[Kasey Krug]

I like the point that Jess makes that Thoreau values experiential learning on his own terms. Things must be done his way in which he thinks is the correct experience. I think this is a very closed minded and not very valuable way to look at experiential learning. To learn through experience one must make mistakes and work through their problems on their own terms and what suites them best. Thoreau does not seem to understand this and thinks that his way is the only good way to learn. Also even though experiential learning is important, some people learn things better a different way, such as reading or watching something before jumping into doing it.

[Kasey Krug]

I agree with Casey. I too do skip over the parts of a book when reading for pleasure that are not “text”. When I am reading for pleasure I’m usually not reading the book to analyze it, so I skip over the parts that don’t seem relevant to the main plot of the story such as footnotes explain where something came from or an introduction. The significance of paratext is a tricky thing to judge because it is not part of the main body of a text produced by the author.

[Kasey Krug]

Alexa you make a good point about trying to not let paratext influence your opinion on how to read a book as well as how you judge a book. When I read I try my hardest to not look at the outside influences on the b0ok besides the authors text, but sometimes when looking through a book store outside influences of paratext have an influence on what you read. I know I am more likely to pick up a book that is visually appealing as well as has high remarks by outsiders such as from editors, publishers, and critics.

[Kasey Krug]

*I forgot to address the second question in your post!

A change that Lincoln made that affected the rhythm of the address is  also the quotation marks around “all men are created equal”. While reading this with quotation marks is leads for the reader to change his/her tone of how the statement is read. When there are not quotation marks it allows for that statement to flow into the address more easily.

[Kasey Krug]

One change I noticed is that the statement “all men are created equal” is only in quotation marks in the Nicolay version of the address. Nicolay is one of the earliest versions of the address, and the quotation marks do not show up in any other versions, suggesting it is one of the first big changes to the text. The quotation marks around the statement may imply that it does not refer to every man. Lincoln’s goal was for everyone man to be equal, therefor deleted these quotations to get rid of any implication it may bring about.

[Kasey Krug]

Darby makes an interesting point that people just go along with social norms because its generally easier. It allows you to live you life without being an outcast or even put in the spot light. When a person, such as Thoreau, does something out of the norms it causes an uproar because people are comfortable with it. People accept what they see as comfortable and “normal.” When people do something different, even when it is not harming anyone or even influencing anyone directly, it is still looked down on.

[Kasey Krug]

Throughout Walden, reading is always looked at as more of an act of observation and reading the world around, not just reading books. One of my favorite quotes from the book is “Much is published, but little is printed.” This quote is in the first paragraph of sounds. I interpret this quote as that the world is a published work and compared to how much you can learn from the world around you, printed books is a small amount. This idea is common through Walden, as Emily points out in the previous comment.

[Kasey Krug]

In my opinion they re all different types of learning, ranging in how “hands are” they are. You can read a book about something, but you will never be an expert on it until you do the skill. Youtube videos allows for little hands on learning because you are capable of pausing and re watching the video of the skill. Lastly the most hands on form of learning is watching a person in real life and working with them. If you are watching someone you are capable of asking questions, asking them to repeat a skill, or to explain something differently. All forms of learning are necessary to be able to reinforce and learn skills. Hands on learning is best way for children to earn because it allows for a concrete example of something. If they have a concrete object or image to work with they are able to grasp the skill easier than by reading or book or listening to a book or instructions.

[Kasey Krug]

I believe Thoreau believes in experiential learning to an extent. He goes into the woods in order to better his life and learn about the nature around him, he could have easily read s few books on the subject with out the work that had to be put into moving into the woods. But I think at points he does see the value of learning though a book, and that you cannot learn everything from experience. In the beginning of the book he talks about the importance of the classic novels, and how they should be read in their native language to be able to learn and understand what they are truly saying. This comment is slightly contradicting his ideas of experiential learning, so I think he understand the necessity for both experiential and book learning.

[Kasey Krug]

I agree with Melissa. I am also an education major, and being able to experience everything that you teach is nearly impossible. That’s why books and reading are so important in school, sometimes they are the closest thing that we can have to the real experience. I think it is extremely important for students to have as many hands on/close to real experiences as possible though. The concert explanations and examples help reinforce the teaching and allow for students to understand. For example when learning the solar system students are going to read a lot about it, because it is impossible to go to space on a class field trip, but that reading should be supplemented by models and videos of space. I think Thoreau’s statement saying that experience is the best teacher, is true to some aspect. Guidance through teachers and books will allow for the best education.

[Kasey Krug]

I would also have to disagree with Thoreau on this statement. One thing about reading the classics is that many ideas and moods of the story can get lost in translation, making them not as interesting as they would be if read in the orginial language. It is suggested to read them in their original language. Even though that is technically a good idea, the majority of people don’t understand the original languages of these texts well enought to be able to fully benefit from reading the texts.

From an education majors point of view, the idea that the only adventorous students are the ones that read the classics is a completly opposite idea of what is taught. The goal of a teacher is to get all students interested in learning, and if they find a topic of type of book/genera they ate interested in it is praised. Most students come into school as “adventurous students” it’s just the teachers job to keep them engaged and interested in learning. Forcing things such as classics on them, if they do not find interest in them can cause these students to loose interest.

 

[Kasey Krug]

During class we connected this idea to the reasons in which people join Wake Up Now and why Thoreau decided to move into isolation. Both were looking for an escape from societal pressures and expectations. Neither wanted to be puppets to the higher society. This links to the idea of the responsibility of the author because it is the author that can persuade others to follow in their steps. While Thoreau directly says to don’t do what he does and to just use his experience to better your life, Wake Up Now is doing the opposite. While their pamphlets and states the low success rate of participants, they seem to preach the opposite during their conferences. I think it is very interesting that two works with the same idea have two completely different outcomes. This has to do with how the information is relayed to the people. In my opinion I feel Thoreau was more genuine and pure in his want to escape from society. With Wake Up Now the large group of people who are trying to figure out their life and how to change it is somewhat absurd to me, because it is not possible for all their lives to be largely impacted by Wake Up Now.

[Author]

Posts