Hot Topic
Well, it's finally happened. I came here for a reason. There is a purpose and it seems like I'll be able to attain my vision! My current class is Research Methods. Sounds boring, right? I thought it would be, too. Research methods is a difficult class filled with a lot of, well, research and methodology. The interesting twist on this seemingly rote class is that last week I was asked to submit the topic for my thesis. I had been thinking about this for a long time. Over two years! There are many criteria that a thesis topic must meet and I wanted to get mine right. I was not sure who I am writing it for nor what population group I wanted to study and I had to think and narrow it down. That should be easy, but it's not. We peace educators want to help the world! Students sat together in heated discussion. We brainstormed and challenged each other's topics. It was the most dorky academic fun I've had here.
I decided to meet with my professor to help me move through the process of narrowing down my topic. We talked about my educational passions: service learning and experiential education. I had to choose one. We then spoke a bit about population groups. My experience is with adolescents and high school but I want to study service learning centers for universities. I have realized, through this change of occupation, that I really do enjoy teenagers and pre-teens. It is difficult to give them up, but for this project I am taking a different approach and it is at the university level. I can always go back. I believe that community service creates greater bonds within communities and therefor can lead to a culture of peace. However, Virginia, my professor, reminded me that community can have several different meanings. It can be a school, an organization, a church or where you live. So, there is no need to set that parameter. Here is the topic that I came up with:
Building a Culture of Peace Through Service Learning
With this topic I will explore service learning centers in the United States that work with university students, what the students learn through working with these centers and if it fulfills the purpose of the centers. I will then compare their curriculum to the curriculum for building a culture of peace. I'll find the similarities and the gaps. Finally, I get to create a new service learning program from a Culture of Peace framework!
This is why I came here. To create more meaningful service learning opportunities and curriculum and it's starting to head in that direction. My professor was so excited by our brainstorming that she offered to be my advisor. This is a HUGE honor! Each professor can only take on 6 students out of 170. Virginia is much sought after. She said that she thinks my research and new design will be very beneficial to the field of Peace Education. Wow. I kind of yelped, teared up and then gave her a hug.
Did I mention that I was wearing a Super Woman costume during our meeting?
I decided to meet with my professor to help me move through the process of narrowing down my topic. We talked about my educational passions: service learning and experiential education. I had to choose one. We then spoke a bit about population groups. My experience is with adolescents and high school but I want to study service learning centers for universities. I have realized, through this change of occupation, that I really do enjoy teenagers and pre-teens. It is difficult to give them up, but for this project I am taking a different approach and it is at the university level. I can always go back. I believe that community service creates greater bonds within communities and therefor can lead to a culture of peace. However, Virginia, my professor, reminded me that community can have several different meanings. It can be a school, an organization, a church or where you live. So, there is no need to set that parameter. Here is the topic that I came up with:
Building a Culture of Peace Through Service Learning
With this topic I will explore service learning centers in the United States that work with university students, what the students learn through working with these centers and if it fulfills the purpose of the centers. I will then compare their curriculum to the curriculum for building a culture of peace. I'll find the similarities and the gaps. Finally, I get to create a new service learning program from a Culture of Peace framework!
This is why I came here. To create more meaningful service learning opportunities and curriculum and it's starting to head in that direction. My professor was so excited by our brainstorming that she offered to be my advisor. This is a HUGE honor! Each professor can only take on 6 students out of 170. Virginia is much sought after. She said that she thinks my research and new design will be very beneficial to the field of Peace Education. Wow. I kind of yelped, teared up and then gave her a hug.
Of course you were wearing a Super Woman costume during your meeting, so perfect!! I hope you will choose CU as one of your universities to study, there is an excellent service learning program here, a highly engaged student body, and I can put you in touch with all the right people. What is the Culture of Peace framework?
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