Luther Presentation: Nick Flynn 4/13/07

Author and poet Nick Flynn visited Luther and with him he brought a new perspective of the world. Flynn is most well known at Luther for his entertaining, meaningful, and shocking book called Another Bullshit Night in Suck City. The book is mind opening. It is a memoir of Flynn's life. His mother committed suicide and his father was a homeless man for five years. Flynn himself was an alcoholic. While Flynn was at Luther he read some of his poetry. It approached uncomfortable issues and familiar issues. Most of all he was able to put the listener in a different part of the world; one of uncertainty and fear. Flynn also took questions and was very perceptive of his audience.

Nick Flynn was an extremely effective presenter. Having an author come read his work is the most intriguing presentation to listen to. There is no one better to present material than the person who wrote it. Inviting authors to visit and share their work is a great way to get students interested in reading and writing.

Flynn's writing continues to challenge the comfort zone of the reader. His writing brings a fresh new perspective to important issues like poverty, loneliness, and substance abuse. His words should be explored and discussed by anyone who wants there perspective of the world and the people in it to grow. Bringing author and poet Nick Flynn to Luther College was more effective than any lecture any Professor could give about Flynn's "bullshit nights in Suck City".

Luther Lecture: Paideia Text and Issues 4/12/07

This Paideia Text and Issues lecture was titled "Rights in Passage". It was all about how our rights as citizens of the United States are changing. As technology develops there are even more ways to obtain people's personal information. This new technology has the power to infringe on rights. An example is genetic material. Technology is now available to duplicate human genetic material. Does the duplicated genetic material still belong to the person it came from? Does that person have rights over their genetic material? Or does it become public property if given to a lab? Another example is the Internet. Should colleges be able to log into any student's account and see all the data they possess? Is that fair? Or does it violate college students' rights? Is high school a different case? Do they need more supervision? These are questions we are just now asking because of the technological advances we have in society. Twenty years ago these dilemmas did not exist. Now we have to decide what is private property and what belongs to the public.

This content is extremely relevant to my future teaching. The legal answers to these questions will effect the way I teach. Will the government give me permission to check an "at risk" student's account? Or is that breaking the privacy laws in this country? In the future Internet and other technological advances will bring up challenging situations for students and teachers.

This presentation topic was interesting and the discussion was interesting, but the actual lecture was BOOOOOOOORING! There were no visuals, no quotes, no stories, and no EXCITEMENT from the presenters. I nearly fell asleep. There needs to be more to a lecture than just speaking. For heaven's sake, write on the board or something! Jeez. I learned how NOT to present a lecture from this Paideia Texts and Issues lecture.

Luther Presentation: Ain't I A Woman 4/3/07

This presentation was very effective. The actress, Taylore Mahogany Scott, appealed to the emotions of the audience. She showed us what it was like to be a black woman thoughout history. Her stories were thought provoking and inspiring. It made me wonder why white privilege was so accepted during slavery, the '60s, and the present. How could all the people in society not see that white privilege is wrong and discriminatory? Scott inspired me to stand up for what I believe in. I believe people should be treated equal, and when they are not, the discriminatory matter should be approached. To advocate change in our world we need to recognize discrimination and confront it. Then people can begin to change, and all will be treated equal.

This connects very well with teaching in the classroom. Teachers need to be role models and set good examples for their students. If teachers show their students how to confront discrimination the society we live in will change. My school did a great job of showing the students how the discriminatory treatment of blacks throughout history was wrong and cannot continue. We studied this issue in textbooks and had discussions with each other. Another great way to open the eyes of students would be to show this presentation to them. I learned many things through Scott. She was entertaining, informative, and pulled at the heart strings. This presentation also included a cello, piano, and percussion section. It combined the art of music and drama while making a statement about a societal issue. It was very effective and I would encourage persentations like this to happen in my future classroom.

Luther Presentation: Vagina Monologues 2/23/07

In February I attended the Vagina Monologues. The presentation was very effective. It included personal stories that helped the audience relate to the subject. After listening to all the stories I had a new perspective on self respect for the mind, body, and soul. The content of the presentation promoted self-respect for women. The presentation also acknowledged sexuality and embraced it.


I do not think this presentation would be appropriate for students in middle or high school. It has too many words that could be laughed at by students who are not mature enough to talk about sexuality. I do believe, however, that this presentation is extremely appropriate for college students of all genders. The Vagina Monologues gives women the confidence to be sexual and powerful. It also addresses global issues such as genital mutilation, rape, and abuse. it was an eye-opening presentation to watch.