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Shayna S's picture

A Different Frame

The mission statement of the college seems to be a goal of directing students to obtain a broad perspective on a variety of topics while enriching ourselves in a diverse and democratic campus and perparing ourselves for "the real world". The divisions strive toward this goal in requiring each of us to take two courses in every division. Thus, we have, at the very least, to be subjected to a diversity of perspectives. The language requirement, as pertaining to the mission statement, does serve to broaden perspective and will be useful in a work environment sthat often expands over different languages. During parents weekend (Saturday, I believe), there were alumnae speakers who talked about their experiences in the workplace and how they related their Bryn Mawr education to their work. almost all the alumnae stated something like "I was a scientist who could write." or "I was a writer who could perform complicated math." Their experiences emphasized the usefulness of their diverse education in the workplace. In this sense (taking into account that the alumnae had a different curriculm, but our current one seemse to have a similar purpose. The "character of Bryn Mawr" that was mentioned in class the other day?), our requirements will theorectically give us the breadth of knowledge we need to succeed as "responsible citizens who provide service to and leadership for an increasingly interdependent world."

 

With the new approach, more individual freedom of classes is given. Experimentation with different subjects is more encouraged in this set of curriculum. Most importantly, the requirements do not take around 2 years to complete. This is a much more liberal approach while still maintaining the core goal of preparing us for our future work by introducing us to a broad range of thought.

 

Even though the new requirements are quite similar to the old ones, by calling the new requirements "approaches to inquiry", we frame our curriculum a different way (and we are all well aware of the various consequences that a different frame on the same situation can produce). Students are prompted to think about thier curriculum as learning different important thought processes rather than taking two science courses and 2 years of a language. Our curriculm is inclusive. The departments are even less seperated than before by labels such as "Social Sciences" and "Humanities". Different perspectives are what McIntosh argues are needed in Curriculums in order to achieve the kind of success that will shape us into "responsible citizens who provide service to and leadership for an increasingly interdependent world." With the "Approaches to Inquiry", we find ourselves working toward the same goal as previous Mawrtyrs, but with a different "frame", and thus a different mindset for a changing world. 

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