By actively engaging students in curriculum development, I improve my classes. For example, today my journalism class ended on a very positive note because a student arranged to have Paul Harris, editor of Hockey Weekly, as a guest speaker in the class.

Mr. Harris was an engaging presenter who was not only able to provide students with a first hand knowledge of sports writing but also give them a glimpse into the real world work experience of newspaper writing; something that I do not have the experience to do.

Mr. Harris is not the first student arranged speaker to visit my classroom. Nor will he be the last.

Arranging a guest speaker is not the only way that my students help me improve my classes. When I teach film on campus, I save time for student selected films. When proposing a film, a student must explain how the film will contribute to the course. If they cannot provide an adequate pedagogical justification, I will not consider the film. Because of their suggestions, I have been introduced to Reservoir Dogs (1992), Donnie Darko (2001), U2: Rattle and Hum (1988), as well as other films.

This semester, my ENG 101 students at the Radcliff Center thought I should show X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). I turned their suggestion into a teaching moment and had them prepare their arguments. They then considered my potential objections to showing the movie. Finally, they came up with counter arguments.

Because one of their arguments was that the X-Men brought together a number of themes we had been discussing, I showed the movie yesterday as a capstone for the course. The students were correct. From an academic point-of-view, it is an excellent film. However, the X-Men was not just a perfect way to end the semester.

Earlier this week, I told a colleague that I was reviewing the films I planned to show in ENG 101 next semester. Given my list, I feared that students would become suicidal and that I needed something to balance the other films I am considering: Bamboozled (2000), Pinky (1949), Jim Crow’s Museum (2004), Paragraph 175 (2000), and Kid ‘in’ Africa (1933). My Radcliff students—not my colleague—gave me my answer.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

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