The End of the Road

Wow! Here we are and it’s week 12 in the Signature Series and that means it’s the end. I believe we were asked in the first week of the class to answer the question of why Bellevue University requires every student to complete the Series. I’m not really sure how I answered that question and at this point it is irrelevant. I’m sure my answer was based on a lack of information and understanding behind the purpose of the course. The idea behind the course is to make students aware of the many different situations that occur throughout the world. The idea of Western vision and American values obviously played a large part in this, but a number of ideas were presented during the course that were just as important. One assignment in particular comes to mind and that was in week 7 if I remember correctly. We were asked to write an essay on political reform in China and whether or not our American traditions and values would be valuable in helping to reshape their government. This was by no means an easy task, but I do appreciate the idea behind it because I think that while it’s important to understand American traditions and values, we have to remember that we can not force them upon unwilling participants. The system that works for us will not always work for someone else.

We covered a lot of different readings during the course of the last 12 weeks all of which you could argue were of equal importance. I’m not going to sit here and go through each one because that could literally take all day, but I do think that there is something to take from each one. The important thing about this though is that what I take from each story may not be the same as my fellow classmates. We were all free to interpret the readings in our own way and to take whatever meaning we wanted from them. And, to expand on that, we were free to express our interpretations in our own words for the matter of healthy debate. I think this creates a positive learning situation.

I hope that I was able to contribute in a positive manner throughout this class. I know I tried to always expand on the topics I chose to write about to the best of my ability. Not everyone may have always agreed with what it was I was saying, but I hope that what I had to say helped create positive discussions and to expand the topics under study. I cannot answer the question of whether or not the course was better because I was a student in it because I cannot answer on behalf of my classmates. However, I really do hope it was.

Josh

I Can See the Light

As the course nears its end, I find myself in more turmoil than ever before. I believe I have stated this in one of my previous posts; I am horrible at choosing a topic to write a paper on. I have gone back and forth with a number of ideas. I think I have changed it with each milestone that has come due and once again, I’m back to square one. I am hoping that this time I have found something that I can stick with, but I’m not exactly sure if it relates to or covers the basis of what the paper is supposed to. Unfortunately, I’m out of time and I have one week to have a rough draft submitted and the final draft is due the following week. I’m disappointed mostly with myself because I’m usually very good at managing my time, but this situation has definitely gotten the best of me.

My digital story project is pretty much complete. I’m still toying with some of the audio. My one fear is that the story isn’t very interesting to the people who view it. I’m afraid that they might not get the full understanding of what it was I was doing and why I was doing it. I have had some setbacks with the project because of the limitations of the software we had to use, but hopefully, I get the message across. I have never done anything even remotely close to this so I will say that it has been a very good learning experience.

All in all, I have to admit that I’m somewhat relieved the course is nearing its end because I’m just about burnt out. It's been a good experience, but between school, work, and family it has been non-stop for the last 15 months and I think I’m ready for at least a small break. Not to mention, that I have also been taking a number of training courses at work that add to the workload. It’s been an interesting ride so far and I only hope that it ends well. I shall know soon enough.

Josh

Week 9 in the Series

I’m going to start this week off by telling of something new that I learned. While I was volunteering my time at the Senior Center this week I was talking with a lady and we were discussing what it was like for her growing up and how the education system has changed. She informed me that kindergarten was non-existent back in her day. I had absolutely no idea of that and it just amazed me. She also told me that a majority of boys never made it past the eighth grade because they were required to take a test in order to qualify to attend high school. She said many chose not to take the test so they could stay at home and work to provide for the family. It was a very enlightening conversation and we were both just amazed at how much everything has changed. It’s not uncommon to have a 3 or 4 year old enrolled in some type of pre-school program today and while there are a number of tests given to all students, I don’t think there is one that you have to pass in order to get into high school.

On that note, my Capstone project has continued on as well, but not like I was hoping it would. In all honesty, I am struggling a great deal with it. I understand the basis of the paper, but it seems too broad to me. I can’t seem to find a specific topic that will satisfy the requirements and have a strong thesis statement. I find myself starting over from scratch on a daily basis and it’s becoming quite frustrating. And, it’s not like I need to remind myself of this, but I’m running out of time in a hurry. I have high expectations for the work I do and I really feel I’m letting myself down on this one. It isn’t like I’m not trying, but I just don’t feel like I’m getting anywhere. I’m afraid of what my final paper will look like.

There was a lot of reading to complete this week. At least it seemed like more than usual, but I could be wrong. Luckily, the stories were all fairly interesting. The two that caught my attention the most were “I Have a Dream” by Dr. King, and “The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X. I think they were both trying to portray the same message, but they have their own unique styles and you can really see that in these two stories. There were also plenty of writings by feminist authors on equality in a number of different areas. I actually chose to write my post on “The Mother of All Problems” by Danielle Crittenden because I could somewhat relate to it, but I thought “The War Against Boys” by Sommers was very interesting. I liked how she took a different view and turned the scenario around. There had been such a concentration on improving certain areas for girls that now the boys had fallen behind and essentially had taken the place of where the girls used to be. It was nice to see a different take on the subject. Now, I’m off to next week!

Josh

Week 8 in the Sig Series

This week started out in absolute chaos. The volunteer opportunity that I thought I was going to be doing fell through the floor. Essentially, what happened was the director of the place didn’t feel as though they had anything they could really offer me aside from clean-up duty. Maybe I didn’t do a good enough job of explaining what it was I was trying to accomplish for the digital story project. I don’t really know. There were some other obstacles as well. I would not have been allowed to photograph anything and the timeframe wasn’t very convenient for either party. Luckily, my professor had presented another opportunity on our weekly discussion board and I immediately jumped on it. I will now be interviewing and writing the life story of a member of the local Senior Center. And, they seem more than happy to help me fulfill the requirements of the project. I will say however, that I do feel a little bit of pressure. The story I will be writing is meant for the family members of the person I interview. It’s a memoir of sort, so I am a tad bit nervous about it.

