The September 7th meeting with Cathy Davidson and Dr. Christina Katopodis about their amazing book The New College Classroom was so informative. Prior to this meeting, I had not read the book, but after hearing their discussion about it I am eager to read it. At the beginning of the meeting when Chancellor Rodriguez was introducing the book, I already knew I would resonate with this book. I appreciated how the Chancellor recognized that students learn differently and how he wanted to grow a greater understanding of students. The value of empathy to grow a greater knowledge of the students and what they needed to have so they could bring their all to class was so comforting to hear. Hearing that this book is more of an ethical book rather than a book about teaching differentiates itself from other books or ted talks about the education system.
The new college classroom provides a step-by-step manual for reimagining the classroom experience as an active citizen. The new college classroom offers students more than what today’s classrooms are giving them. It empowers students with creative problem-solving tools because that is essential in creating an inclusive democratic society in and out of the classroom. When Cathy Davidson started speaking about her book, I was stunned by the statistics she stated. Davidson stated, “We’ve had sociologists’ education who’ve gone around and found out that twenty percent of students graduate from college without ever having spoken in a class unless they were directly called on. That’s a tragedy.” 20 percent of students did not have the confidence to speak in class, and I say confidence because I too am a student that doesn’t speak in class. Professors are not always welcoming, and the classroom doesn’t feel like a creative space for wrong answers, which is why we need a new college classroom.
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