Expo & Analysis

 

    Course Evaluation

    Course subjects

    This English class has been quite an experience. It taught me different subjects that revolved around English (of course), and it gave me the chance to write long essays with structure, reliability, and reasoning. I'm still working on some aspects of analyzing topics, but it has improved since I began taking the course.

    The most pressuring assignments that I had to take were the Proficiency Exam and the Movie Analysis. Thankfully, the instructor told us weeks in advance, so we knew what to expect in regard to the most important assignments to complete. I ended up switching my movie to research, which was originally Space Oddessey. It wasn't the film for me. I only watched one-third of it, since there was little dialogue, little context, and the pace was slow. I'm sure other people would enjoy it, but I didn't know where to start when talking about the film. I switched over to It Happened One Night, and I enjoyed the film quite a lot. The interactions between characters felt genuine, the transitions between different settings were fluent, and it didn't waste time to get to the climax of the story. This assignment gave me something to research which I would like, and I got to learn something new out of it.

    Classmates/Peers

    The participation between students seems to equal out. There are more students on their phones, than those who are actively listening. However, students still asked questions and got involved in debates when they take the chance. Not to justify their usage of phones in their classes, but at least their engagement shows they're not wasting their time or the teacher's time sitting through lessons.

    There are some times when I feel that the next time I enter the classroom, people are going to give me the silent treatment or ventilate whenever I share my opinion. When it came to political discussions, I almost always seem to be the "centipede among millipedes." It can be hard to voice an opinion when knowing everyone else would disagree. There would be times when I would speak out, with my peers responding with displeasurement. Sometimes, I make points that make them think, or others will make counterpoints that will make me think. On other days I will say nothing because I don't want it to be a reoccurring event per class. Even so, it didn't cause any visible problems with how others treated me. When there are topics we can agree on, we happily share each other's thoughts. No problem. It's a strange relationship, but I can respect the fact they don't try to isolate me to ruin my class experience for having a different opinion. That's saying a lot for my generation.

    Personal Reflection

      Despite the unusual relationship between me and my classmates, I say that I was able to share my opinions in a respectful manner. I didn't try to belittle their opinions, but I focused on defending mine. In regard to my ability to do assignments in class, it took me some time to figure out the rubric requirements. Once I figured out how to navigate the website better to view the work expectations, I was able to write essays as prompted. As stated earlier, I'm still working on several aspects to create the ideal paper. I can still take the lessons I've learned and use them in future essays and English classes, so I'm not worried that I gained nothing out of the course.

    Final thoughts

    The class was quite an experience. I enjoyed the lessons the instructor taught, and it was interesting to hear other people's opinions on things. As I am with all of my classes, I have perfect attendance and always attended class in person and on time. If there was something I would like to see, is how someone with the same opinion as me would do in a similar environment as me, and how that would shift the debate. Something I would like to see improve is if students stopped using their phones (as often). Even with their voiced participation is there, and it is their choice as responsible adults what they do with their time, I consider it disrespectful to not focus on the speaker, especially when it's the instructor whose talking. I rarely glanced at the phone during class hours (with the exception of quickly viewing notifications when my phone buzzes) since I find class time to be valuable, and I wanted to show the instructor that I find his lessons important. If more students treated discussions like that, it would create a better learning environment for peers to engage in.