Allie and Kirsten Response

I found the three articles that Allie and Kirsten chose to be both intriguing and informative. Kirsten's article, "Can Emotional Intelligence be Taught?",  was especially interesting because it built upon my own research for my paper about teaching writing and healing in the classroom. I have no trouble believing that mental and emotional well-being strongly impact one's ability to succeed academically. Teaching emotional intelligence in a kindergarten setting has shown clear benefits to the students despite their young age, because emotional intelligence is crucial at every stage of development. Kahn was able to present studies that not only proved the positive effects of creating room for emotional development in the classroom, but also provided tangible ways it can be done

Allie's topic for research particularly resonated with me because gender binaries are often implicitly reinforced in academia, and can lead to harmful effects on students. I believe that challenging social norms in a classroom is an excellent way to both encourage critical thinking and to also encourage a space for reflection on ways it impacts students on an individual/personal level. Despite the Buzzed being extremely entertaining, it also makes a strong point on how prevalent gender roles are taught to us, especially in our consumer-driven society that sells products geared towards each gender.

Overall, I think both Allie and Kirsten have chosen topics that offer a lot of insight into how we teach younger generations and ways we can encourage a space for healing through academia.