PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES: ASIAN THOUGHT PL 216D (Diversity course): SPRING, 2015
Instructor: Drew Leder
Office: Humanities Center O 50o; phone: x2325; (410) 323-2531; e-mail: dleder@loyola.edu
Office Hours: Tu, Th: 12:15-2:15 (extra hrs. added as needed, and by appt.)

TEXTS: Ecknath Easwaran (trans.) Bhagavad Gita (BG)
Thich Nhat Hanh Peace is Every Step (PS)
Huston Smith The World’s Religions (WR)
Assorted authors Pdf files and website links
(Optional: Stephen Bodian Meditation for Dummies 3rd ed., but other editions will work

January
13 Introduction to Course
15 The Four Goals; The Vedas and Upanishads: WR 12-26; Zaehner, Upanishads pdfs
20 Brahman, Atman, Maya, & Mystical Experiences/ NDEs: BG 22-30; Merell-Wolff, Berman (to p.42), Schmicker (to p.199) pdfs (H1)
22 Advaita Vedanta and Non-Locality: Shankara, Schmicker (on ESP, from p. 74), Targ pdfs
27 The Gita: Caste, Dharma: BG 13-22; BG 71-92B; WR 50-59
29 Dharma and Karma: BG 31-36; 92-93; Chopra, Leder/aging, Leder/prayer, (M1) (s-l orientation posting)
February
3 Karma and Reincarnation: BG 235-241;WR 63-75; Fox, Bache pdf (H2) (G1)
5 Karma Yoga: WR 26-29, 37-41; BG 93-109 (S1)
10 Karma Yoga and Gandhi; BG 48-63t (H3) (G2)
12 Jnana Yoga; BG 111-131; WR 29m-32m; Ramana Maharshi link (M2)
17 TEST #1 (S2)
19 Raja and Bhakti Yoga WR 41b-50m; BG 133-45; Muktananda pdf
24 BhaktiYoga/Gods and Goddesses; WR 32t-36; BG 169-77; Sanatan, Ramakrishna link (G3)
26 The Cosmic Vision: Gods and Gurus BG 191-209; 262-65 Ram Dass (Neem Karoli Baba) pdf (M3) (H4)
March
10 Introduction to Buddhism and the Buddha; WR 82-99; Leder/Buddha pdf; Buddha film
12 The Four Noble Truths, Anicca; WR 99-103b; Sogyal Rinpoche pdf (H5)
17 Anatta, Interbeing, Nirvana; WR 112-119; PS 95-104; Bresnan pdf (S3)
19 Right Views, Intent, Speech, Conduct; WR 103-108t; PS ix-xv, 104-134 (M4) (G4)
24 Right Livelihood; WR 108; Glassman (both), Loy, and Schumacher pdf (H6)
26 Right Effort/Mindfulness/ Conc.; WR 108b-112m; Goleman, Med. & Mor., Tolle pdf; PS 5-16, 51-68 (S4)
31 TEST #2 (March 27th last day to withdraw with a W)
April
7 Buddhisms: Theravada and Mahayana; WR 119b-127; Mitchell (pp. 96-99), Stryk pdf; PS 79-91 (H7)
9 Meditation and Service: Thich Nhat Hahn/Dhamma Brothers film; service-learning groups (G5) (M5)
14 Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism; WR 139m-149; Lopez, Tibetan Buddhism pdf; Tibet Film
16 Taoism – WR 196-199t, 207-218; Tao te Ching 1-19 (S5)
21 Taoism and Zen Buddhism: Tao te Ching 20-31, WR 128-139; (G6)
23 Zen Buddhism II PS 16-38 (M6)
Final test: 9:25 class: Thursday, May 7, 9 a.m. 10:50 class: Thursday, April 30, 9:00 a.m.

PL 216 Learning Aims

This course will further your achievement of the nine learning aims designated by Loyola University Maryland in the following specific ways:

Intellectual Excellence: A philosophy class is not just a step on the way to somewhere else; it is also a rare opportunity granted to us for engaging in the “life of the mind” that is one of life’s supreme ends. In this class, in the process of learning the historical and conceptual foundations of Hindu and Buddhist philosophies, your minds will be stimulated, challenged, and allowed to develop their natural intellectual potential to reflect on some of the deepest questions about human existence and the world in which we live.

