What's on the table this term

I'm taking three classes and mentoring two sections. Here's a quick roundup:

My classes are Nonviolence, Psychology of Conflict and Peace, and Urban Schools and "At Risk" Status. So far, the psych class is proving to have the highest level of dialogue and intellectual challenge. I have to give props to our prof for that - she is insistent that we keep questioning and not get stuck on one perspective, throwing out others. I also have to recognize my fellow students and their dedication to learning and discussion in the classroom.

The Urban Schools class is a bit different. I missed the first class (I was taking another course then decided to drop it and pick up this one instead) but the second class was a bit disappointing. Even though there are (I think) more undergrads than grads in the class, the level of discussion was almost nonexistent. There is a great project we have to do so I'm really looking forward to working on that. Also, lval is in the class and that makes it more fun :)

Our instructor is a pleasant woman, with a lovely and accommodating classroom manner, but I question whether she's going to push the students to challenge their thinking. I was one of about three people who spoke up and I hadn't even done the reading! Our instructor does talk quite a bit about her own experiences, which gets old fast. Not that I don't want her involved in the conversation, I just don't want everything to be about what's happened to her. She's also not asking the hard questions - questions that I think are important if this information is going to mean anything.

As for my Nonviolence class, I discovered last night that my prof has some pretty set ideas about nonviolence and doesn't seem willing to question or challenge them. Anyone who does (i.e. me) is pretty much dismissed with a dash of contempt. We'll see what happens over the rest of the course.

The overall term is going include quite a bit of reading and writing so I'll be pretty busy there. I'm also going to be working on this year's War, Peace, and Media conference, possibly reviving the Oregon Peace Studies Consortium, working with my Transformational Education group, working with SUN, and trying to meet some people outside the academic environment.