So, it seems that the class is doing a nice job of keeping up with/participating in the blogs. I'm not going to lie, though, I'm actually surprised that some of you are bashing my class (especially so early in the semester). US 1100 is designed to help meet the transitional needs of new Texas State students. It encourages reflection and development of strategies for life-long education. You can actually read all of the objectives for the course on either the syllabus or the University Seminar website.
Through focus groups and research, many new students complain or state that they don't see the value of this class at first. Then, 2 years later, when surveyed as juniors, they are able to reflect and articulate why they felt it was necessary in their development and how they value the learning experiences they had from their course.
I would also say that after you talk to some of your other friends taking other sections of this course, you will find that I do not constantly require lengthy written assignments (like some of them might be responsible for submitting). Through blogging and writing up the reflections from your experiential activities and your autobiography assignment, I feel that you meet the written requirement for this course. I also find value in learning-by-doing, thus the boat tour gives the opportunity to learn more about your local community, other programs on campus, where your water comes from, etc. It is not a waste of time. (grrrr) In addition, the reason we made wallets out of duct tape last semester was to do one hands-on activity where students could learn that they could reuse or make things out of items they might have around the house. In the "No Impact Man" book, the goal was not to purchase anything new. My goal with the lesson, was to help students think about how they could creatively make something practical that they might use. Many students enjoyed the activity. Some did not. That happens.
With all of that being said, I would like this blog to be a reflection of your experiences throughout the semester both positive and negative. If you don't agree with something I say in class or that one of your peers says, feel free to discuss. I'd prefer that you not use this as a forum to be negative about this class overall. I really don't feel that is productive.
In case my first post was one of the "Bashers" you were talking about, I just wanted to let you know that it was not intended that way. I can see how it might have been misunderstood. The idea behind my original post was to say that I had the attitude that it was a waste of time. I decided to change my attitude and have fun with it and see what happens. It was not to bash on you or US1100. I fell into the group you mentioned in your post "Through focus groups and research, many new students complain or state that they don't see the value of this class at first" I had already changed my opinion on it being a waste of time before our second class. Just wanted to send you this kinda long (sorry lol) explaination of why I posted what I did. I have since removed my post and put up a new one.
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