GoPost#1 - What are you going to do with that?

Reflecting on the Deresiewicz and Brooks articles, what does it mean to

have moral imagination and moral courage? How are we taught (or how do
we learn) these qualities? What stands in the way of us learning and
embodying them?
Both articles discussed this concept of moral imagination, which we might define
as the capacity and courage to deviate from typical routes to success or
understanding. I find myself fixating on this pressure that has been imposed upon
our generation to succeed in traditionally lucrative ways. I wonder if we continue
to perpetuate these attitudes about success and fulfillment because they are
practical and sage, or if it is because our culture doesnt reward or reinforce
individual fulfillment and personal realization.
It might be that our generation is faced with this crisis of identity where weve
been told since we were young that we should do what makes us happy, only to
later be exposed to countless pressures to do what is financially responsible or
respectable to our parents/leaders/etc. Years of Mr. Rogers and college
admissions-oriented extracurriculars encouraged us to be disruptively individual,
only for the authorities in our lives to quickly change face to inform us that
individuality is self-indulgent and (most importantly) not profitable. Does this not
seem a contradictory? Is this change of face pragmatic such that we should
really take it seriously, or are there alternatives? Should elementary school
students just start studying for the SAT?
Dereisiwicz drops the mic when he mentions that a good portion of the imposed
pressure to conform to predictable, financially stable career paths comes from
our peers. I even occasionally catch myself gently questioning (read: scorning)
my friends for deviating from their safer ambitions to pursue their passions. Do
we impose this pressure because we want our friends to succeed or because
were envious of those that have the (seeming) luxury to pursue the things that
empower them?
I understand how some have interpreted Dereisiwicz' juicy label- postemotional
- as disparaging the position of the modern young adult, I might contend that its
more commentary on how powerful feelings arent conducive to success in the
more traditional routes towards monetary wealth and security in our society. As
Brooks points out, meritocracy and social media push us to be hardhearted and
disengaged with feeling. It would seem that emotional and personal satisfaction
when doing ones work is softly enocouraged but hardly incentivized.

To me, the definition of moral integrity is to seek satisfaction internally; to live a

life rich in purpose and intention. It is to learn from the opinion and experience of
others but not to be constrained by it. I choose to side with one of Brooks heavier
statements, that life is best purposed towards service and love towards others. I
look at the examples in my life of people that are doing tremendously well by
themselves and see that they live lives that are ostensibly much happier, fulfilling
and purposed towards the empowerment of those around them.
I cant say that being personally satisfied is universally of greater precedent than
being pragmatic or focused on traditional (monetary) success. Obviously, being
secure is a fundamental need, and to have the privilege to purpose my own life
towards self-fulfillment is a luxury that might not be available to everyone. I just
know that, for me, wealth of character will aways bring more satisfaction than
meeting the expectations or desires of others, and that I can best satisfy others
by first empowering myself. True innovators find the ability to challenge the idea
that personal fulfillment and societal success are mutually exclusive, and I dont
think that this is a lesson that has to be taught outside of the classroom.

GoPost #2 - Mini-teach reflection

What did you learn from the the mini-teach? What did you do that worked?
What would you change to improve the experience? What did you see a
peer do well that you would incorporate into your teaching?
My mini-teach was a crazy and hilarious four minutes. There exists an inherent
challenge in teaching music to people that might not make music all the time or
dont have as much experience using their voice, but I am so grateful that my
team is full of awesome people that were willing to indulge my idea. They did a
great job. Teaching music necessarily limits the types of learners that you can
appeal to as an educator. I made an effort to delineate the individual parts on the
whiteboard, but in hindsight Im not confident this did anything to strengthen
anyones understanding. In the future I would come more prepared with visual
information (maybe some rudimentary sheet music).
I learned that a critical part of success as an educator is your own confidence
with the material. Those moments where I was most effective in getting
my participants on the right page were the ones where I had no trouble singing
with them myself and could break the idea down into easily palatable portions. A
setback I experienced was simply the imposed time limit. I might have been
smart to rehearse my mini-teach a little bit more to make my information concise,
relevant and engaging in the allowed time.

I admired the way Natalie taught us a word in German. She was ludicrously
deliberate and broke down the word thoroughly such that I have not forgotten
how to say fifty five in German (hopefully my pronunciation still holds up!)

