> ungraded essays about topics we are going to discuss. why are there poor
> people? what can we do about it? what is affirmative action? why does it
> exist? should we keep it.?is the family disappearing? why? what should we
> do about it? what about work? why can't we all have meaningful work?
Aren't most Civ Ed 101 classes designed to drive students away from politics forever, by turning real world issues into complex, opaque legal/juridical discourses they have no control over? I mean, "is the family disappearing" -- that could be a dissertation project, for Pete's sake.
I only ask because I notice the same thing with English Lit 101: this tendency to turn coursework into this horrible treadmill, designed to cause students to curse the day they ever learned to read.
-- DRR