Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    A New Education for New Minds: A Conversation About Mind-Centered Learning
    A New Education for New Minds: A Conversation About Mind-Centered Learning
    A New Education for New Minds: A Conversation About Mind-Centered Learning
    Ebook175 pages2 hours

    A New Education for New Minds: A Conversation About Mind-Centered Learning

    By Marquis R. Nave

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The education system provides a great way to peer into the potential of the human mind, but its come up short in unleashing it.

    Marquis R. Nave, who has taught English at the college level for 10 years, has discovered that students minds are the center of education and that their ideas about their mental capabilities is crucial to developing a new education.

    Students who dont believe in the creative power of their minds end up being trained to do work. Educators and educational institutions must help them activate their mental potential so they can create solutions for themselves and the world.

    In a series of essays, Nave examines the shortcomings of the education system, challenging the way we perceive and think about knowledge, education, and our own awareness. A second section helps students write effective, college-level essays.

    Whether youre a student, an educator, or a supporter of educational reform, A New Education for New Minds will spark ideas that have long lingered in your own mind.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateAug 15, 2014
    ISBN9781491740996
    A New Education for New Minds: A Conversation About Mind-Centered Learning
    Author

    Marquis R. Nave

    Marquis R. Nave earned his B.A. and master of fine arts in creative writing from Cal State University in Long Beach, where he grew up. He enjoys being the father of three wonderful children.

    Related to A New Education for New Minds

    Related ebooks

    Teaching Methods & Materials For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      What Is Dark Matter Made Of?

      Jan 27, 2022

      What Is Dark Matter Made Of?
      3 min read

    • Article

      Alone Time

      Jul 15, 2021

      Alone Time
      5 min read

    • Article

      3 Psychological Power Tools For Better Financial Habits

      Jul 1, 2020

      Simple rules. Setting up simple decision-making rules makes dealing with money less emotional and more systematic. This also means that when things don’t go well you can blame the rule (and refine it) rather than feeling as if you have to defend your

      1 min read

    • Article

      Life In The Fast Lane

      Oct 29, 2018

      Deep in the Amazonian rainforest, in the Brazilian state of Rondonia, lives the Amondawa tribe, a people without a sense of time. Does that mean that they live in a perpetual present? That for this tribe, nothing has ever happened, and nothing ever w

      4 min read

    • Article

      How I Learned to Focus

      Aug 1, 2017

      Arianna Huffington | Thrive Global → Media and wellness Arianna Huffington, the co-founder of the Huffington Post, surprised many when she announced last year that she would be stepping down. She is throwing her energy behind a second startup, Thriv

      2 min read

    • Article

      Rewired!

      Jun 13, 2018

      Words JESSICA LEE When you face a challenge in your life, do you feel equipped to handle it or do you become overwhelmed and stuck in the difficulty, grief or even the unfairness of your situation? Whether you are facing an illness, career change, di

      7 min read

    • Article

      Take Note

      Oct 1, 2020

      Take Note
      3 min read

    • Article

      How To Generate New Ideas

      Nov 27, 2020

      How To Generate New Ideas
      4 min read

    • Article

      Autonomies

      Mar 2, 2020

      WOULD SOMEBODY PLEASE explain to me how the dutiful 0s and 1s of computer processes at some point unbind themselves and undertake independent thought? Could anyone describe the actual instant of transition? I’ve been asking these questions around the

      2 min read

    • Article

      Kirsty Godso

      Feb 9, 2021

      Kirsty Godso
      2 min read

    • Article

      DESIGN YOUR Dream Career

      Sep 1, 2023

      DESIGN YOUR Dream Career
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Great Pretender

      May 6, 2021

      The Great Pretender
      6 min read

    • Article

      'Trust Is the Key'

      Dec 23, 2017

      'Trust Is the Key'
      2 min read

    • Article

      When You Need Answers

      Mar 16, 2021

      When You Need Answers
      1 min read

    • Article

      Letter Of Gratitude

      Jul 6, 2021

      We’ve been friends for years and you’ve always been there for me. Now I want to be there for you – to thank you, support you and tell you how great you are. I appreciate our friendship and I want you to know that we will see each other soon and enjoy

      2 min read

    • Article

      Everything I Am

      Jul 27, 2021

      Everything I Am
      10 min read

    • Article

      Solo Performance: Releasing Fear from the Inside Out

      Apr 12, 2022

      Estimated reading time: 7 minutes — In response to the crazy world of change that ours has become, I am thrilled to share that once we begin to invest in self, we begin to blossom and transcend being ruled by fear I doubt there is anyone who hasn’t

