Good afternoon, fellow scholars! :-) In rereading the prelude and chapter one, I have a few "nudges" for the group. My other moderators may chime in with their own ideas/questions as well. Feel free to respond to any or none of these prompts...you can just share your own thoughts and reflections, but please share!!! Ellin writes near the end of chapter one that it takes some struggle and a little intellectual discomfort to really learn. With that in mind, I ask you to consider the following: 1. In the prelude, Ellin talks about the powerful impact writing has on her own ability to understand. Thinking about your own intellectual life, have you found a similar connection between deep understanding and writing? Or has something else been your vehicle toward understanding? 2. I think there are moments in our own personal, intellectual and teaching lives that are pivotal...where a lightbulb goes off and things are never quite the same. It seems, (though I don't want to speak for Ellin,) that the conference with Jamika described in the first chapter became such a moment for her. I am wondering, as we explore the question of what it means to understand, if it may be important to understand the development of our own intellects...what have our own "ah-hah!" or "uh-oh" moments been? Did we wait until college to have a rich intellectual life? Did we leave that life behind in college? Who have been the people that fostered that development of our intellects and what kinds of things did those people do for you? (Think about what Rick did for Ellin...has someone done that for us? Are we being that person for someone else?) 3. What do YOU think "make sense" means? What goes on in your head and in your life as you work to make sense of something? 4. Given our current political climate, "research-based" curriculum and pedagogy, what would our students say if we asked them what "makes sense" means? Okay, scholars, now it is up to you. What are you thinking about? What are you understanding so far about this book? What questions do you have? Jennifer
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