Critical Understanding (Thinking, Reading, and Analyzing): Critical thinking is the life blood of philosophy. Most of our class time will be spent probing the insights and examining the arguments of Hindu and Buddhist philosophies, and all the assignments for this course are geared toward developing your aptitude for critical understanding, analysis, and response. You will learn not only to sympathetically understand philosophical texts, but also to critically evaluate their presuppositions, arguments, and conclusions. In this endeavor, we will bring to bear “data” from scientific investigations, as well as the kind of “data” that emerges from introspection, and meditative and mystical experience.

Eloquentia Perfecta: The “ability to use speech and writing effectively, logically, gracefully, persuasively, and responsibly” is also an important learning aim in this course. It is not enough to gain an understanding of profound and often complex ideas; one also has to be able to effectively communicate them. By asking questions, making comments, and participating in class discussions (and sometimes electronic discussions), you will be developing your ability to articulate a question, an idea, or an argument in a clear and compelling manner. In writing essays, and in attending to the feedback you receive on these, you will be developing your ability to write in a clearly organized, logically compelling, and philosophically insightful manner.

Aesthetics: While our primary focus will be on the philosophical ideas and arguments of Hinduism and Buddhism, the art and literature of these traditions will also play a role in our class since stories and images can give concrete expression to, facilitate one’s understanding of, and in certain ways take us beyond the limits of philosophical and religious concepts.

Leadership: The first thing that young adults need to learn to lead is their own lives, which includes learning to behave as a responsible student inside and outside of the classroom. By making sure that you come to class each day prepared, that you pay attention in class, that you make no use of electronic devices and other distracters, that you participate constructively in small groups, that in your comments and questions you strive to contribute to a large-group learning experience, and that you carry out assignments to the best of your abilities and on time, you will be learning to lead your own life in a responsible manner. This acquisition of autonomy (i.e., self-leadership) will in turn foster an ability to know when and how to serve as a leader of others. Students who choose to do the service-learning path in this class will have special opportunities to develop skills of responsible leadership by mentoring disadvantaged youths or working with adults in need of assistance.

Faith and Mission: In many ways your education at Loyola is positively informed by the fact that this is a Jesuit, Catholic university (even while, as a university, it is essentially open to all persons and to the unbiased consideration of all unbigoted points of view). One positive quality of your education at Loyola is the emphasis placed by the Jesuits on the development of one’s spiritual and philosophic life -- hence the core requirement for all students to take at least two philosophy and theology courses. Another positive quality of your education here is the resolute openness of the Jesuits to dialogue with other spiritual traditions—indeed it was Jesuit missionaries who first introduced the West to many Eastern philosophies and religions. In today’s globalizing world more than ever interreligious dialogue should play a vital role in all our lives. Such dialogue entails not just being capable of expressing one’s own views, but also being sincerely willing and able to understand the views of others. In some cases, you will discover commonalities which are as important as doctrinal divergences. However you personally situate yourself in relation to the Jesuit identity of Loyola University, in order to become an educated citizen of the world it is important to understand the philosophical and religious traditions of the East as well as those of the West. This class will enable you to take a major step on the way toward such understanding.

Promotion of Justice: Alongside metaphysics (which asks about the nature of reality) and epistemology (which asks about the nature of knowledge), ethics (which asks about the nature of the good life, and about principles for discerning right and wrong action) is a fundamental area of philosophical inquiry. In the East as well as in the West, philosophies and religions are not only concerned with knowledge of the self and the world, but also with how to live well as an individual among other individuals. In this class you will learn not only how Hinduism and Buddhism teach us to view reality, but also how they teach us to live in society. Students who take the service-learning path will be given the opportunity to put these teachings, largely congruent with those of Ignatian spirituality, into practice, as well as to reflect on them on the basis of this exceptional type of first-hand experience.

Diversity: This is clearly a principal learning aim of this course, which is devoted to introducing you to the non-Western philosophical traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Many (perhaps most!) people simply go about their lives submerged in the worldview that they have more or less unconsciously and uncritically inherited from their family and community. However, to be educated means to learn not only about one’s own worldview, but also about other worldviews. In fact, these are not isolated enterprises: to really learn about oneself, one has to learn about others—one has to learn to see oneself from the perspectives of others; and to learn about others, one has to become cognizant of one’s own perspective. And so, having learned about your own philosophical/religious/cultural background in other courses (such as PL 201 Foundations of Philosophy), in this course you will complement that learning by studying the philosophical and religious worldviews of one-fifth of the world’s population (around 14% of which is Hindu, around 6% of which is Buddhist). Only once this process of self-understanding and other-understanding is well under way can you decide for yourself how to best view and live in the world.

