Thinking about the Coleman Ted Talk and Brooks article, what does it mean

to have moral imagination and moral courage? How does a liberal arts
education encourage these qualities? What stands in the way of us learning
and embodying them?
To me, having moral imagination and courage means to be able to admit to oneself that you don't
have all the answers to life's problems. The idea behind specialization is that if everyone learns
one thing really well, we can go to them for help on that specific thing. However, this view is
actually inefficient and unproductive, as it blindly assumes that one perspective has the answers
to certain problems. In reality, it's very rare that problems are isolated in simply one field: for
example, when we're looking at poverty and homelessness, we must not only consider economic
factors behind unemployment, but also social and cultural factors that may have led up to this
point. The idea is that problems are intertwined and pertain to multiple disciplines, and so in
order to effectively solve these problems we need cooperation between different areas of study.

A liberal arts education encourages students to appreciate things from different perspectives and
ways of life, rather than focusing on just one facet of an issue. Having a broad background in
many areas allows you to make more effective and moral decisions than if you were to specialize
in one area. In order to succeed, one must have the moral imagination to appreciate matters in
different ways, as well as the moral courage to defy what society expects someone to do. This
can be difficult, as from a young age most of us are taught to receive an education as a means to
an end (a degree), that will lead to a high-paying job and financial security. Skills that are
original and could benefit lots of people are deemed unnecessary, and pushed aside in favor of
more "practical" pursuits. However, I believe a true liberal arts education strives to encourage
students to think broadly about issues and what skills they have that can serve others in need,
rather than what skills they have that will make them traditionally successful. Students have to
be reminded that life isn't a competition to see who has the most money or the best career; it's a
journey for you to discover your place in the world to help those in need.

What did you learn from the mini-teach? What did you do that worked?
What would you change to improve the experience? What did you see a peer
do well that you would incorporate into your teaching?
I learned that I talk pretty fast, and so I got through most of my material with time left to spare.
In the future, I think it would be better to overplan activities that end up going unused, rather
than underplanning and having to make up something on the spot. However, when this happened
to me, I was able to be flexible and adapt to my remaining time. Furthermore, I believe I was
successful in explaining the relevance and applications of what I was teaching, rather than just
spouting out information and hoping my peers would passively absorb it. One thing I saw in my
group that I would want to incorporate is individual feedback for each person, in order to
encourage what they've learned, as well as discussion at the end of a lesson to allow students to
engage with the topic in a more personal way. Having an underlying message at the end of the
lesson also helped to wrap up the lesson and leave the audience with something to think about.

After doing this week's readings and classroom discussion, reflect on high-
impact practices in your own education thus far. Choose 2 practices youve
experienced and discuss how you envision them impacting you in the future
(both professional and personal).
One high-impact practice I've had is service learning, in a Sociology course during fall quarter. I
volunteered at Garfield High School, a place known for its racially divided classrooms and
differential levels of success. I worked as a tutor there in the Garfield Teen Life Center, where
teens come after school, usually when they have no place to go. A large majority of the students
I saw come in were minority students struggling with basic level math and writing. After doing
research, however, I found that all the white kids at the school were well-off and placed in upper-
level AP classes, while other students were left behind in a failed effort at student tracking. This
experience was important for me because I grew up in a relatively well-off, mostly white
neighborhood, and so this helped me to get some background on the inequalities still rampant in
education. In the future, I hope this experience will allow me to consider the complex and
different backgrounds people are coming from, and factor this into my perception of the people
around me.

My second practice in college has been writing intensive courses, particularly in my Honors
classes. These classes have been tedious, as I've had to write and rewrite lengthy papers for
different classes throughout the year. However, the feedback I got from these experiences
enhanced my writing's clarity and conciseness, allowing me to communicate my thoughts in a
more effective way. This skill will be invaluable no matter what field I go into, because even if
you're the smartest person in the world, it will mean nothing if you're not able to articulate and
communicate your thoughts. I believe these courses have made my writing more persuasive, and
I know this will help me in the future, whether I'm writing an email to a friend or submitting a
job application.

Reflect on your group teaching experience. How did your teaching session go?
What did you learn about your teaching style/skills after receiving feedback
from your peers? What went well? What do you want to work on developing
throughout the remainder of the quarter? How does it compare to your mini-
teach and your reflections on that experience?
I think our group teach went well. We were able to incorporate interactive activities to engage
our audience, while also presenting relevant information. I didn't get any specific feedback on
my presenting, but I feel I could still improve on enunciating and projecting my voice. The
think-pair-shares worked pretty well, as well as when we had our audience get up and move
around the room. I think I learned from my mini teach how time can get a bit distorted while
presenting, so for the group teach we tried to be very adaptable and come up with backup plans
in case things didn't go according to our schedule. I want to continue incorporating activities and
having backup plans for my own lessons.

Write your PE profile for the Honors 100 web site, introducing yourself to
your students (no more than 500 words) and insert a photo for the website.
You can work off the introduction we had you post before the start of the
quarter, if you wish.
Hi, my name is Griffin Dugan and I'm super excited to get to work with you all! I'm a
sophomore right now, and I've fallen in love with the Honors program and can't wait to help
incoming freshman. I had a pretty rough transition myself, so I want to do my part in making
sure you as new students feel welcome and have the resources you need to succeed. I'm
currently undeclared with my major, but I have an interest in pursuing Psychology and possibly
Pre-Med, because I want to be a psychiatrist. But who knows how that will turn out?
Some things about me: I'm from Bellevue, which is only about 20 minutes away from campus. I
went to middle and high school with the same class of 70 people for 7 years, so being at UW was
definitely a shift. I'm the youngest of my family, with my sister being 26 and my brother 28. I
love dogs to the point where I have been known to cry when I see one, even in a video. Apple
juice can also have a similar effect on me (it's the nectar of the Gods). In my free time, I like to
play video games, watch Netflix, do yoga, sing, or just go for a walk. Can't wait to meet and get
to know you all!

Reflect on our retreat. What did you learn about your leadership style?
Additionally, share one idea or suggestion from the PE community that you
now want to incorporate into your class in the fall. Feel free to share any other
thoughts you have following our time together.
This retreat was an awesome experience for me, especially because I've had some subpar ones in
the past. I really appreciated the chance to get to know everyone, and I'm excited to continue
working with this group in the fall. I think we really began to foster a community amongst
ourselves during the retreat. Everyone is super cool and has interesting things to bring to the
table, and I want to continue to be friends with all of you going forward :). Presenting on my
Dependable Strengths was really eye-opening for me, because the trend I saw in all of them was
a theme of presenting information, as a teacher or a speaker of some sorts. While I don't really
know what this means for my future exactly, I'm excited to continue exploring what makes me
passionate. One activity I want to take away from the retreat was the one with the 4 balls; I
thought that exemplified the struggle for self-care really well, so I want to do that with my
students to introduce the topic. Overall, a super fun weekend!