week 15
Before taking FYE, I had many expectations from what I’d heard other students experiences were like. Then, I personally took the course. Over the next couple of paragraphs I will reveal in full detail how my personal experience has developed over this semester. But first, I would like to review the student learning outcomes for this course. The themes are as follows: Develop and apply information literacy skills in academic and non-academic contexts, Engage with your degree program, campus resources, and community, and Engage with your degree program, campus resources, and community. The first outcome, developing and applying information literacy skills in academic and non academic contexts, was practiced in our blog posts every week. In our blog posts we had to determine the nature of the topics we discussed while forming our own opinion and access and evaluate further information to help us understand the topics. Some of these topics included our degree programs. When reviewing our own future academic plans we learned how to prepare ourselves and make smart choices regarding the curriculum we take. Also, we learned how to interact with others through campus involvement and respecting others rights and opinions. Related to this topic is the next topic, diversity and inclusion. I feel like diversity and inclusion was a huge portion of the content in our class. This topic is always important, however it was very important for the events that took place this semester. We definitely met the student learning outcomes by examining our own and others’ identities, backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences.
While taking this class we had many recurring themes. Like I previously stated, diversity and inclusion was a big topic of the semester. Another theme, was being prepared academically through strategies like time management and planning. In one of my very first blog posts I stated that “Along with balancing a schedule students also need to prioritize. Among these priorities students have to remember to eat and sleep,” (https://livialovettblog.blogspot.com/2019/08/intro-to-time-management-honors-this.html). On August 31st it seemed super easy to prioritize things like eating and sleeping, however this was not the case during finals week. I am certain that these themes have had an impact on a lot of our class. Personally, hearing about diversity and inclusion from multiple perspectives has been the most impactful of the two themes. Discussing topics such as, White privilege in an open and calm manner has been very beneficial and I will remember what I have learned this semester in future situations. The theme of being academically prepared has been so important. Adjusting to college life and the rigour of being a music major has not been a piece of cake. However, discussing time management, meaningful inquiry, and degree works has helped me to consider things I may not have remembered or even knew in this transition. A classmate of mine, Emma, referenced an in class exercise on August 31st. Emma said, “we discussed what we would buy with $86,400.00. The "money" we could spend in a day was representing the seconds we are given in a day. We had a discussion with everyone's reasoning and ideas on how they would spend their money,” (https://reallifeofemmakris.blogspot.com/2019/08/week-two-intro-to-honors-time-management.html). I personally enjoyed the “money” activity a lot and it helped me gain perspective on how important time management was. Also learning about academic research was helpful. On November 10th in my week 12 blog post I explained that, “academic research has a need for the mastery of knowledge,” (https://livialovettblog.blogspot.com/2019/11/this-week-we-talked-about-how-to.html). Over the course of the semester I applied many of the things we discussed in class to my life. Such as, having meaningful questions prepared for when I go to see my advisor so that I do not make a mistake when planning my courses or waste time.
In reflection, I feel that I have definitely broadened my scope of knowledge by taking this course. I never would have known about Che Guevara who according to my blogpost on November 30th, who was, “a questionable figure of violent revolution,” (https://livialovettblog.blogspot.com/2019/11/week-13.html). I also would not have gained the chance to observe the document, White People, and read, “Make your Home among Strangers” had I not taken this course. This book created a lot of discourse on campus. My Peer, Charlotte made the comment in her blog on October 20th that her, “anticipation for class on Monday was high,” (https://charvmoore.blogspot.com/2019/10/week-9-diversity-inclusion-iv.html?m=1) I felt the same way as Charlotte the week of Jenine Crucet’s semi-slammable talk. I also would not have seen the film, “Documented” and by watching it I gained new insight on migrants who come to America, and learned about the Define American project. In my blog post for week six on the twenty-ninth of September I said, “This video provided me insight on the struggles that many undocumented people or people without papers face in the United States today, ” (https://livialovettblog.blogspot.com/2019/09/week-5-blog-post.html). Although the knowledge gained from this course is valuable, I think most of all I enjoyed the people of the class. Doctora McGrath was a great professor and I really appreciate not only her ability to listen to us, but the fact that she truly cares what we think. I also enjoyed getting to know my peers and Taylor’s unique perspectives throughout the course. These perspectives created great conversations about the bachelor, hot guys in documents, and also meaningful life experiences. An example of one of these conversations, is when Ebony explained that she worried about her brother because he is a black male. I had never felt those feelings about my brother and it helped me understand the white privilege of not having to worry about things like that. After class, I approached Ebony to check in with her. I told her that I did not have that experience personally but that I was sorry she was upset hoped she felt better that day. In the long run, our conversation did nothing to help her brother’s situation personally. However, being more aware of other social issues did help me be there for a friend when they were upset and I think that’s a good thing.
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