The Sunday deliberation I attended was on the topic of education, specifically the learning objectives within the modern classroom. This topic interested me immensely because I have been discussing education, its organization, and literacy in general in my other honors English and tutoring dual credit class. I was very curious on the sides the group would take and what the audience would offer experience and solution wise to the three “pillars”. The group was phenomenally organized and researched their three pillars of education thoroughly. They cited numerous sources within each mini group presentation which solidified their ethos/credibility. The group event guide was concise and well-organized, providing some background to each point, bulleted focus on the main ideas or arguments of that point, and three “framing” questions that they used to springboard into conversation. It was extremely easy to follow and reference during the discussion especially as an outside person attending.

The event itself was very well organized and everyone was prepared with their presentation. The ground rules were clearly stated and the audience was given ample enough time to each describe our personal stake in the issue. They had a lot of outside people join in their event; it was really cool to see non RCL students get involved and to hear the opinions of numerous other students from other majors. I also enjoyed the different views and opinions that everyone brought into the discussion, especially as conversation picked up on specific issues. Everyone seemed comfortable within the Commonplace, and the group members were open to all opinions and points that everyone offered or elaborated upon. The groups also had extra questions prepared in case we used up the original three they had set, and on a few occasions let discussion go further as opposed to asking another question right away to keep the awesome conversation points going when a point of interest seemed to be hit. I thought that was a really good way to keep the conversation flow and make sure everyone got the chance to express their opinions on each point if they wanted. No one grandstanded or emphasized a specific point like the infamous Jim we heard about who attended other deliberation events, and I felt the conversation was very informative, beneficial, and there were never any awkward silences or pauses, and the group kept track of time efficiently.

All three points they offered were pivotal aspects to education today and provide aspects that affect all of us and we are invested in it some way or another. It may affect us all differently but standardized testing, critical thinking, and social and civic development are points that have numerous positives and negatives to them in our current system. The group seemed to express some of the same opinions on the matters and offered some cool ways to maybe improve the current system which has many flaws. The standardized test set was a particular point that brought many opinions and insights and many people, me included, seem to dislike judging people based on timed tests. It was noted, especially when people learn how to teach the test specifically, and how to skip long questions and how to take the test, which hinders learning in many ways, especially deeper critical thinking. I did not think a full consensus was reached on any issue, but it definitely opened many people’s eyes to how the system currently works and how others feel about it because of various experiences. The group did believe however that critical thinking is important and should be implemented earlier in schools so students have more chances to learn and become acquainted with some of those skills. I definitely learned a lot about the current education system that classes do not seem to discuss much, and I really enjoyed hearing everything that everyone had to say, definitely broadened my perspectives and knowledge on the issue of education.