      4 min read

    • Article

      SURVIVING & THRIVING

      Oct 10, 2018

      SURVIVING & THRIVING
      3 min read

    • Article

      Inspiring Others

      Jan 5, 2022

      Inspiring Others
      2 min read

    • Article

      A Rollercoaster Ride

      Dec 20, 2022

      Clinton Kilpatrick, 37, from Belfast Tell us about your experience with fostering – why did you want to start? Living through the complexities of Covid made me reassess my own life at that time. I am someone who has a lot to give to others and I knew

      2 min read

    • Article

      Academic And Author Dr Amy Thunig

      Feb 15, 2023

      Not to be confused with the three Rs of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, I have been taught to value the three Rs of Respect, Reciprocity and Relationship as core principles in navigating this life. These shape my approach when communing with people,

      2 min read

    • Article

      Letting Go

      Feb 15, 2023

      THEY tell you to write the book you’re afraid to write. But let’s be honest: It’s scary to write any book. There’s the fear you won’t be able to write it. The fear you’ll write it and won’t be able to sell it. The fear you’ll sell it and it will flop

      10 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for A New Education for New Minds

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      A New Education for New Minds - Marquis R. Nave

      Copyright © 2014 Marquis R. Nave.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

      iUniverse LLC

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.iuniverse.com

      1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      ISBN: 978-1-4917-4101-6 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4917-4100-9 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4917-4099-6 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2014913010

      iUniverse rev. date: 08/04/2014

      Contents

      Part I Keys to a New Mind and a New Education

      Preface: Ideas of Me

      Introduction

      Chapter 1 Beyond Words, There Is Knowledge

      Chapter 2 Perception versus Knowledge

      Chapter 3 The New Education: Mind-Centered Learning

      Chapter 4 Definition of a True Teacher

      Chapter 5 A Student Is Not the Same as an Attendee

      Chapter 6 A Mind-Centered Education: Ego, Time, and Money

      Part II Keys to a System of Writing

      Chapter 7 The Goal of Writing Is To…

      Chapter 8 The Supremacy of Sentence Structure

      Chapter 9 The God of the Essay

      Chapter 10 Grammar Plain and Simple

      I

      am

      that which I

      have forgotten

      What is the highest potential of our minds? How can education help answer this question?

      Sacred Scrolls and Scripts (Thank Yous and Dedications)

      This book is my dedication to education. I owe this book to education. Anyone who knows me knows that education is my passion. As a matter of fact this book helped me realize that education was my gateway drug to knowledge. Education served as a mental high for me. It hooked me like the cold warmth of heroine, the surreal buzz of marijuana, the dislocation of alcohol, the euphoria of cocaine, or the numbing effect of painkillers. From the sacred hallways and the holy classrooms to the rigid registration centers, I give to you my best thinking—an offering of another way to perceive education, learning, and knowledge. In my classrooms I have seen brilliance shine from various minds, and I have read the work of many brilliant minds whom I have never personally met. I have devoted myself for the last ten years to understanding the mind. That research, study, and practice have been put together in these pages, in the most coherent way I know how, for the purposes of starting a serious conversation on a new educational paradigm.

      I am thankful to Fullerton College for hiring me straight out of my degree program. Philip Mayfield, Mark Knoernschild, Constance Eggers, Miguel Powers, and Tamara Trujillo made positive personal impressions in my teaching and experience at that school. To the stars who graced me with their presence for a semester or two, thank you for letting me teach you, and thank you for teaching me. To those who offered their work as examples for this book, thank you. To one student in particular, Tyler Garcia, who did research work for me and added his brilliance to this book, thank you. And to the Cerritos College family, who created an atmosphere that made me feel welcomed enough to bring my kids around, thank you for the freedom and encouragement to chart my own course. Linda Rose, Jack Swanson, and Megalis Lopez were very helpful to me and made me feel welcomed. To the many creative minds and brave souls who endured my classes, thank you. You guys inspired me because you worked hard not only to stick it out for an entire semester but also to expand your minds.

      Part I

      Keys to a New Mind and a New Education

      I think they want the idea of me rather than the true me!

