Today marks the first day of many class discussions to come in the Presidential Powers course. The class held a very interesting discussion about the Founding Fathers view of the role of the President, as stated in the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. I was intrigued to learn that the Founding Fathers were very legislatively oriented. I also learned that the Constitution was partially influenced by the attributes and experiences of George Washington.
As we are about one week into our 3.5 week trip, Milani and I decided to do some laundry this morning before breakfast.
I have found that as the days progress, my focus on my research topic narrows down. I have a much more clearly defined and specific thesis than I did two days ago.
This evening, like yesterday, I retreated back to the library to work on my outline for my research paper.
I like the structure of the Presidential Powers course very much. The course differs from my high school courses in many ways including its freedom of topic selection and individualized support. As students in the Presidential Powers course, we are free to choose any topic related to Presidential Powers that we wish for our 20+ page research paper, as opposed to picking from a pre-arranged list or even one specific topic the teacher assigns. We also have plenty of freedom to plan our study schedule on our own time. Doc Z provides plenty of guidance by recommending other sources and listening to our ideas to make sure we are on track, if we choose to seek out her help. The Columbia library system also provides a librarian consultation for assistance for researching a topic.
Beilul,
ReplyDeleteAh, doing the laundry. The real reason we sent you all back east.
You need to tell us more about what you're actually discussing in class. When you just tell us the general topic you're just teasing us.
And when you write about this, tell us what your own thoughts on the subject are.
Inquiring minds need to know, Beilul.