Reflections…
I decided to create this page for us to leave our reflections about our time together this semester. An official class description just tells us about the content and expectations and the such. But as learners in this class, what did we learn? what will you remember most? what did we talk about? and maybe…how has this class touched you in other courses or outside classroom walls?
matts14 said,
November 7, 2007 at 2:07 am
I learned that edson likes to comment on people’s nails and eleni nail’s are real not fake!
wudaman2000 said,
November 10, 2007 at 8:34 pm
This class has been great. I m very pro at changing settings of any learning experience from place to place because people respond different. Everyone brought in a different view and it rolled smoothly in to a nice sushi! Some of the stories we discussed which i still find it troubling sometimes. ( i never fall that deep into a book unless its a movie or it depends which book i.e. godfather). So what we discussed were pretty deep in terms of learning and breaking down each situation. The stories never touched me religiously, thank goodness but it did philosophical. I like the fact that in one certain book. it echo’s selfishness and I looked at it in a very good way. because life is all about enjoy the pleasures. excellent pointers about life. along with if its not about you then its meaningless. Nice attitude! Great for making friends ! ha! in terms of a college class not just the books. I think this was a gem class, this is what college is all about not force fed into the same ol’ repeated cycle but students shaping out the class’s identity is crucial.
matts14 said,
November 12, 2007 at 1:19 am
The class experience was more productive than any other class I had all year. Other classes are strictly structured that they have a set points where everything comes from memorization and listening rather than interaction. On the other hand, I do believe this class would be entirely different if there were more than 7 total students in it. Kinda just shows you that smaller classrooms entail more learning. Although we do not have strict rules, the openness allows everyone to speak there mind and contribute insightful comments rather than a generic response just to get ‘participation’ points. One thing that I learned from the class is that if we take class in a perspective of hanging out rather than a class you get more done. Sure there are homeworks and things like that but when you enjoy a class its truly easier to come to class and do well. This class was by far the best class I have ever had at UConn simply because it was with great students and a normal teacher. You can have all the phd’s you want but if you cant relate to everyday life what good are you. As Wu said about students shaping out the class identity being crucial it is essentially true. All the classes we have to take are such boring busy work just to get credit and you just memorize or write stuff just to get a grade. Here there are many philosophies bring the class to a higher level than anything else. I enjoyed this class so much because there is so much life in it. You never see that in a 9999 person lecture hall about “communications” or some other random bs class. When someone speaks in those classes everyone is like “wow shut up so we can end class and stop acting like your BFF with the professor.” Everyone has experience that and I truly hate it when people speak in those lecture halls as well, but it kinda detours from the quality of education as nerdy as that may be. Here where all basically all friends having some type of class/experience.
leni121 said,
November 14, 2007 at 2:39 am
I’d have to agree with Wu. We were rolled into a nice sushi roll.
To be quite honest, this class was a breath of fresh air for me. I knew I wouldnt have to worry about being quiet and bored out of my mind when I walked in, especially having four classes m,w,f. And even though we strayed off topic alot, we still somehow seemed to learn from one another and always managed to get back to the point. We were all mature enough to manage the freedom and flexibility of the class and appreciate it enough to focus when we had to; and whats funny is we wanted to, because you(Nat) never forced us. There were time when Andrew would throw something to the garbage can, or Wu would wip out some food, and I would hold my breath. But we never got reprimanded. Good job, Nat. You should teach this class again. Because I’m referring the world and it would be weird if you didn’t.
abellon said,
November 15, 2007 at 5:17 pm
OK so this class is great, it doesnt feel like a class but rather a break from classes. All week long I go to work, go to class, study, write papers, do homework assignments, projects, meetings galore, and of course the occasional bar night. but i get to come to this class 3 days a week and just sit back and talk with people about either what weve read and our view on it or just random stuff its a breath of fresh air.
edsonrivas said,
November 26, 2007 at 4:38 pm
i LOVED this class. i think that the informality of the class allows for easy participation and sharing of ideas. the one thing i will remember most is how free we were in class to talk about whatever it was that came to our minds (even if it didnt have anything to do with what we are reading). it is not stressful at all and the freedom of topics to write about is great.
edsonrivas said,
November 26, 2007 at 4:40 pm
and i dont comment on peoples nails….that much, i only do it if i they catch my eye so there matt
nathalie said,
November 27, 2007 at 12:36 am
To my amazing 7,
I have to admit that when I first saw my roster with only 7 students, I was a little scared! Scared that class would be so small that no one would speak. My assumptions were so far from the truth! I want to thank you all for creating an amazing environment where we could really say anything and treat class like a conversation. As you say Wu…we were rolled up like a yummy sushi roll, all of us with different backgrounds both personally and academically, but we had the rice and wrap in common! We did stray from the topic which is a luxury especially with a small class, but I think that this allowed us to get more perspectives, more opinions and more variety. After all this is a class about civilization whether ours or any other, talking about everyday events or what we watch on TV is relevant to us as a group of people spending time together. Besides, those moments stemmed from the very book we were reading. As Eleni said, we were mature enough to balance our work with fun. So thanks for making this class so open and free, so colorful and unconventional, so personal and unique. It has been such a pleasure to learn from you all, to listen to your opinions, and most of all to have had the chance to know you all. You all are wonderful writers and have made improvements during the semester. And so my dear colleagues, muchos gracias for an ideal semester
alm04002 said,
November 28, 2007 at 3:55 am
Almost the last person to leave a comment…I think what Eleni said about it being a breath of fresh air is right on. I’ve been so amazed through the semester at how very different we all are. We come from different places, have very different goals and lives but for some reason I think it was the perfect mix of people that came together. I don’t dread going to class or participating in class. In other classes I think you’re only expected to listen and absorb what the teacher is saying…it’s refreshing to be in an environment where what you have to bring to the table is welcomed and encouraged. Nathalie I really respect your command of the classroom, maybe sometimes we go off track but I think being constantly engaged in SOMETHING is better than spending 50 minutes staring out the window. I really enjoyed the writing too…few other classes I’m taking now have writing assignments and if they do there’s a right thing to write and a wrong thing to write. I enjoy being able to choose what I want to write about and being encouraged to write my own opinion, instead of spewing hundreds of other people’s opinions. I don’t know if this is how the class ends up bonding every year but for me this was probably the only time I’ve been in a class where I really feel like everyone is equal in what they contribute.
abellon said,
December 3, 2007 at 3:26 pm
ok so to sum up in a few words what every one said… we had fun, talked about random stuff, and still did work… i win! done!
abellon said,
December 4, 2007 at 1:11 pm
to add a little, i thought a lot of the authors might have been depressed due to the idea of death and sadness throughout most the books we have read. But they were still good books and I enjoyed a couple of them.