      —Me

      Preface: Ideas of Me

      In the summer of 1995, when I took the placement test before my first year of community college, I placed in the lowest, most remedial classes Long Beach City College had to offer. The placement test scores confirmed a deep, abiding suspicion that had built up over my thirteen years of being educated. Yep, I was officially dumb. That test was the confirmation of my stupidity, a very visual, mathematically quantifiable report of it. A part of me felt immersed in shameful ignorance, and another part of me felt angry. I was genuinely shocked that I had gone through thirteen-plus years of being educated but still knew so little. I had graduated, although not on time, from high school and received my high school diploma. That was supposed to mean that I was able to meet minimum academic standards. And although I hadn’t put much effort into my education, I’d still thought that my high school education would have prepared me better. To have my ignorance officially confirmed like that made me feel as if I had been under some kind of delusion, a delusion of grandeur. It was as if I was being forced out of a self-deluded state that had been engrained and conditioned in me throughout the years of my stint in the American educational system.

      I had failed to meet the minimum standards of the local community college. Where was my education? It was evident from my placement test scores that I had not learned much. The truth is that in high school I had thought education had very little value, so I put very little effort into studying and learning. I believed that education would magically happen to me if I just simply showed up to class. No effort was actually required on my part. High school seemed to me to be about memorization, regurgitation, and test performance rather than learning. I passed high school, and I got my diploma—but I did not learn anything. I was trained to do work, not to learn or think.

      I was eighteen when I began my first year of college. Long Beach City College had the best football team in the area, and that was my reason for going there. I was the typical pompous, conceited football jock. I sincerely expected that after high school I would go play at a big-name Division I college. It was a shock to my mind that I was not given the golden ticket of a football scholarship. Instead, I had a tragic football story, one I will avoid telling here. And I was absolutely unprepared for the reality of the deterioration of my Division I dreams. I was a simple, untrained, underemployed, uneducated man-boy. My world twirled about in dizzying chaos, night and day. I had no idea what to expect out of my life. My life seemed to diminish to a droning lifeless passage of time. I felt lost in an ocean of pity, anger, judgment, and self-doubt with no point of origin and no land in sight. The world very quickly became to me a threatening, menacing place with mal intent.

      In response to my perceptions, I became mean, cynical, and bitter. I walked around the Long Beach City College campus feeling angry, afraid, insecure, and hopeless. I no longer knew who I was without the identity, status, and security that football had offered me all those years. I had believed that football was going to carry me through life; it had been my source of self-esteem and self-worth. After I could no longer identify myself as a football player, I found myself in identity no-man’s land. I wasn’t a student, and I was no longer an athlete. Working at least two jobs, attending school full-time, and giving up on playing football was taking its toll on my frail state of mind. My life was dramatically shifting in a direction I expended a lot of energy trying to resist. It really seemed to me as if some evil force had vengefully snatched from my clinched fist that last tenuous strand of hope.

      One day after my third semester at City College, my best friend, Mike Glenn, approached me in our small one-bedroom apartment in Long Beach. In a solemn voice, he told me that he could no longer respect me because he knew that I was simply cheating myself out of an opportunity to be better. Mike, short and stocky, with almost translucent skin, looked at me with such compassion that his short, stocky, and translucent self disappeared. It was like some infinite part of him was speaking to some infinite part of me. His face was warm and nervous, a sure sign of sincerity. His challenge pushed me toward the precipice of a major life decision—one that would cause me to make a foundational shift in my perception. His inquisition was really like a higher order from something within me, like being called to while in a deep, deep sleep, one that I never really want to wake up from. My friend could see past the dull shine I had offered the world and see the brilliant potential that was beyond even my own awareness at the time. He simply held up a mirror to show me a better me.

      I had no clue if I could actually do any better than I was already doing. By that time, three semesters in, I had quit playing football and had completed fewer than 15 units that were transferable to a Cal State University. The fumes of victimhood were beginning to overwhelm me. Mike’s challenge helped spur me toward a higher me and somehow distract me from a lesser me. That interaction, which was a true moment of inspiration, sparked something within me. He was my teacher in that moment. And had he only come into my life for that one occasion, I would be eternally grateful. This book really began on that day!

      I took his challenge very seriously. I also wanted to prove to myself that I could do better. So I started to ask questions of people who seemed like good students: how to take notes, what they did to study better, and so on. I talked to my teachers before and after class when I didn’t understand something. I studied and read all the material until I felt I had a reasonable understanding of it. I read carefully and annotated my readings. I looked up words I did not understand. I used my spare time to study and get extra help in whatever area I was having trouble.

      In other words, I applied myself. I earned a 3.75 GPA and established my academic mojo that first semester after I took my friend’s challenge. I never looked back after that. I lusted after As and despised Bs, which are a graduate’s version of Fs. In the end, I earned my B.A. in English with an emphasis in creative writing and later went on

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1