Well, I apologize for this late post. I was busy studying all day on Wednesday for my last final which is today. I’m glad it’s over; and I hope we all did well. Now I have time sit down and write this final blog before I go to bed because I really need to catch up some sleep. What a long journey! In actuality this is not really the end of my journey. It is only the end of my third year in college. For me it has been a long semester. This class combined with business math and writing has pushed me to the brink. It is amazing that I even had time for this class. For an online class this was definitely more like a real class. When I first signed up for this class and saw that I would need to commit six plus hours a week I thought that was overrated. But to my surprise I ended up committing such hours to this class. This was not like a typical English class I had come to believe. My thoughts were that hey were going to write 3 essays, read a couple books, do some assignments and be done with it. This was how my previous experience with English went. After taking this class I was humbled. This class was no joke. If you did not keep up with the work there was no way you could catch up. It went at a hundred miles an hour. Now that we have reached the end of the semester it feels like a weight is coming off me for a little while until spring semester starts.
This class taught me a lot of thing. From reading all the essays out of the Exploring Language text to the books we read, I have gained a new perspective on many different issues. To hear all of these different voices has been a great lesson on how to approach a certain issue from all different angels. The most valuable lesson I learned from the EL text was on propaganda and political word play. In my opinion there real is no such thing as actual reporting or real journalism anymore. It is all opinion based off how people feel and not on actual facts. It is sad when I hear that a majority of people now get their news from talk radio. Learning about wordplay and propaganda has been really helpful in cutting through the nonsense and getting to the truth. These lessons learned will help in finding the truth. The real lesson learned was about critical thinking. Now when I read something I apply these skills so I can get to the bottom of what the author is really trying to convey. This skill goes far beyond just the English classroom. Critical thinking should be used in all fields. To me it is another form of scientific observation where you ask questions and try to find answers to those questions. This skill has been invaluable and I will look to improve on it as I continue my education. To all the classmates that managed to tough it out and stay with the class I say bravo. We did it. Through hard work and determination we made it to the end. Now let’s not slip up and blow off the final assignments. It’s been great working you guys and the ideas each of you brought were great. All the best to your future endeavors and good luck.
