2008 Woodie Awards
Beck delivers Matriculation Convocation
Beth McHenry
Issue date: 9/29/06 Section: News
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Lawrence's convocation series for 2006-07 kicked off on Thursday with President Jill Beck's third matriculation convocation.
Beck's address, "Liberal Philosophy, Free Discussion, and Individualized Learning at Lawrence," presented the tenets of liberal education that Beck has fostered for the past two years, this time through the ideas of liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill.
The program began with musical selections featuring the Lawrence Brass and the Welcome Week Choir. After Wallace Stevens' "The Poems of Our Climate," read by Professor Howard Niblock, Associate Professor Edmund Kern introduced President Beck.
Beck's main goal was to outline the necessity of free discussion in education. Beck pointed out that the forms of individualized learning that Lawrence offers, such as small tutorials, encourage this free discussion.
To further express this position, Beck referred to the educational philosophies of John Stuart Mill. Mill believed that only free discussion can foster true education, and only through discussion can people know if their opinions are fallible and explore their own claims to truth.
Discussing our own opinions with those who hold different viewpoints can help us learn more about each position and make an informed decision. Several minds are required to find the real truth.
Beck finished her address by highlighting several individualized learning programs from Lawrence's 2005-06 academic year. Many of these programs combined the sciences and the arts.
Assistant Professor of Biology Jodi Sedlock and students traveled to the Philippines to study bats. Students also created posters to educate and inform locals, particularly farmers, about their local ecology.
Beck also cited the work of biology students in two other programs.
Students of Associate Professor of Biology Bart DeStasio conducted field sampling in lakes and rivers of Wisconsin. Associate Professor of Biology Beth DeStasio headed a cancer research tutorial in which students gathered and presented information about the molecular basis of cancer.
Beck's address, "Liberal Philosophy, Free Discussion, and Individualized Learning at Lawrence," presented the tenets of liberal education that Beck has fostered for the past two years, this time through the ideas of liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill.
The program began with musical selections featuring the Lawrence Brass and the Welcome Week Choir. After Wallace Stevens' "The Poems of Our Climate," read by Professor Howard Niblock, Associate Professor Edmund Kern introduced President Beck.
Beck's main goal was to outline the necessity of free discussion in education. Beck pointed out that the forms of individualized learning that Lawrence offers, such as small tutorials, encourage this free discussion.
To further express this position, Beck referred to the educational philosophies of John Stuart Mill. Mill believed that only free discussion can foster true education, and only through discussion can people know if their opinions are fallible and explore their own claims to truth.
Discussing our own opinions with those who hold different viewpoints can help us learn more about each position and make an informed decision. Several minds are required to find the real truth.
Beck finished her address by highlighting several individualized learning programs from Lawrence's 2005-06 academic year. Many of these programs combined the sciences and the arts.
Assistant Professor of Biology Jodi Sedlock and students traveled to the Philippines to study bats. Students also created posters to educate and inform locals, particularly farmers, about their local ecology.
Beck also cited the work of biology students in two other programs.
Students of Associate Professor of Biology Bart DeStasio conducted field sampling in lakes and rivers of Wisconsin. Associate Professor of Biology Beth DeStasio headed a cancer research tutorial in which students gathered and presented information about the molecular basis of cancer.
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