Wellness: All philosophies and religions are concerned with how to live well, asking such questions as: What is the nature of true happiness? How can such happiness be achieved? Hinduism and Buddhism are certainly no exceptions. Indeed, questions about the nature of unhappiness or “unsatisfactoriness” (dukkha), and about how we can gain liberation (moksha, nirvana) from the world of suffering (samsara), lie at the very core of these traditions. Students taking the service-learning and experiential game paths will be able to reflect on these questions with some enhanced real life experience, while students taking the meditation path will learn a holistic practice that aims not only to deepen their understanding of the course material, but also to directly improve their psycho-physical well-being such that they can also contribute to the well-being of others.

COURSE REQUIRMENTS AND GRADING (open to change by instructor)

Tests (130 points) There will be three tests, the first two given in class, each worth 45 points, and the third during finals period, worth 40 points. They will test your understanding of the material covered in readings and class discussions. The test format and a review sheet will be discussed in advance.

Reading and Experiential Hand-Ins, and Quizzes (about 50-60 points) Each is worth 2.5 points, though I’m not yet sure exactly how many quizzes we’ll have – it may depend on how many are needed (!) to keep everyone reading.
1) For reading hand-ins I will supply two or three questions on the day’s reading for you to respond to (H on the syllabus represents due dates). The hand-in should be at least about 250 words (a full typewritten page). These will be turned in through Moodle. Note: copying and pasting from Word documents may lead to format problems (though Wordpad is OK) – it is better to write on Moodle, and then copy and paste a copy to save (if you wish) onto Word. You will be also be able to continue to access your Moodle postings.
All hand-ins must be submitted before the class for which they are due. If you know you have to miss a class, you can still post the day’s hand-in on Moodle. I strongly encourage you to also print out and bring to class your reading hand-ins since they will form the basis of our discussion. They also will help with test-review. If the reading hand-in meets these specifications, and shows you have done the reading with some care and attention, it will receive full credit even if you say some incorrect or incomplete things about the reading. I will e-mail you if you have not received full credit.
2) Secondly, we will have frequent in-class pop quizzes. These will occur at the beginning of class (if you come late you are liable to miss one), and will generally be a single question which should be easy to answer if you have done the full reading. If you have prepared good reading notes for all the readings due that day you can hand them in or show them to me for full credit in lieu of taking the quiz.
There are no make-ups on hand-ins and quizzes, even due to illness, unless there are special circumstances (e.g. prolonged illness, deaths in the family, athletic events discussed with the instructor). However, you can miss one hand-in/ quiz without any penalty. In general, the system is tilted toward giving full credit, and high grades, for effort – that is, simply doing the reading and coming prepared.
3) Thirdly, we will be doing experiential hand-ins. Those on the game and meditation track with do six during the semester labeled G or M on the syllabus due-date. Unfortunately, I am not able to respond to all of these many small submissions individually. Those on the service-learning track will do eight postings in dialogue with me and one another, each worth up to 3.5 points, establishing the possibility of significant extra credit – up to 13 points.
Note: I am sorry that I am unable to respond individually to all of your hand-ins. (I will be receiving about one thousand quizzes and hand-ins just for this one course, two sections!!). However, we will usually be going over relevant material together in class, and for you personally “no news is good news.” That is, if I don’t e-mail you concerning problems it means you are receiving full credit. At the end of the semester if you are on a grade borderline, the quality of your hand-ins could bump you over if you have done an especially good job.

Attendance, Preparation, and Participation (about 10-20 points) I will assign a grade based on an assessment of your overall in-class attendance, preparation, and participation to class discussion. I will look at your record concerning attendance, hand-ins, and quiz performance, and also your willingness to raise and answer questions (all class participation is highly valued!). Because of the above policies, if you are frequently absent or miss hand-ins and and quizzes, you will take a “double-hit” on your grade (missed hand-in/ quiz points, and significantly lowered APP grade.) Conversely, if you are faithful in your efforts through the semester you receive a double-reward. Attendance is mandatory, as is coming prepared. That is the bottom line. Everyone has their off-days and sick days, so you don’t need to present specific excuses for an occasional miss (though try to avoid them). I do not want to play judge of what is a “true illness” or not. (In case, of prolonged illness, athletic commitments, or extended family emergencies, do let me know and provision will be made.)
In general, students who miss more than three classes will lose five points for every further absence. (I encourage anyone who thinks they will miss a number of classes, or not do the assigned reading to drop the course now – the grading system makes it likely they will fail or do poorly.) Conversely, I will give a three-point reward for anyone who accomplishes perfect attendance. Finally, note that no electronic devices (cellphones, computers, etc.) can be used in class. Any violator of this rule (e.g. checking for text messages during class) will lose 2-3 points each time, even if I don’t confront you personally – I can see.