GoPost #3 - High-impact practices reflection

After doing this week's readings, reflect on high-impact practices in your
own education thus far. Choose 2 practices youve experienced and
discuss how you envision them impacting your life (both professional and
personal) in the future.
Im happy to discover that I am a member of the 3% that has received all 6 criteria for
an impactful education cited in the Gallup poll. Feeling blessed!
Id say that there are few phrases that would be more apt than high impact to describe
my experience in my current lab group. My work challenges me every day to be more
curious, meticulous and innovative than I was the last. Research teaches me to think
critically even when I dont have all the information and has taught me incredible
lessons on how to be confident outside of my comfort zone. Im still a long way from
being as heavy of a molecular biologist as Id like to be, but I am now certain that I have
been instilled with the ethic and strategies to get there. Perhaps most importantly, Ive
garnered relationships with graduate students and faculty that inspire me. Research has
taught me that even in a field as tangentially related to human existence as molecular
genetics in plants there exists great humanity, both in the scientific process and in the
understanding we gain by extending inquiry towards the natural world.
Something that has kept me stoked for a good amount of my time at UW has been the
organization and structure of the UW Biology curriculum. Ive had the privilege of
attending meetings with the UW Bio Education Group where my professors effectively
broke the fourth wall on my courses and explained the long-term teaching goals and
strategies they hope to instill in me as an undergrad. The structure of this program- the
details of which are lengthy and would exceed my desired length of this postencourages and incentivizes group learning and builds a body of knowledge vertically
and in an integrative manner. My participation in it has been a blast, taught me the
importance and utility of group learning, and introduced me to the facets of a
comprehensive education (something I hope to employ in my own classroom one day).

GoPost #4 - Group teach reflection

Reflect on your group teaching experience. How did your teaching session
go? What surprised you about the experience? What went well? What
would you do differently if you were to teach the same lesson again? How

does it compare to your mini-teach and your reflections on that

experience?
I left our group teach pretty enthused, despite the rather substantial time constraints we
faced. Our participants were super creative and engaged and their energy made
presenting fun and care-free. I learned, as I have many times before, that planning for
time is one of the most crucial steps to success in presenting information. Ill be smart to
seriously take this into consideration in the fall.
One thing that I took away from this experience- and Im not surprised to see that Nola
has commented on this as well- is that creativity is a very valuable tool to keep your
class engaged. Ive learned from my professors the importance of keeping students
personally involved in the class discourse. Something Ill keep in mind when
constructing my lesson plans is providing opportunities for my class to comment, reflect,
and direct the classroom experience. I do wonder if this strategy caters to every style of
learning, as I could understand that this might push some people out of their comfort
zone, but Ill be looking for ways to make a Honors 100 experience that promotes
participation and inclusion. I took a lot out of seeing presentations by other groups and
was glad to see them employ some really effective strategies at communicating the
information. Happy to be surrounded by such smart and innovative peers!

GoPost #5 - Retreat reflection

Reflect on our retreat. What did you learn about your leadership style?
Additionally, share one idea or suggestion from the PE community that you
now want to incorporate into your class in the fall. Feel free to share any
other thoughts you have following our time together.
The retreat was an incredible opportunity to grow and learn and Im very grateful
for the opportunity to experience as much as I did!
The activity that most prominently sticks out in my memory days later is the
reflection on good experiences. This exercise was a fantastic reminder that a
good deal of the impactful and rewarding experiences Ive had have come from
intentional, loving energy that Ive found inside myself. This and the time for
personal reflection (where I got to get nice and cozy with one of the climbing
trees -- a Monday morning herbarium consultation would would reveal that these
were Acer macrophyllum , a little different but not far off from our educated
guesses!) made me realize that I can be doing more to purpose my energy
towards loving myself and others. I am convinced as ever that love is the most
valuable mental currency and that adversity and defeat can be repurposed
towards growth if grown in love. I will be working to live this realization both in
and out of my 100 class.

I gained a lot from getting to know the other peer educators. I always take a
whole lot from interacting with smart and motivated people like the folks in this
class! Aside from the opportunity to learn and engage with everyone on a
personal level, I enjoyed activities that asked us to individually evaluate our
different approaches to leadership. Contextualizing myself beside my peers
shows me what areas I can grow as a leader and the presence of literal human
examples of these areas was quite demonstrative. Ill be working to better view
my situation from the perspective of an analyst.
Finally, Ive always considered myself something of an introvert, and this
weekend really drove that home. Talking about myself at length coupled with self
reflection really exposed how much I need alone time to be a functional human.
This might be critical in understanding myself as a leader and friend, as I
definitely can get a little burnt out. I left Dumas Bay stretched and exhausted in
the most grateful way. Though not really part of the retreat, I credit the four hours
I spent laying on the couch listening to music in my underwear immediately after I
got home as an important part of my process. Thank you all for a great weekend!