

Annette


Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
University of San Diego
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110
619-260-4006
[EMAIL PROTECTED]


---- Original message ----
>Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 18:59:51 -0500
>From: "William Scott" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>  
>Subject: [tips] Re: education jargon  
>To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]>
>
>The Schrag reference is:
>The Resources of Rationality: A Response to the Postmodern Challenge
>by Calvin O. Schrag (Indiana U. Press, 1992)
>
>Here's a description of Schrag's notion of transversal rationality from
>http://theoblogy.blogspot.com/2005_03_01_archive.html
>
>So transversal rationality acknowledges the many rationalities at play
>in a pluralistic environment. As a method, it proposes that we look for
>intersections between rationalities -- "transversal" means "to lie
>across" -- and enter into dialogue at those concrete, situated moments
>... We must do so, however, with "epistemic humility;" that is, we need
>to be open to theoretical correction. And our results will be judged in
>moments of "praxial critique," in which the practical wisdom that comes
>out of the situation is tested in future, real-life situations.
>
>
>Hope that helps.
>
>Bill
>
>
>
>
>
>>>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 01/10/07 6:31 PM >>>
>OK: following up on a recent discussion involving jargon in educational
>psych, I just got my latest issue of the TCR (Teacher's College Record),
>an electronic journal devoted to educational issues. Here is the first
>sentence of an abstract:
>
>"Employing Calvin O. Schrag's response to postmodernism-transversal
>rationality engaged through praxial critique-the constructive side of
>postmodern theories can be highlighted in higher education while at the
>same time answering the pundits who see little to no constructive side
>to postmodern theories."
>
>AARRGGHH--I spend inordinate amounts of time teaching my students to
>speak so that ANYONE can understand what they have to say. And, of
>course, this assumes that we ALL know who Calvin O. Schrag is, and what
>his response is to.
>
>What is going on in the field of education?
>
>Annette
>
>
>Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D.
>Professor of Psychology
>University of San Diego
>5998 Alcala Park
>San Diego, CA 92110
>619-260-4006
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
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