Ball State University student Kasey Brandenburg of Austin spent the spring semester providing Indiana high school students with the voice and platform to engage with their world and their minds through philosophical inquiry. Topics included feminism, ideology, ethics, and more.
“This immersive learning project, and philosophy as a whole, allows for creative and critical thought,” said Brandenburg, who just completed her freshman year studying philosophy and natural resources and environmental management. “It has created an atmosphere for me to improve my communication, thinking, and reading skills, while emphasizing the importance of challenging a curious mind.”
The Philosophy Outreach Project is showing the Ball State students the importance of teaching, of sharing what they know, and of cultivating spaces for dialogue in a world that is so fast-paced that there is often not enough time for careful listening and thinking.
Mentored by Assistant Professor of Philosophy Sarah Vitale, the experience provides resources and experiences to Muncie Central High School students online and in the classroom as Ball State students curated digestible and relevant philosophical information. The students also visited high schools in Daleville, Fishers, Westfield, and Hamilton.
Brandenburg took part in displaying the Ball State students’ work on social media platforms. She and two other students assembled an extensive social media plan and schedule for themed content. They posted to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter each week, with the content ranging from polls to photos and videos to explain the topics that they were teaching the high school students through online mediums.
“Ball State has been one of my biggest blessings,” Brandenburg said. “My first year has been incredible, and the University has already impacted my character and opened me up to a whole new world and a new culture of people.”
Brandenburg is a 2018 graduate of Austin High School and is the daughter of the late Elvis Brandenburg and late Kelli Wolfe.
