As I mentioned in the last email, we had two fascinating presentations last week!
Tim's subject was Teenagers, and he began by eliciting the first words which popped into our heads when we think of "teenagers," and then he got us all to remember the times when we were teens and argued with our parents or teachers. We gave Tim lots of positive words about teenagers! But he said that he actually usually gets a lot of negative responses when he asks people to share their first thoughts of teenagers, because many people take it for granted that teens are full of rebellion and trouble. Tim then told us about a 1928 study of Samoan culture by anthropologist Margaret Mead. She discovered that Samoan youth transitioned from teens into adults gracefully, and she concluded that adolescent rebellion is not inherent, but depends on culture. Tim then shared Jean Piaget's ideas of the four stages of human's cognitive development, and showed that teenagers are transitioning stages, from the concrete thinking of childhood to the abstract thinking of adulthood. Tim said that teens need time to practice their new skills for their new stage, but that many times adults don't have the patience to let them practice. So Tim asked, is it really teenager rebellion? Or is it the fact that adults are not ready? I liked how his talk made me think about teenagers and our society in a new way; I think that relationships between teens and adults have a good chance of improving as more and more people understand these ideas from the content of Tim's talk!
Barrett's presentation was entitled "Shall We Share Imperfect Life with Others?" Barrett told us about Madison Holleran (1994 - 2014), a girl who seemed to have it made in every way. She was good at soccer and got a scholarship to a prestigious college, and she was beautiful and popular and skilled at both sports and studies. Barrett told us that her mother saw all the fun photos of Madison at her college, and was pleased that Madison was really enjoying life in college. But Madison said, "They're just pictures." In reality, Madison was under a lot of pressure from trying to keep up her studies and her sports. In the end, Madison committed suicide. Nobody knew or guessed her pain, because the image that everyone saw was of a happy, popular, smart, skillful girl. In telling us this story, Barrett brought up the point that we all always try to show our best sides, (think of facebook and other social media). So, back to Barrett's original question... do we dare to show others the less-than-perfect sides of our lives? And are we ready to give support if someone else shows us that their life is less than perfect?! Barrett's presentation reminded me to look beyond the surface images of my acquaintances, and to remember that everyone may be hiding secret pain. His presentation also encouraged me to try to share my true self with those around me. Even though my life is imperfect!! :D
Thank you so much to Tim and Barrett for your thought-provoking presentations!
I hope you all in C.I. class feel free to share your true selves! I love our class because everyone is supportive and encouraging of each other.
And... I hope that everyone who wants to share a presentation will do so soon!!
We have three more classes!!
Our last class is traditionally a potluck (when we share a meal together)! And our classmates have been talking about taking an outing for the second-to-last class (a hike?! karaoke?! other ideas?!) :D So...
This week is the best chance to share this semester's final presentations with us! And it might even be your last chance this semester!! So I hope as many of you who still would like to present will seize the opportunity and share with us!
As always, we welcome your presentations from less than a minute in length up to 12 minutes in length!
Please send me an email by Thursday at noon if you'd like to present this week on 6/25!!
See you then for more great presentations, and for a continuing discussion of work!
Sincerely, Abbie