Final Grading
A 186-200 points
A- 180-185 ½
B+ 174-179 ½
B 166-173 ½
B- 160-165 ½
C+ 154-159 ½
C 146-153 ½
C- 140-145 ½
D+ 134-139 ½
D 126-133 ½
F 125 ½ & below

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY POLICY CONCERNING INTELLECTUAL HONESTY All written work submitted for courses in the Department of Philosophy is subject to the standards of intellectual honesty and integrity described in the Loyola College Honor Code and the Loyola Community Standards Handbook. Violation of the Honor Code on any course assignment, including instances of plagiarism or cheating, is by itself grounds for failure of the course, regardless of the grades received for other course assignments or activities. Course failure resulting from an Honor Code violation cannot be expunged from a student’s official college transcript by withdrawal from the course, even if the violation occurred before the semester deadline for withdrawal. Plagiarism is defined as any statement that presents another person’s words or ideas as one’s own. This definition applies to all forms of print media, such as books, magazines, journals, newspapers, etc., but also to non-print media, including the Internet. Plagiarism is avoided by proper scholarly citation of all quoted passages using quotation marks and acknowledgement of sources by foot or endnotes. While this definition refers primarily to verbatim quotation of passages from another author’s work, plagiarism may also be committed when passages are paraphrased with only minor word changes. Departmental policy requires that all sources consulted in the research for a written assignment, including Internet websites, be cited in a bibliography, even if no material was directly quoted from them. By itself, however, such citation does not suffice in the case of quoted or closely paraphrased material. All direct quotation must be clearly indicated by quotation marks.
Neither ignorance of the definition of plagiarism nor the lack of intention to deceive are acceptable defenses in matters of Honor Code violation. Any doubt or question about the use or documentation of outside sources for academic assignments should be addressed to the course instructor for clarification.

EXPERIENTIAL TRACKS Asian Philosophy is not only about gaining intellectual understandings, but about how to transform your very experience of self, life, and universe. For such reasons, we will do more than read and discuss texts. We will also plunge into certain experiences that can help illuminate and test the philosophical doctrines presented. You get to choose which track you want to participate in, and then do the relevant actions, readings, and hand-ins. Note: This experiential work, and the many small hand-ins we do throughout the semester, will replace the larger analyze-and/or-argue papers that would be conventionally assigned in a Philosophy course.

EXPERIENTIAL GAME-TRACK As an experiential track, you will play six experiential games which will illuminate and reinforce topics we are studying. The game descriptions are drawn from my book, Games for the Soul, and are now posted on Moodle. My game-directions should be clear and easy to follow, but call for some commitment on your part. Don’t just reflect on the concept of the game; actually play it over the course of a day you have chosen and see what results you get. There is no “better” or “worse” in terms of what you experience, but there is in terms of the hand-in you give me. Please 1) tell me of your experience, giving evidence that you have actually “played” the game with some commitment; 2) reflect on what you learned from it; 3) draw any connections you can to the material we are studying. Each hand-in should be at least about 250 words (this would be equivalent to about one typed page, normal margins), and will be given three points full credit provided it demonstrates exhibit serious effort and fulfills the above requirements. Below is our schedule for game-playing (game titles are from my book, Games for the Soul, and are in bold italics). On some occasions I give you a choice of two or more games: select which ever you like best, or if you like, play a half-day of each, and give me one write-up with two parts. Experiential Game Schedule (dates subject to change) Feb 3 Karma and Caste - Life’s Perfect Lessons Feb 10 Karma Yoga - Give, Give, Give; or Unselfing Yourself Feb 24 Bhakti Yoga - Plugging In; or The (Not So) Imaginary Friend; or God Letters Mar 19 Right Conduct - Entering the Mind of Nature Apr 9 Right Mindfulness - Present! or Witness Protection Program April 21 Taoism and Zen – The Use of the Useless; or Breathing ABCs

