Projects general
What are the projects? What do they require?
Education gets real when ideas and action combine. As a teacher, I identify in the text or tradition being studied a prominent and broadly appealing concept or teaching. You are then invited to modify that teaching so that it fits with what you can honestly feel good about putting into practice. Then you are to apply it in you life. No student is ever asked to practice something that conflicts with his or her own beliefs or to experiment with anything that doesn't feel right. It is especially important that no one experience pressure regarding religion. If you object to any aspect of the assignment or want to make a major change to an assignment, see the teacher promptly.
The projects help you select an area for growth. Growth tends to be gradual; it cannot be scheduled to meet a deadline. But it is reasonable to cultivate growth in a particular area. Do not only build on your strengths; work on some non-strength, too.
Many students make priceless discoveries and report fine adventures with these projects. Some frustration is a normal part of encountering a worthy challenge. If you are lost for more than a couple days about how to proceed, please communicate with the teacher.
Each project involves the following elements.
Experience applying the (adjusted) concept or principle to daily life
Writing an experience report plus a commentary on that report from the perspective of the philosopher or tradition we are studying.
You should journal as you do the project. Take notes on your experience in enough detail to be helpful to you when you have completed your experience and it is time to write the paper. In addition, after recording your experience, write a comment on that experience from the perspective of the philosopher or tradition we are studying. At the very least, you need fresh experience and writing before every class.
How much personal information should I share in writing the papers?
Growth happens most when we use the projects to address our own growth issues. You are never obliged, however, to disclose personal information to the instructor in a paper. You may find it useful to take advantage of a class assignment to write reflections on a sensitive issue; you may find sharing and interacting helpful to you. Nevertheless, always remember: Self-revelation is voluntary. You may prefer to write about an experience that is less sensitive. There are times in our lives where when it is unwise to probe a deep and difficult issue. Remember the professional counseling help available free to students at the Health Service. You may also write about the experience in a third-person way, changing the names to preserve the anonymity of those involved.
Various do's and don'ts
Enjoy creating a paper, not merely as an act of submission to an instructor and to institutional requirements, but primarily as an act of perfecting your own thinking and expressing something in a way that will do good to its readers, including but not limited to the instructor.
Create an expressive (but mature) title for your paper.
Staple the pages together.
Number the pages.
Use a 12 point font and 1 inch margins left and right, top and bottom.
I expect a hard copy. Nevertheless, for some purposes, you'll need to give me a document by e-mail as a docx, .doc, or .rtf file. If you use Microsoft Office 2007, save the file as a Word 2003 document.
For web links (but don’t forget the library), you may go through the American Philosophical Association). Rather than simply going to Google, consider academic sites: http://www.searchedu.com/ (now one of the Google search engines). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is often helpful.
Do not rely on the dictionary for definitions of important philosophical terms. There are philosophical dictionaries to help you begin. You can, however, learn a lot from an excellent dictionary, however, such as the Oxford English Dictionary. http://dictionary.oed.com/entrance.dtl
Avoid academic dishonesty--cheating and plagiarism.
Do not write your Social Security Number on anything you hand in to me.
Don't use plastic covers for papers.