REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Ningyi Yuan
Professor Hopper
Eng 105 Sec. 1
Spring 2014
What Am Supposed to Be?
It’s been 2 years since I first came to Murray Kentucky, an amazing and gorgeous mid-west little town. As a Chinese girl, I really had no idea about what life is going to be like here in such a town. I am from a so-called small city in China, one million people share 1 million acres of land. I was shocked when I learned that there are only 500 million people live in Kentucky, it sounds like where I am standing is right in the middle of nowhere.
Time goes by and I am trying to learn this town and its life. I spent one year in ESL, trying to build up my English and learn how to be a part of MSU. After I graduated from the ESL, I thought I done with learning English, I can say whatever I wanted to say and write papers to talking about my opinions. During the ESL time period, I met my boyfriend, a cute chubby Chinese boy. He is such a wonderful boy with a loving heart, we moved together after 5 months after we met. Everything seems to be great by living with him, because of the same cultural background, we have a lot of topics that we are both interested in. Because of we live in an apartment off campus, we can get a lot of friends to our place to have fun. Life is so good!
At the end of last semester, my academic advisor told me that I’d better take an English class to match my undergraduate requirement. So, I decided to take this online course because of I can make my time flexible. I really thought I was going to master any English classed without paying extra attention and efforts on it, but that is not true at all. Actually, the scores of first couple two assignments I did were not bad. However, I didn’t tell anybody how strugglin...
... middle of paper ...
...would research it with my mother language. After several blogs, I realized that I am getting better. Not just on my blog but all practices I did also effected on my daily life. I used to refuse to read with English unless necessarily, but now, all those things I used to hate to read starts to make sense to me.
I am so glad to pick up this course, it is not just a course that offer my credit hours, and it is also a gateway for me to teach me how to study English and US English. I have learned something I thought I know, this course made me to understand who I am and where my disadvantages are. Now, all I know is that one language skill is not just something to help you to survive in another country, it means a lot to your life and it is a way to help you to know the beauty of a country and the charm of its people. I will keep moving, and I will never quit learning.
Many people get a good laugh out of the jokes, but they don't realize that they are portraying a crude message about all Kentucky folk. More so than any other state, Kentucky is labeled and illustrated as redneck and poor. Much of this may stem from many of the small towns in Kentucky and in the Appalachian area. However, Appalachia has been misunderstood and misrepresented: "Appalachia has long been characterized as a region of feuds, moonshine stills, mine wars, environmental destruction, joblessness and hopelessness" (Billings cover). Although Appalachia tends to be a very poor region, they are very rich in family values and respect for life.
Small towns, quaint and charming, ideally picturesque for a small family to grow up in with a white picket fence paired up with the mother, father and the 2.5 children. What happens when that serene local town, exuberantly bustling with business, progressively loses the aspects that kept it alive? The youth, boisterous and effervescent, grew up surrounded by the local businesses, schools and practices, but as the years wear on, living in that small town years down the road slowly grew to be less appealing. In The Heartland and the Rural Youth Exodus by Patrick J. Carr and Maria Kefalas equally argue that “small towns play an unwitting part in their own decline (Carr and Kefalas 33) when they forget to remember the “untapped resource of the
English is vast you can create your own answers, which irritates my science and math like mind set, I want all the answers, I want a set way of doing stuff a step by step guide of getting to one correct answer. However, this course might be able to loosen my mind and notice that in English there can be more than one correct answer. I surely do believe that I can excel in Professor’s Grahams’ English 1101, but only if I work for it and earn an A. The class seems like a lot of work but because of the work load but the type of rigor it takes to complete the
Learning, like religion, is a social experience.” Currently, I have a class that I am enrolled in, often I find myself asking “Why I am in this class?” I learn nothing from this lady, her notes are continuously blurry, and every single student is unable to read them. She talks in circles and expects everyone to be able to follow. Personally, I wish I would have taken an online course for this particular class. Everything I have learned in this class has been solely self-taught. To be prepared for the class, I pre-read the chapter we will be having a discussion about in addition to study the curriculum, still I cannot keep up or understand what is coming out of her mouth. I also feel that I am not the only one in class that is completely lost, which makes me feel better about the whole situation. Whereas I am also enrolled in another class, which I adore and value every single minute. This particular class requires an hour and forty-five minutes a day for four days a week. To think this class I feared the most when I enrolled at the beginning of school. Surprisingly now, it is by far my favorite! I have learned so much information in such a little span of time. It is truly remarkable, the change of mind I have had towards this subject! Credit is due to my professor, she is outstanding! Then, of course, I have this class! Comp 1, which as you know is online. There has been struggles, as I think I would have learned better with face to face encounters with my peers and involved discussion with other students and a professor, although I think I have managed to keep my head above the water so far. All- together, with only my brief personal experience given, you cannot say online courses are worse than an in class
My first college English class was ENC 1101 at the State College of Florida. In this course, I learned a vast amount of information about writing, reading, and grammar. When I first walked into ENC 1101 in August, I expected the class to be like any other English class in High School; with rushed busy work and a lot of useless tests and quizzes. However, throughout each week of the semester, Professor Knutsen’s class made me beg to differ. This class was not like any other high school English class. In this class I actually learned important information and did not do work just to complete it. This class had a few assignments here and there, enough to maintain, in order to learn proper information. I learned a lot in this class because I was not rushed to
Over the course of this class I feel like I have become a much better writer. When I go back and look at some of my Journal entries and assignments that I did at the beginning of the semester, I can’t help but tense up at some of the things I wrote. Sometimes the things I was writing didn’t flow well, or I might have even have missed glaring grammar mistakes.
