From: Mike Palmquist [Mike.Palmquist@ColoState.edu] Sent: Monday, April 23, 2001 4:27 PM To: cwonline@nwe.ufl.edu Subject: Re: Martin's Larger Vision for WAC
And I'd add that a key element to "commiting to a line of conceptual flight" is a key element in any conceptual breakthrough. Martin, your thinking about applying systems theory to WAC/CAC/ECAC seems to be the kind of approach that offers numerous potential benefits. But it's also the kind of approach that will draw criticism as it's refined, thought out, implemented, revised, rethought, and tried again and again. I'm thinking of the kind of debate I'm having with my colleague, Donna LeCourt, about our respective visions of WAC. Our visions emerge out of our takes on the same institutional context, but our training causes us to look at that context in different ways. We don't agree about approaches in every way -- and sometimes I think we might not agree in most ways -- but we continue to think about it and continue to debate it. That's why I like working with her and that's why I enjoy the challenges of exchanges like this. Sometimes, come to think of it, I tend to march off into an implementation stage way too quickly. It's good to have colleagues who help me question my assumptions before moving on into round of program development. Mike