Campus Lecture #1: Paideia Civil Rights Unit

On March 11, I attended the Paideia Lecture introducing the Civil Rights Unit. The lecture was given by Jacqueline Wilke and Lawrence Williams, Professors in history at Luther. The lecture was split into two half hour sections, one given by each. Professor Wilke began with a background to Civil Rights and how it correlates to other movements in history. She was very enthusiastic about what she was talking about. However, I felt that her presentation was difficult to follow. Using a PowerPoint as a guide, she often strayed from the slides. At times, what was on the screen did not connect to what she was speaking about. This made it confusing for the students taking notes. It was a challenge to decipher whether notes should be taken on her oration or the slides she had previously prepared.

Lawrence Williams gave the second portion of the lecture, talking about Martin Luther King Junior and the structure of his speeches. With a much more interesting topic than Wilke, he lacked that same enthusiasm. The majority of his speaking was in actuality, reading from his notes behind a podium. Students quickly lost interest and were only searching for facts that could be testable information. His style of speaking reminded me of the direct instruction approach; a teacher gives the information and students simply listen and take tedious notes. There was no student interaction.

One strong quality of the lecture was the use of technology. With a lecture hall full of college freshman, the two speakers needed a way to grab attention. They used videos to keep interest in the subject. Not only did this keep students focused, the videos gave prime examples of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches and provided a sturdy foundation for the upcoming Civil Rights unit.