Welcome to the Maktab & Madrasa

Hope you all enjoyed your whirl-wind tour of the Maktab and Madrasa. If you didn't take good notes on where, when, and what about them, get notes from a classmate who did.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT

Have a good look at the Annotated Bibliography assignment sheet I handed out today. If you were not in class, you can find the handout on the Moodle. Make sure that the instructions are clear to you and bring questions to class if they are not.

THIS THURSDAY, 10/25

Attendance is mandatory.

• We will meet in the library for class on Thursday. 

• Fall 2018 Social Justice Speaker Series, at 6 p.m., in the Chapel. 

SAVE THE DATE

Freshman Research Conference, Thursday, November 15, 3:30-5:30, location TBA.

Midterm Exam

On Thursday we will have our midterm exam. It will be a take home exam, due before midnight, through TurnItIn on the class Moodle. You may study together (recommended), but your answers should be your own (TurnItIn knows). There will be no class meeting on Thursday. Email me right away if you run into any difficulties.

To prepare, review the class blog and your notes. You will need to be able to briefly define/summarize the neurosciences concepts we have explored:

1. Growth vs. Fixed Mindset; 
2. The Adolescent Brain; 
3. Stereotype Threat; 
4. Effects of Stress; 
5. Neuro-plasticity; and 
6. Dyslexia. 

Strong summaries will include an example of an experiment described in the article or talk.

You will also need to be able to identify on a map the locations of the ancient schools we've visited and, in a sentence or two, describe the education system of each place and the purposes they served in their societies:

1. The Eduba of Mesopotamia
2. The Imperial Examination System of China
3. Greece (Athens and Sparta) & Rome
4. The Tēlpochcalli and the Calmecac of the Aztec Empire

Neuroplasticity

I hope you all enjoyed your way-back machine visit to the Aztec schools last Thursday and our trip to the Charles Armstrong School for Call to Action Day on Tuesday.

Today we reflected on our Call to Action Day experience. How does what you did at CTA Day relate to what we are exploring in our seminar? I'm excited about the idea of extending our community engagement with the school to our research project and beyond.

Next Tuesday, we will review what we have learned so far this semester and create a mid-term exam together, which you will take on Thursday. 

Here's the link the the Tedx talk on neuroplasticity that we watched in class today.

Call to Action Day!

We will be meeting on Tuesday at 9:15 on the Quad to check in, fill out some paperwork, and pick up our lunches. We will walk up together to the Charles Armstrong School, where we will get an introduction, divide up to observe some classes, and then have lunch with the newly-elected student council. We should come away with a stronger understanding of Dyslexia and how our education system can be adapted to better serve those with learning differences.

Perhaps the most important Call to Action available to us in our democracy is to VOTE.

Election Day is November 6! 

Hat tip to Dr. Kristen Edwards for the following information:

If you live in California, the deadline to register in person, online or by mail is October 22. Residents who miss the deadline can still register at an election office and vote with a provisional ballot. The vote will be counted when the registration is verified.

Remember that you can only be registered to vote in one county and in one state. So if you registered back home, which is far from Belmont, make sure that you will receive a mail-in ballot.

For CA voters, you can register to vote or find out if you are registered to vote here:

https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/

For voter registration information by state, go here:

https://www.theroot.com/make-this-go-viral-the-voter-registration-deadline-for-1829462310?utm_medium=socialflow&utm_source=theroot_facebook

You can also check your voter registration and to register to vote in any state at vote.org:

https://www.vote.org/

You can also register to vote in any state here:

https://vote.gov/