The Capstone project is also well underway. I’ve completed the first two milestones, but I’m still unsure of which topic I want to write about. I’ve concentrated my research in the general direction I want to go in, but I would still like to narrow it down. As I said before, choosing the exact topic is the most difficult part for me. I think I tend to have writer’s remorse or something because I’ll choose a topic and then wish I had written about something else. Hopefully, I will have it narrowed down by the end of next week. Actually, I will have no other choice because I have a deadline to meet.

If there was one thing I learned this week, it was that the statistics of the social decline in America are astounding. I’m not sure how current they are because the story we had to read by Robert Putnam was written in 1995, but if that trend has continued it would be really disappointing. I was shocked by the statistics he presented. As I said in my weekly posting, I still feel that many people do take an active role in their communities. However, I guess statistics don’t lie. I am curious to see how they have changed in the 13 years since Putnam wrote the story. Sometimes, all it takes is time to make things better. On the other hand, time may have only made them worse.

Josh

Let the Fun Begin

This week marked the beginning of our Capstone thesis. Our first milestone was to create our title page. That sounds very simple, but I must admit that I’m the type of person who will usually wait to name my title until after my paper is complete. So, it was a bit of a challenge and it probably took me longer than it should have. However, we can change the title as the paper develops and I’m fairly sure I may toss a few different ones back and forth before it’s all said and done. But, for now, I was fairly pleased with what I came up with.

We are also supposed to continue working on our next milestone for the digital story and this has me concerned. I was almost certain I had found the right volunteer opportunity for me. I went in and spoke with the executive director of the place, filled out the necessary paperwork, and she told me she would get back to me. They are required to do a background check and I understand that completely. The problem is I was hoping to start this Friday so I could get a good start gathering images, but I haven’t heard back from her yet. When I talked to her, she did say that the background check can be a slow process, but I don’t have all the time in the world and I don’t know how much longer I can wait. I need to get this thing going and underway.

The readings for the week were all very interesting as usual. I had my favorites as usual too. I particularly enjoyed the writings of Bethell and Wessell. I’ve always had somewhat of an interest in the area of law and Bethell’s writing on private property was outstanding. I thought his use of elephants to show his point was pretty brilliant. My favorite thing this week might have actually been writing the essay about China. That seems really odd to say and I’m not exactly sure how I will do on it, but I learned a lot. I have always assumed China was a communist country under the rule of a brutal dictator. (I knew that wasn’t the case) What I didn’t know is that while they are a communist country, they are making strides towards democracy. I don’t know that they will ever completely change, but the rights of the citizens have certainly improved.

Josh

Week 6 in the Sig Series

Well, our first project is officially underway and the second is still to follow. We had to complete deliverable A of our digital story. I must say that I hope we can go back and redo it if we must, because I haven’t actually begun my volunteer work and I may wish to change what it is I’m doing. I haven’t started yet because I’m still waiting to hear back from the person that runs the particular center I was interested in volunteering at. I researched quite a few different things and now I’m thinking I should have followed through on one of the other opportunities because time is an issue with this project. But, for now, what’s done is done and I’ll continue on with the next step of the project.

This week’s reading assignments were interesting. We actually had a couple of poems mixed in with the reading so it brought a different approach. They were both short poems and I read them each a few times, but I’m not exactly sure that I dissected them correctly. As is usually the case, I’m hoping that after all the other students’ posts are submitted, it will clear things up a bit. I must say that my personal favorite story for the week was the letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. while he was imprisoned in an Alabama jailhouse. I had never actually read this writing by MLK and it was very gripping. I knew he was a powerful speaker and it’s easy to see why. It would have been an exhilarating experience to have listened to him in person.

As we continue on to next week, we will be undertaking our second project and that is to write a Capstone. Initially, I wasn’t as worried about this project as I was the digital story, but my nerves are kicking in about it now. The hardest part for me as with many students is just finding the right topic. Once I have that, I’m hoping it will go smoothly from there. But, time will tell and time will also be running out!

Josh

Another Week Down

Another week has passed and brought us even closer to the start of our final projects. I’ve been doing some research on different possibilities for the digital story, but I’m just not sure if it’s exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. I’ve looked into volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club, The Youth Center, the local Humane Society, and Habitat for Humanity, just to name a few. There are plenty of charitable organizations in my area, but many of them are only looking for monetary donations. As for the others, many of them are looking for a longer term commitment and I’m unsure of how long we’re supposed to do this for. I also didn’t realize how strenuous it had become to volunteer your time at some of these places. I figured I could just walk in off the street and say that I wanted to help out and they would take me right in, but that’s not the case. There’s actually an application and interview process at many of these places and they don’t have to take you. This is where the problem with time may come in. If they can get a commitment from someone for six weeks and I can only give them three, then they will most likely choose the other person. I don’t know, maybe I’m looking at the wrong things here.

As for the readings and assignments for the week, well, they didn’t get any easier that’s for sure. There were some interesting stories. I especially enjoyed the “The Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli. His take on leadership was a little different than the norm I think, but he does bring up some valid points in his writing. This story brought up some good discussions in the forum and I enjoyed reading the other students’ thoughts on the matter. Aside from all of the things I learned this week, there was one in particular that really caught my attention. It was pointed out by a classmate and I just thought it was very interesting. John Wilkes Booth was present at Lincoln’s second inaugural address. I had absolutely no idea about that. I wonder if he was planning to do what he later did, but backed out. I guess we may never know the answer to that.

Josh