Week 13 Conclusion - One last Blog Post
Hi everyone!
I can't believe I am writing my last blog post for this term. Keeping with my consistency throughout this term, I think it is only fitting that I am writing this at 11 pm :) and I am very sorry in advance for you reading this so late Daniel! I want to start off by using this post as a chance to thank both Jon and Daniel for all of their incredible help, support and teaching this term. Every week this term I got to attend a lecture where Jon would welcome us to the class with music and a smile. We got to learn even more about the book we had read in a way that was not stressful or a test. Last week we were lucky to get to learn from Daniel and I really appreciated that as his responses to our blogs are always very timely, interesting and supportive, so it was great to have a lecture taught by him! In university our understanding is almost always measured with a test or a rubric, and I truly cannot express how much I appreciate that this was not the case for SPAN 312.
I remember being very nervous in the first few classes, as I’m very shy and I don't like raising my hand. I often have a moment of panic where I consider raising my hand, and ultimately stress out too much to actually do it (which Jon has somehow picked up on and sometimes tends to call on me when I slightly move my elbow). Although I didn't speak in class as much as I would've liked, I never felt like I was missing out. I was always learning, whether that was from Daniel's response on my blog posts, Jons lectures or the discussions of my classmates. Overall, I just feel like this class was a very safe and fun space to learn about Latin Literature and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. In my three years of university I have learned that a class is very heavily dependent on the professor (as well as the TA) and I think that serves true with this class.
In terms of the content of the course, I never would say it but looking back at it now, I actually enjoyed reading one book each week. Reading the books was a time where I could either set aside for myself, often late at night after a long day, or a time where Daisy, Jordan and I would go and sit in the sun and read allowed to each other. One of my favorites that we read this term was 100 years of solitude and for some reason Mama Blanca has really stuck with me. I’ve found that when you read a book each week and write about it, there are main themes and styles of those books that stick with me. You get into a rhythm of analysis and what I think makes the biggest difference is that you get to choose what you want to write about. Some weeks i'd write about the general plot and how I felt about the book, and other weeks I'd write about one sentence or one theme that I couldn't stop thinking about, and I think I will have that system of analysis for a long time to come. I hope that I'm able to take more courses like this in the future and I do hope that more professors consider a course format like what Jon and Daniel have achieved, because it is truly a breath of fresh air for many university students.
My final question for you all is very simple but I'd love to know, how did the structure of this impact your learning of the course content?
Thank you again!
Thanks to all of you for the opportunity to chat "in real time" with me! It was an honor to read your blogposts and get to know what you think about the texts (and about many other things). You and your classmates have taught me a lot, and I really appreciate your participation in class, Elisabeth. I love knowing that you, Jordan, and Daisy were meeting to read together... and I hope you continue in the future in other SPAN classes. For me this course has been a very pleasant experience. Thanks for your kind words!
ReplyDeleteHi, Elisabeth ☺︎
ReplyDeleteThank you for all the blog posts over the past four months! I still remember how confused we all were on the first day of class, wondering what it meant to sign a contract with Jon HAHA
I like the idea that we all set goals and read the book to achieve that grade. I also liked the 400-500 word blog posts instead of the 2000 word analysis papers. I never felt any pressure from the course content, except that every Monday at 11pm, I would start rushing to revise my paper. You are just like me, Elizabeth! I am a night person, so I am sorry to Daniel to kept you awake! Absolutely SPAN312C is one of my favorite literature in terms of book selection and contracts!
Hello, I completely agree with you that this course provided a safe and fun space for learning about Latin American literature! Honestly, I was initially quite intimidated by the amount of reading and the in-class discussions, as I'm not an avid reader and I'm quite timid. However, I quickly got into the swing of things and felt at ease sharing my ideas, thanks to the supportive atmosphere created by our fellow classmates, Jon, and Daniel. As for your question, I definitely think that the contract definitely helps me a lot in holding myself accountable for the weekly readings, reflections, and in-class discussions, which makes learning more enjoyable through the establishing a habit.
ReplyDeleteHi Elisabeth! Thanks for your great post! I totally agree with you about how this class never made me feel as though I was missing out. I am also pretty shy so I was scared to talk in front of the whole class. However, I always felt like I was able to share my thoughts in different ways and still be interacting with the others in the class, such as through my blog post or in the small group discussions. To answer your question, the choose your own adventure structure really took the pressure off me to think about what I needed to do to "get the grade I want" and instead allowed me to focus on actually engaging with the literature, not being afraid if I had a "wrong" interpretation. I also think having a book per week allowed me to really improve my skills for comparing common themes between literature and start to pick out details that I would generally miss if I was just trying to write the best essay or study for a test. Overall, I really enjoyed the structure of this class! Thanks again for your post!!
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth! Such lovely comments about the semester and always being greeted with smiles and music. “You get into the rhythm of analysis” - I feel the same way! It definitely took some real effort but it was not as daunting as I thought it would be.
ReplyDeleteI think you highlight a really important point about the class feeling like a safe space while also being engaging. I found the environment and discussion-based structure of the course made our classes more interactive and conducive to participation. Also, the contract grading part of the course structure is a really great idea. Even though the workload seamed relatively heavy, the fact that we were able to choose which weeks to opt into made it more manageable to schedule and accomplish. I think university would have been a more interesting experience if more courses were structured in more creative ways like this.
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