In the beginning of this course I was angered because I believed everything that we studied was generalized and made our generation seem like it was worthless and uneducated. After further review I realized that this class and the material within it are meant to make us analyze and rethink the way we handle our daily lives. We were also meant to rethink the way we think about literature. We were taught to think critically about the material we were presented, although it was controversial among the class the materials made us take a step back and rethink if maybe the generalizations weren’t really generalizations. After I rethought about the subjects presented, such as are we too involved with our technology, or are we too involved in ourselves, I began to realize that maybe we are a very selfish generation. After reading Feed I thought that the teenagers in the novel were selfish and uneducated. But after analytical review I realized that maybe that is where we are headed if we do not start to think of others or take ourselves away from our cell phones and computers. I can say that I am very attached to my cell phone and laptop, but I do not think that I will ever be as bad as the kids in Feed. I think that if our generation analyzes what was presented in Culture Jam then maybe we can put a stop to being considered lazy, uneducated, and self absorbed like we portray.
I learned to rethink the way that I think about situations. Before this class I would just blurt out bluntly what was on my mind, but then I realized that I was living up the generalization placed upon our generation. Now I take a step back and rethink what I want to say before I let it just fall out of my mouth. I know that this is not fully credited to this class but also to my maturation level, but I do think that this class played a large part in helping me think before I act/speak.
Although in the beginning of the course I was extremely against learning something new that I was unfamiliar with, but in the end I believe I learned a lot more than I thought I would. A useless class in my mind (in the beginning) turned out to be one of the most educational (gen eds- because of my major) in my educational career thus far.
p.s. my favorite book that we read this semester was The Hunger Games and I advise you to tell your students from here on out not to read the second Hunger Games before the exam on the first one. I advise this because I confused myself on the exam and almost wrote the wrong answers.
I think you bring up a good point. I have always thought before i spoke ( for the most part), but i was speaking other peoples borrowed ideas. I feel that the class has made me weigh questions much more because it has defined our beliefs. We almost didn't have a choice, you sort of had to take a stance on the ideas discussed. I definitely agree, one of the most educational gen eds!
ReplyDeleteIt bothered me as well that the book Culture Jam did not provide hard evidence of the claims it made, however I still found it to be true in many respects. I found the philosophical logical procedure of thoughts in the book was sufficient in many parts of the book.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that this class helped me develop my skills in debating on a topic in real time i.e. in a classroom setting.
It's funny that you mentioned that the class helped you to not blurt out things without thinking about what you are saying because I feel the same exact way. I always consider the situation now before I spoke and now I find myself thinking before I talk about everything. I didn't ever think that it was because of this class but now that you mention it, it could very well be because of all our discussions!
ReplyDeleteI also agree that you bring up a great point that we should think before we speak, I think that is something I have taken from this class as well. I agree with your comment about this being the most educational gen Ed, Literature is not my favorite subject, which probably a lot of you know by now, but I really feel that this class went beyond the material. I feel that the setup of the semester and the classes taught me a lot of communication skills and taught me that literature might not be such a bad topic after all.
ReplyDeleteI think if we don't make a change now then most likely our society is gonna end up just like Feed. With technology upgrading all the time you just never know. I think if our generation would relax with all this technology maybe we wouldn't be targeted by older generations. Not saying that all of our generation is all about technology but most are. I agree that this class has made all of me take a step back to analyze and rethink the way I handle my life.
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