What I've Learned

Over this whole semester I've learned tons more than I thought I would have. A lot of people told me that Global Ed. was just a fun class that you could join if you didn't want to do book work and go on a big trip to another country. As I've participated in it, I know it's so much more than that.

On the first day of school we were already writing--what does that tell you? Blow off? I think not. I really had to think about how I wanted my story to flow and really, how I felt about the first day of school. At the time it was all pretty hazy. I began writing out my whole day and basically turned it in as a rough draft. It was something like: "I went to Spanish and realized that it was a lot harder than last year. Then I went to Biology..." Obviously, I had to re-write it. I was told to 'zoom in'. Which is something I now know to do and can do. The revision was a lot better, in my opinion. Instead of writing out my whole day, I wrote about the morning.
"As I walked up to the big, yellow abyss of unhappiness, I realized that I had nothing to be afraid of.." Later in it, I wrote, "I stepped up to the front entrance. I felt like a four-hundred pound man trying to run the mile--can you imagine? I took a deep breath. "I think I can, I think I can." I said to myself as I chugged my little engine through the front doors."
Nobody likes hearing a step by step story. They might as well be looking at directions or reading out of an English book. Boring. When you zoom into the biggest, greatest, most emotional part of the day (or the story) it's more interesting and fun to read.

The listening activities that we heard were quite eye openers. Particularly "The Man in the Well". I had to think so hard about what the coughing and the line, "Is it going to rain?" meant that it made my head hurt. No joke. It was bothering me because I really wanted to know. Surprisingly, what I came up with was somewhat close to what Mr. Fielder said the story meant. That life's not a game. I had to dig deeper into the possibilities instead of just looking at the words and coming up with the obvious. Pushing yourself and coming up with something that's better than "the normal answer" or something plain will get you far. The story itself wasn't just a challenge for me, it was seriously a lesson learned. Life isn't a game. And nobody should take it for granted. I grew up a little more that day.

The short stories were a lot of fun. I liked listening to "Dirk The Protector". The discussion as we went was interesting. We had to, once again, zoom in and look at something more than just the words and what they meant. We dug deeper and found the meaning and the point. Most people don't just write to write; they usually have a purpose or a lesson to teach. Whether it's subtle or obvious, we looked at it in a deeper point of view and I took more from that story than I would have if I had just read it without thinking it all through. I've realized a lot of stories and writings are like that. Even when they seem lame, or like something I really don't want to read, when you look into it all for the meaning, you can learn a lot from something that could only be a paragraph or so long.

Learning about the Rwandan Genocide was very.. Shocking. It made me realize how much I truly don't know about the world. It's like, where I am is what I care about. If it's not in the U.S. or affecting the U.S. I don't put much thought into it. It was different, learning about all of the countries and people who were involved in it; and how it actually happened. It was hard knowing that nobody did a thing to stop it. France, I believe, was a big part of the genocide. Rwandans claim that French soldiers were helping the Hutu's slaughter the Tootsies. They have eye witnesses that say they saw French troops killing along with the rebels. Of course, the French are saying they had nothing to do with the mass killing, but who wouldn't say that to cover themselves? Nobody would want to be pinned down for something like that. Now Rwanda is barely visited by anyone. Tourism went down the drain. It was frustrating to hear the American lady on the radio say that a genocidal act has happened, but it doesn't make it a genocide. The people were right when they thought, how many genocidal acts need to happen for it to be a genocide? I think that over time we've come to realize that hatred will only lead to worse things. It was refreshing to learn about something I'd never even heard about. And to get involved and in touch with the other countries of the world.

Oh, Q.C.V.I'S. How can you not love them? All kidding aside, I did improve my reading and writing skills by making Q.C.V.I'S. We had to look at the story or what we were reading at the time, and make questions that weren't answered. That everyone as a class had to answer. It's a challenge that we could actually handle. We had to look at things from several different perspectives and challenge things that we thought could be more clarified. I thought it was kind of cool being able to critic the writing myself. Making comments and asking the questions.. It was fun compared to having to write a four page essay and struggling. I also have learned plenty of odd, old, and pretty much forgotten words that not many people know the meaning of anymore. It was like going back in time, a little. I wish we could have read Shakespeare. Now that would have been interesting.

This semester has challenged me. But I say it was worth it, because I've learned a lot... And a lot more than I think I would have learned in a regular English class. I'll even say it was kind of fun. A little bit. :)