An unexpected method

I have visited many teachers, all of whom have told me specific ways in which they approach their courses. I have heard images, videos, presentations, and blogs, each one a different method to keep students’ attention focused. This week, I visited Prof. Peach, who teaches the course on Theories on Democracy and Human Rights. When I entered her office, after finally being able to arrange a meeting with her (due to her tight schedule), we started talking about her techniques for motivating the students in the subject. She told me something I never expected.

This semester, Prof. Peach took her students to a play at the Katzen Arts Center, called “Death and the Maiden”, a presentation focused on human rights in Argentina. She used this as motivation for her students, and as an introduction to one of the topics to be covered in class- human rights. She later made them reflect on the play and use what they had learned about Argentina’s violent history to relate it to current international events through a series of discussions and reading assignments. They also read essays on democracies in Latin America, that helped connect the play and the human rights abuses with the other part of the course-democracy.

Besides discussing human rights in Argentina and human rights in Burma, Prof. Peach will present to her students a film about Iraqi prisoners from the 2003 War in Iraq. This will help demonstrate that abuses are not only a part of third world countries but also of the world's superpower. This way, the students get a global perspective on the topic and are not left with a biased opinion.

Prof. Peach believes that the most important part of her class is when students relate the philosophies they learned to current events. She thinks it helps them keep focused on the present and understand the world they live in.