February 18

Today, we wrote about what we have learned and/or thought about since the beginning of the semester.  

After writing into the day, we reread the assignment description for the Exploratory Essay and talked about the "Exploratory Essay - Further Explanation" handout.  Then we did brainstorming about the Exploratory Essay in partners.  We wrote about our ideas and then talked them over with our partners (see the "Murray Brainstorming" powerpoint).

Then, we got into our inquiry groups and talked our golden lines.  In the last 10 minutes of class, we had a debate about whether students should be required to take liberal arts classes.  Some said that these classes are a waste of time unless they deal directly with one's major.  Others said that these classes are beneficial because they make a person more well rounded and teach things like history; these people argued that it is the responsibility of the student to figure out how to apply what he/she has learned in liberal arts classes to his/her life and major.

Homework:

• Keep up with your blog.