[451] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Yvonne's email
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Zhelinrentice L Scott)
Wed May 2 03:08:39 2001
Message-Id: <200105020708.DAA02759@scrubbing-bubbles.mit.edu>
To: mit-talk@MIT.EDU
Date: Wed, 02 May 2001 03:08:17 -0400
From: Zhelinrentice L Scott <zlscott@MIT.EDU>
Yvonne says:
I for one don't like the idea of a required HASS-D. My initial
reaction is that there are enough required classes. First of all, I'm very
happy with the eight HASS-D's I have chosen to take. Second of all,
having an extra HASS-D would put an extra restriction on my schedule.
--> That is defintely a valid point.
I came to MIT to accomplish several things:
to learn math, to develop good communication skills, and to learn
more about society.
---> When I took the abreviated version of 11.023 over IAP
I did learn how to communicate more effectively and I did learn
more about society. It was a very eye opening experience.
I think many people will find that they will have a very
diverse group of friends if they were to go through the same
experience.
As far as the philosophy of the course is concerned: who
would teach it? How would the class be graded? What would
students get out of it?
Dr. Clarence Williams and whomever else he thinks on the faculty
who are able. Dr. Williams has been teaching this class for years.
The curriculum is stellar and it includes lots of scholarly research.
I would think the grading would depend on what term you took it
during.
The problem with such a class is that the quality of th
class would depend very much on the student population. If
we all have a bunch of very quiet people who don't like voicing their opinions,
then the clas swill be a waste of time. If we have a bunch of
very closed minded people, then the class becomes frustrating and
again, a watste of time and energy a student could have
been spending on say, volunteering at the PSC.
--->Well the class is more than talking. There is reading
and documentaries, and presentations that are given.
The ground rules for discussion are very strict and
create a safe environment where people feel comfortable
to exercise their 1st amendment rights.
If the profssor is no good (and where will you find enough
TA's? 18.01, 18.02, 18.03, 8.01*, 8.02* have enough trouble
with this), then it will not teach the students anything.
---->Many students in Urban Studies and Planning would
be wonderful TA's for these classes. Also the political
science department would have folk to. Don't forget
extraspecial upper classmen who can handle TAing.
I have
friends of all races and cultures and I talk to them about their
backgrounds. I didn't need any HASS-D to make me aware
of cultural differences and diversity or to help me tolerate them.
In fact, if someone imposed such a HASS-D upon me, I'd
find it pretty insulting because there are too many
details for this HASS-D that can't be resolved: the
lack of good professors, too high of a dependence on
the students, how to grade your apprecition of cultural
diversity, etc.
--->No this class takes a scholarly approach to things. There are questions
raised that even I hadn't asked myself about race relations.
It was a very educational opportunity.
Suppose you have one class of people who all think
that the admissions process at MIT is unfair. Well,
they'll just complain to each other and reinforce
their own false ideas. The admiossions process
is just one example; what if they held extreme views on
sexism? racism?
--->Well people can voice those views in the class, however
research, films, and class discussions have the purpose of
exploring these issues. BTW the aforementioned is
already true. I don't see it getting worse with this
class. I see the situation improving.
Zhe