When I signed up for ENGL 191 I did not know what to expect as I had never token an English class at the college level. The English classes I was used to be taught at the High School Level and they went like this, Teach them grammar rules then hold their hand with worksheets for every possible step of paper writing all the way from idea generation to submitting the final draft. This arbitrarily cookie cutter process frustrated me as I did not want to write down my sources in MLA format on a note card then paraphrase the source over 10 notecards then paraphrase the note cards onto my draft. Because of the way my English Class were I had an expectation of what was done covered and in an English Class. I figured that college would be similar with allot less handholding and when I signed up for 10 to 11:40 Tuesday, Thursday section I thought that it was going to be an hour and forty minutes of tedious discussion of Grammar Rules and the writing process according to the instructor. After six weeks of ENGL 191 my idea of what English is has completely changed. My new idea of what English is totally different then what I came into the class with. I thought English was teadoius
As a second language learner I have never expected myself to be a perfect writer throughout the semester. Even If English was my first language still, I would not be a perfect writer. It is not about first or second language, it is about how well I understand the learning objectives. Then organizing and writing with my own ideas and putting them in my paper. I am going to be honest, I am not good at English subject and English subject is my strongest weakness than the other subjects. In this paper I will discuss and analyze my own writing, reflecting on the ways that my writing has improved throughout the semester.
Throughout much of high school, I have never really had to try. This became a big issue for me as I entered my senior year considering my college path beyond high school. DE English was the medication I needed for my lack of undertaking. The higher level work that the class demanded was exactly what I was searching for. The work load throughout the course was a great model to help me prepare for college. In addition, time management from the work in class, to the late golf matches helped me manage my time wisely. I needed the drive, the perseverance, and the will to be a successful writer, as well as successful student. The most life changing thing that I have experienced through taking this class is the improvement it has given me in further developing my work ethic. Prior to enrolling in this class, I always had the mindset that I would be able to get an A if I turned in minimal work. When I started taking this class, the alarm in my mind went off and I woke up, realizing I had technically begun college and that I needed to start working like it. Dual Enrollment English 111 improved my work ethic, a necessity for being a successful individual throughout
In the beginning of my junior year of high school, one of my close friends told me she was getting confirmed at church next Sunday, completely clueless I only nodded in agreement and said that was great! When we arrived home I asked my mom what confirmation was, and she explained to me that it was the next step, or Sacrament, in a Catholic’s life where you confirm the relationship you have and want with God.
The image of a pastor entering the pulpit from among the pews in the sanctuary described by Long is one that resonates with me, because it is genuinely where I am entering from. Perhaps it is to be expected when someone answers the call to ministry later in life, but I approach homiletics as a member of the body of Christ first and foremost. Experience as a member of the congregation and a Member in Discernment have taught me that the pastor has many responsibilities, but good, solid preaching is of the greatest import.
Imagine having to choose to reside in one place for the rest of your life. Which would you opt for? Some people would argue that the hyperactive lifestyle that a big city has to offer has more benefits than living in the country. However, others would contend that the calm and peaceful environment of the countryside is much more rewarding. Several people move from the city to a farm to get away from the hustle and bustle. Likewise, some farmers have traded in their tractors and animals to live a fast paced city life. Of course, not all large cities are the same nor are all of the places in the country identical. Realizing this, ten years ago, I decided to hang up the city life in Indiana to pursue a more laid back approach to life in rural Tennessee. Certainly, city life and life in the country have their benefits, but they also have distinguishable differences.
Imagine having to choose to reside in one place for the rest of your life. Which would you opt for? Some people would argue that living in a big city has more benefits than that of living in the country. However, there are many people who would argue that the country life is much more rewarding. Several people move from the city to a farm to get away from the hustle and bustle. Likewise, some farmers have traded in their tractors and animals to live a faster paced city life. Of course, not all large cities are identical nor are all of the places in the country the same. Realizing this, ten years ago, I decided to hang up the city life in Indiana to pursue a more laid back approach to life in rural Tennessee. While both city life and life in the country have their benefits, they also have distinguishable differences.
Two courses that I feel made the biggest impact on me through this course were week 5 of PEDG 5372 Assessment Data to Guide Instructional Decisions and week 5 of PEDG 5373 Student Expectations and Motivations. Both of these courses were taken at the beginning of this journey to complete my Master’s program and both were taken in the summer before my second year teaching. I learned so much more from these courses than I did during my student teaching and my first year teaching combined. I feel that teachers are expected to hit the floor running and there is no true “training period” or period of transition, you just have to know what you know and learn as you go. These courses helped me to be more focused and knowledgeable about data and how to use it effectively and also about what motivates students and
With everything else there are pro’s and con’s in taking online courses. Some of the advantages of taking online courses include completing all assignment at your own pace. Some people may take a little longer than oth...