Research Journal 21

For my WA4, I plan on using text to provide an inside view of my research field site. For my interview, I sat down with Dr. Raymond Green, the Dean of the Honor’s College. I decided to interview Dr. Green because he is the one who is in charge of selecting the students who will receive the Honor’s College scholarship and, with Dr. Eric Gruver’s help, to make sure that the students make the most out of their college experience. I found the interview to be very helpful because it will definitely give me ammunition to prove that Honor’s kids are not what mainstream society thinks they are – they are not super nerds who think that school is all that matters. Probably the most intriguing thing that I learned from the interview was that while smarts is important in the selection process, it is not the most important component. Dr. Green stated that leadership qualities and involvement in extracurricular activities were considered more so than test scores. Moreover, the student does not even have to make the test score requirements. The student just has to show a passion for learning and an ability to lead others. One thing that I most certainly appreciated was that Dr. Green and Dr. Gruver have a plethora of events that students can sign up to do. Before you jump to conclusions, the events aren’t purely academic. The events range from watching A Christmas Carol to cutting loose at laser tag. As Dr. Green explains, the activities are to help the students get to know each other and to help the students learn that college isn’t all about studying and doing homework; you need to learn to step away from the stress and have some fun. I have not totally decided what my final project will look like, but I am hoping that it will be similar to Deborah Brandt’s essay that we read earlier on in the year in that I would like to follow a few students and show the world that the Honor’s students are just regular, fun-loving kids. To see my codes, refer to my previous research journal. As for the fieldnotes on the New Caney Church video, I was unable to hear the video at all. Therefore, I was unable to take any notes.

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