MEDITATION TRACK Meditation is a central practice within both Hinduism and Buddhism. It can teach us much about the nature of our life and mind, cultivate our capacity for attention, whether at work or at play, lower stress, and improve the quality of our daily experience. This track will allow you to work with Dr. Bret Davis, a member of the philosophy department who has lived for many years in Japan, and is a skilled scholar and practitioner in the tradition of Zen Buddhism. You will meet with him at least ten times during the semester (including an initial orientation session.) Special readings associated with this track will come from a supplementary text, Meditation for Dummies, 2nd ed., and will touch on many other meditative techniques. It’s a great opportunity to grab if you’ve been interested in learning to meditate but never quite had the time, training, commitment, or support structure. Do be aware, though, that meditation is a discipline, and that there will be physical and psychological challenges to learning….just to sit.

1) On a weekly basis, you must attend Dr. Davis’ meditation gathering in the Fava Chapel, Hammerman Hall (near the library) 6:00-7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays or Thursdays -- the required orientation involves coming on January 20 or 22. Dr. Davis will keep a sign-in sheet to track this requirement: you must attend at least ten sessions during the semester (one can be the orientation). Feel free to approach Dr. Davis, or myself, to discuss any issues as they arise. 2) In addition, meditate at least two other times during the week, for at least 15-20 minutes. Hopefully, you will choose to exceed this minimum -- ideally, meditating on a daily basis. Try to find a comfortable time and place for these individual meditations. You can continue to use the Zen-style of meditation Dr. Davis teaches. Alternatively, you can experiment with the many different meditation practices explained in Meditation for Dummies and used on the accompanying CD to find those which work best for you. Be sure to listen to the CD supplied with that book, if you have it – it is helpful. 3) Prior to each hand-in there are one or two chapters of reading from Meditation for Dummies. Be sure to do it sometime in advance of the hand-in. 4) Below are the dates, and associated readings, for your experiential hand-ins. (If you go to a Thursday meditation, your Thurs. write-ups can be posted on Fridays by midnight.) These are suggested readings. However, there is an immense amount of useful and interesting material in Meditation for Dummies (we are only reading about a third of it) so I invite you to scan the table of contents, and choose a different reading for a given week if you prefer. (That way you can choose material that directly relates to issues as they arise in your meditation.) If you substitute, read at least twenty pages. The hand-ins should be at least about 250 words, and have two parts: a) In part #1 mention and discuss 2-3 points from the Meditation for Dummies reading that were of particular interest to you. Prove to me you’ve done the reading with some attention. Also, feel free to refer to any material from the CD. (Note: if you are using an earlier edition, the chapter numbers may have changed, but look for the equivalent chapter themes in your edition.) b) In part #2 discuss your meditation practice: how it’s going, what experiences you’re having or not having, what you’re learning about yourself, your mind, and the material we’re studying. (View this as something like a laboratory notebook where you are recording your experimental findings. As such, be honest and non-judgmental. There are no right or wrong experiences to be having.) In this discussion, try especially to make linkages to the issues we’re studying in the course, as well as topics in Meditation for Dummies. Below are the dates for your meditation hand-ins, and the associated reading page-numbers). Meditation Hand-in Schedule (note: these are due every other Thursday; students doing Thursday meditation could post them on Friday – up to midnight – but you have to remember to follow-through!) Jan 29 Chap 2: Why Meditate? Feb 12 Chap 6 & Chap 12: How Your Mind Stresses You Out…Challenging Emotions Feb 26 Chap 9: & 19; Where to Sit…Ten Commonly Asked Questions Mar 19 Chap 20: Ten Favorite Meditations April 9 Chap 11: Opening Your Heart Apr 23 Chap 17: Meditating in Everyday Life

