As the above quote suggests, education should give us a chance to “go within.”

As the above quote suggests, education should give us a chance to “go within.” Not only should we be learning theories and concepts, but we should also be considering how any particular theory or concept is relevant for ourselves. Going into any learning experience, I like to think about what I expect to get out of it. What do I hope to learn? How will it be relevant for me? What preconceived notions or beliefs do I have about the subject matter? What has influenced those ideas or beliefs – how I was raised? The media? Religious/spiritual background? Political beliefs? For this paper, I would like you to think about some or all of these questions. Think about this as an opportunity to “check in” with yourself as you come into the course; it will be interesting to see what has been changed or reinforced for you when you write your final reflection at the end of the course. I am not giving a page requirement. I want you to write until you know you are done. When you are truly finished writing, you should feel like you’ve gotten yourself thinking and have made sense of some things and/or raised new questions to investigate. Please submit your paper in .docx format in the drop box by 11:59 p.m. on January 9th.