Before this class started I was extremely nervous. My experience in English 114 didn't turn out as I expected. All throughout high school I was always one of the talented writers in my class. When I got my grade back from my first writing assignment in college, let's just say it wasn't what i was looking forward to. Because of English 214, I learned that college writing is completely different than high school writing. There was so much more to it than just writing in what we call "academic writing" and it was definitely more than just impressing your teacher.
I learned that we should always keep in mind our own personal discourses and the variety of other discourses there are among the readers of our writing. In my writing pieces of the past, I noticed that I generalized a lot. I learned that my generalizations came from a lack of knowledge about other discourses, my fixed ideologies, and views about society in general. For example, in one of my drafts, I talked about an argument based on religion. I assumed everyone would understand my intention in that piece. Unfortunately I disregarded the many other religions and even atheists that wouldn't understand my writing due to their different perspective on the topic.
I have always been aware of the racism and discrimination that exists surely everywhere in our society, though this class opened my eyes to things under this topic that I never knew about. I learned about my own invisible narratives throughout the course of this semester. I learned that I have certain privileges due to my race, gender, age, etc. Although I also have disadvantages due to my race, gender, age, etc. as well. I consider these things very important things that we learned in class even though they are not actual topics of English class. Being aware of the disparities that surround you definitely tie back into being aware of different discourses. This is key in writing.
This may sound cliché, though I learned to not pass judgement on anyone or anything. Every time I approach any type of situation, I remind myself to give it a second thought. Even if the judgement may be passed by me or passed to me. Whatever the case, we need to remember that we don't know everything. Regarding the career path I chose, I learned to just keep an open mind. An open mind before I pass judgement, or an open mind about how people act on their views about nursing.
I agree with you that English 214 has taught not to pass any judgement on other people. Through dissecting the invisible narratives and looking at the choice of words, this idea has taught me to never judge anyone based on the texts we have read or by just looking at other people. Overall your reflection was very thoughtful and the paragraphs are very organized. The sentence structure is also very good.
ReplyDeleteYup, I agree! This English class has taught us not to judge others and to respect other cultures and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I feel the way regarding racism. Ialready knew racism has always been a problem in the united States and that every one is target but this class showed me things I didn't before. I am glad for you and me that we got the chance to have such an amazing teacher who has open our eyes to the cruelty of this society. Other than that good luck !