SERVICE-LEARNING TRACK Both Hinduism and Buddhism raise spiritual, existential, and ethical issues that can be richly explored through a service experience. This service can be a win-win event of great value to the agency, their clients, and participating students. In fact, the whole class can benefit insofar as we incorporate such experiences into our general discussion. This is a great opportunity if you are committed to principles of service and social justice, or just want to experiment with stepping off-campus, meeting others from very different backgrounds, helping those with special needs, or even exploring a possible career track. Be aware though, that this track does involve both additional work-hours and writing -- you put in more, but you may also receive more as a result. This is also an opportunity to earn extra credit within the course. Participating students will attend an orientation session; watch and respond to a video on “white privilege”; and spend at least 20 hours (this would usually be two hours per week for ten weeks, except within the prison project) working with clients at either through the JCI Prison Project (participating in a philosophy class taught at a maximum-security prison), Don Miller House (residential services for clients with AIDS), Acts4Youth (an extended day enrichment program for at-risk boys at Guilford Elementary/Middle School) or the Refugee Youth Project. In all cases, if you choose this track it is crucial to fulfill your obligation to your agency - they count on you. (In fact, there will be a grade penalty if you don’t.) On Moodle you will see posted 1) in-depth descriptions of the different service-projects, along with contact people; 2) a service-learning timeline for the semester; 3) a log-sheet that you should fill in and get signed every time you go to your service site. Information concerning getting certified to drive a Loyola motor-pool car, if you need one, is available at a CCSJ link: http://www.loyola.edu/department/ccsj/communityservice/transportation.aspx ___________________________________________________________________________ The Process of Service-Learning Postings 1) During the semester you will post hand-ins on five Moodle service-learning forums (each at least about 250 words) connecting your service experience to the course content. Dates are marked on the schedule as (S1) etc. On each forum I provide suggestive questions, but also encourage you to go beyond them and find your own connections. Each write-up is worth up to 3.5 points (3.5= excellent, 3 = good, 2.5 = OK, but a bit sketchy or poorly written, 2 ½ = barely sufficient, etc. Please see Moodle for the questions used to trigger each service-learning forum – be sure to look at each a week before it is due, so you can have these questions in mind during your service experience. Your hand-ins should be at least about 250 words. You may want to respond to all of the questions asked, or focus on just one or more in greater depth. You are also free to discuss other experiences and issues, as long as they are related to the course. I appreciate you making your own connections, ones I might not have thought of. In general, you are seeking to reflect authentically on your concrete service experiences, using ideas from the course as your touchstone. In posting on a Moodle forum you will create your own thread (I believe this is done by clicking on “add a new discussion topic” within each forum). Title your submission simply using your last name (e.g. O’Donnell). I will respond on Moodle before the next class with a grade (up to 3.5 points) and specific comment. 2) I will also ask you to immediately read the write-ups of at least three other students and send them a few comments. (If this does not happen, I will take off a point each time.) Please try to give comments to students who have not yet received them, so comments are distributed evenly up and down the list of participating students. Comments should take the form of: a) Calls for Clarifications: What did you mean by this; why do you take that position?; can you think of experiences or examples that support your ideas?; what about this issue that you didn’t address? b) Challenges: Here is a counter-example or counter-argument: how would you respond? c) Connections: How does this connect to a course concept such as?...how does this lead you to agree or disagree with a concept such as....or this quote from our readings...? d) Confirmation: Here’s a supporting argument, example, or experience I’ve had; heres something I particularly like about what you wrote..

Please be sure read my comments and those of any students who commented on yours. Also, in reading the works of other students, ponder: a) What can I learn from their experiences which may be different than my own? b) Where did their positions and interpretations agree or disagree with me, and why? c) How do their thoughts lead me to alter, or supplement my own?

3) For the following class, I will then ask you to write a further Response (again, at least 250 words) for three of these five forums wherein you develop your ideas more deeply in direct response to my comments, those of other students, and the other student essays you read. Since you are to do this only on three of the five, I would ask you to select the ones where you feel you have more to say – you have been “triggered” by the other student postings and responses you have read, further experiences, and/or my comments, to further develop your thinking. Write your response as a continuation of the thread begun with your original submission. For example, if the thread/discussion topic was called O’Donnell (your name) simply title this response O’Donnell2), but keep it part of the same thread. Once again, you can earn up to 3.5 points for each of these postings – I will respond to each with a grade and comment. Note 1: Since there are eight postings overall (students in other tracks do six), and they are worth up to 3.5 points each (students in other tracks receive up to 2.5 points), you can earn up to 13 extra points because of the extra time, effort, and writing asked of you compared to other students. That is, other students can earn up to 15 points on their experiential track, but this track enables you to earn up to 28 points. However, the amount of (extra) credit will be based on the quality of your reflection, not your service-work per se. Note 2: Toward the end of the semester I will ask the service-learning students from each site to share with other students what they have seen and done during the semester. This will be an “informal” presentation, and will not be graded. However, a particularly excellent, or substandard, job can effect your class “participation” grade.