"Education Matters"

This was the title of a lecture tonight in McCosh Hall, hosted by the Student Volunteer Council of Princeton as part of their yearlong theme of education and the University. There was a panel of three distinguished speakers, namely Cornel West, Eddie Glaude & Jeffrey Stout. Over the course of an hour and a half, they covered many various aspects of their personal educations, time teaching, and general observations on the field of education. Here's a short collection of (paraphrased) comments that struck me as interesting:

* The first thing I try to do when I walk into a classroom is wake up my students. By that I mean, wake them up from the dream that is their privileged adolescent youth. (Stout)

* It's all a question of what classroom we want to refer to and discuss. Creationism has no place in the physics classroom, but look in a history or sociology class and we have something to talk about. (West)

* Education is erotic. It's about loving our subjects in public. It's about standing naked in front of concepts, founders, and other great minds and engaging in mental intercourse as we try to grapple with our surroundings. That's what we have to do in front of the public, our students, and that's what we have to make them excited about too. (Glaude)

Throughout all they had to say and the questions brought forth at the end, a main stream of thought emerged: education is about setting the standard high for ourselves and those around us, about openly loving the students we work with, about sharing passion among friends and peers. The three panelists offered a kernel of advice to anyone listening, "find yourself a group of friends, who are willing to never compromise on the truth and will remain unfailingly honest in their pursuit of knowledge and intellectual inquiry." These words serve as a reminder of why I was so eager to set foot on the campus as a student and of my current interest in education as a field of growth. Tonight's discussion serves as a great prelude to several upcoming panels and, hopefully, to Teacher Prep's reunions event on K-12 education in the United States.