Autumn in London '06

The Value of Effort in Education

Hey All,

It's been a pretty uneventful week by and large, so today I mostly want to share with you all some thoughts that I've had recently based upon my experiences in my classes this week.

To start out with, the topic discussed in my Music Aesthetics class on Tuesday was the very same topic on which I plan to write my essay in that class--Music as if a Language. Officially, the title of the essay is "Is Music a Language?", but the lecture was essentially completely relevant to my work. The tutor in this class, Anthony Prior, is that brilliant sort of professor who knows his subject matter inside and out (in this case, the philosophy of music and musicality) and puts it to good use by playing devil's advocate with whomever is brave enough to challenge a position that he explains. He also has a very dry, English sense of humour, which makes the class all the more enjoyable.

Wednesday, in my hands-on journalism class, we did some peer reviewing and talked at length about reviews--how to do them, the ethical implications, styles, fears, etc. The level of participation was high, and a lot of constructive conversation came out of the class.

Thursday, in my Latin American cinema class, we had a record high for number of students who actually saw the film. This meant that, for the first time all semester, I wasn't the only one talking the whole class, which made for a much more pleasant experience.

Basically, after reflecting on this week in classes, I've determined that education really is so much more exciting when you get into it. One might think that I would have had a realization of this nature before, and in some ways I have, but I've never really had this same perspective on my education before. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was living an enriched life, a full life.

Just a few thoughts that I've had :).

posted by Zachary Nicholson @ 7:41 PM