Paper #4: Reinventing College

Readings:

Yo-Yo Ma, "Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education," 257-261

Graeme Wood, "Is College Doomed," 505-518

Topic:

How, or in what ways, can colleges assist students in achieving a broader education and preparing for the necessary skill areas that are relevant for life today and in the future? Give specific examples from the readings by Ma and Wood to support your essay.

Some Useful Thoughts and Questions to help you Brainstorm ideas: Do not answer these questions directly in your essay. They are to help you think about ideas that you may want to include in your essay.

• In “"Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education,” Yo-Yo Ma argues for the value of arts in education. Ma considers the role that different disciplines can play in in education and in the world. What does an education in the liberal arts add to the understandings of science and technology? How does education relate to empathy? Is empathy something individuals can learn?

• In "Is College Doomed,” Graeme Wood illustrates how Minerva represents a new direction in education, not only in technology use but also in the way that it imagines the curriculum students should pursue. What values does Minerva reflect when it comes to education? What should students be learning? What should be the goal of education?

Reminders:

• Respond to the question immediately. This will be your thesis sentence, your position, your argument. Thesis should contain three main ideas and should be the last sentence in the intro paragraph.

• The final draft must be a complete essay, with an introductory paragraph (ending with a thesis), three main body paragraphs analyzing two quotes each (one from each article), and a conclusion paragraph.

• Edit your paper. Avoid informal language and review basic sentence structure, subject verb agreement, and tense agreement.

• Proofread. Spell the name of the class correctly and especially the name of the writers. Use the writer’s first and last name in the introduction, but use only their last name in the rest of the essay.

• A passing paper should have all of the following:

a. Two complete drafts (one introduction, 3 main body paragraphs, one conclusion)

b. A thesis statement

c. Two quotes per body paragraph – analyzing two quotes each (one from each article) in each body paragraph. Quotes from prior assignments may not be used.

d. One main idea per paragraph

e. Somewhat refined language and grammar usage; avoid using “I,” “you,” & “we” f. Substantially revised drafts