CCReflect

see comments for diversity of responses

"Hate is never about the object of the hate but about what is happening in the mind of the hater. It is in the darkness of that space that fear and ignorance merge and morph. It comes out in an impulse to mark and name, to deny and diminish, to exclude and threaten, to elevate the self by putting down the other"

The comments section is voluminous.

"How do you encourage life long learning?"

"For all of us, learning was an innate part of life. It was something we just did, that was as natural to us as breathing. If not for this innate desire to learn and with it the ability to do so, we would never learn to walk, or speak or interact with others. But at some point learning stops being something we do and becomes more like something that happens to us. Our initial self-drive to learn is replaced by learning as a part of our life that is highly regulated, controlled, monitored and externalised. "

The comments illustrate my use of sports as an example of the point that everyone can think critically if the context is right. (Which shifts discussion from people's deficits as critical thinkers to examining how to create contexts that foster people getting access to their critical thinking intelligence.)

The goals of engagement and insight are well worth students keeping in mind. Linking them to grades, however, sends the very traditional message of the educational system, which works against students developing the kind of self-directed, avid learning that the instructor wants. My advice is to de-emphasize grades even if they have to be given at the end of the course.