Reflection Analysis

No one is a perfect human being. We all make mistakes and we all have areas in which we can improve. Throughout of the course of COMS 130, I have learned how to effectively give introductory, informative, and persuasive speeches. There are areas I personally succeeded at and areas where I could use some improvement. It’s important to reflect on our past experiences to better our future ones. I will reflect on my strengths and weaknesses in my speeches, concepts such as the speaker-audience relationship or deliberating in good faith, and how these skills will aid me outside of classroom situations.

                       In the short story “A Retrieved Reformation” by O.Henry talks about many things. For example: Honesty is the best policy, love can change everything, or even sometimes you need to sacrifice yourself so the ones you love can be happy. But something the stuck out from the story was no matter what you do, you can’t change that past. What this is basically saying is that if you do something you regret, you can’t turn back time and change what already has happened, and it’s true. What you as the reader will read next is that the author O.Henry gives explicit detail on what Jimmy Valentine has done in his past and can’t undo.

The story I would like to tell involves how I dealt with a difficult situation which continues to shape how I approach problems in my life. The story starts when I was in grade school and involves problems with reading and comprehension. Although I excelled at math and other subjects I really had problems with my reading and writing skills. During this time I felt I lacked the ability to excel in this subject. Throughout elementary school I was assigned to an adult tutor who spent time with me every day during school to help me with this challenge. I wasn't the only student in my class with this hurdle to overcome but I felt like I was alone. To help me improve I was given homework assignments that I was to complete with my parents. Through a lot of hard work, trial and error, and patience, my reading began to improve. By the time I reached fifth grade I was reading at the targeted grade level. However, I wanted to exceed even more and by the time I entered middle school I was one of the top readers in my class.

Of all the topics covered thus far in my coursework at National University, I found the readings in differentiated education to be of the greatest practical value. This is because I teach middle school in a school where learning-disabled students are included in regular classes. In my classroom, I employ various Google products (Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, Classroom, and associated add-ons including Easy Bib, Speech Recognition, Select and Speak, etc). I also use SeeSaw (where students create digital journals) and Adobe Spark (which allows students to make educational videos) to help me with differentiation. Through trial and error, I have found these technological products invaluable as assistants for teaching learning disabled (and gifted) students. The material in this unit gives me the theoretical understanding and guidance I need to better differentiate instruction across the curriculum, with or without the use of technology.

In Cantonese, the concept of reading is synonymous with learning. So much so that without any context, the phrase “duk syu” can take on either definition: my parents could use the phrase to ask about what “books I am studying”, and at the same time, my aunt could use the same two words to talk about “attending university”. As a young child when asked by my grandmother how I was doing in school, the phrase “duk syu” would immediately bring in the mental image of reading a book although I knew she was asking about school in general -- reading and learning have always just been that intertwined in my subconscious. But more than just learning -- reading has without a doubt facilitated the plain acquisition of knowledge -- reading has also promoted a deeper kind of learning: my growth as a person.

Growing up as a middle class white male, I was afforded the privilege to be ignorant of discriminatory practices in relation to race and student achievement. Being white, did not limit my achievements as a student. Only upon reading the textbook and reflection upon my life do I now see that although my academic achievements were not affected by skin color, they were affected by the institutionalized racism of the curriculum. Upon this reflection, I also noticed that there were several ways in which students of another race were affected by their race that I was fortunate to avoid.

At the beginning of this semester, I was very uneducated when it came to writing. I was unsure of how to write essays, summaries, or reading responses because of the lack of writing I have had in high school. Since it was this way, I was very nervous when I started this class and was not sure how well I would do. Now it is the end of the year and I feel that I have improved my writing skills in a tremendous way.

One of the most recognizable characteristics throughout the tutor sessions was how interactive each meeting was. In terms of tutoring and mentoring, I find that the interaction between individuals is among the most important determinants of how well the student progresses academically. This is one of the main factors I attempted to implement to the best of my ability during each session. Whether Janee and I were working on researching a Golden Age in America for social studies or calculating proportions for mathematics, the facilitative role I served as a tutor and mentor promoted discussion-based sessions, as we completed the assignments as team players. Furthermore, the supportive role I served and the service executed greatly promoted her ability to build a sense of willpower and learning, one that encouraged a "can-do" spirit. Over time, Janee gradually developed a willingness and desire to take the lead during the sessions. Over time, she required less assistance and would complete the assignments prior to our meeting. For example, for her "Literacy for Life" class, students are provided an opportunity to earn extra credit for formulating sentences that utilize a 12th grade vocabulary word. Janee would often complete the sentences and request my feedback to determine if the sentences are acceptable. The same occurred for her science homework at discussed types of energy, such as kinetic and potential energy. The assigned packet each class was mostly completed, for which

My contribution to this class, English 101, in my opinion is a lot. I always try my best when in the classroom and out of the classroom. While I'm in class if I'm every asked a question I always answer it to the best of my ability. Also, if I'm in class and a question is openly asked I always try to answer it. I don’t answer all the questions because I necessarily want to, I answer them because most of the other students in the class don’t. I am really proud of myself when it comes to this class. I always work hard and do my best. English by far is not my best subject but, I try my best and that’s why I believe I've done good. I turn in all of the work on time, I always read the chapters from They Say/ I Say and do well on my reading quizzes. Also, on my first paper "The Conjuring Movie Trailer" (Gladden) I think I did very good on. I feel that my thesis statement was well thought out and developed (Gladden 1). I learned so far, this semester a strong understand of rhetorical appeals and how to apply them to essays. Also, I have never missed an English class and I think this plays a huge role in my success in English 101 thus far. Coming to class everyday I'm supposed to helped me get everything turned in on time and it also helped make sure I understood everything and if I ever had a question it was answered. Between my peers and professor, I never left the classroom confused or wandering. My success in this class is not just from my hard work but also, the patience and

In 2017, it seems engagement in controversial discourse is the ultimate taboo. In fear of offending others, youth avoid discussions of religion, political opinions, and economic problems altogether. Or, in contrast, discussions of these topics turn hostile and have to be extinguished in the classroom. The result of this problem is that many young people do not know what they truly think about controversial topics, and a generation of apathetic thinkers that never go beyond the mainstream media for their opinions is produced. A society without individual core beliefs and values cannot function as a democratic republic.

In the 2015-2016 school year, I taught one section of a 6th grade gifted course. I was new to the curriculum, the course, and the activities that we were doing. Prior to the start of that year, there was a couple of 60 in 60 sessions which were designed to expose us to a number of different new technologies. Being interested in technology, I picked up a couple of ideas, like Sway, Edpuzzle, and Nearpod and tried to incorporate them into the new lessons I was trying to teach. However, by being a novice to the course, there was no continuity to the technology in the activities that we completed. Throughout the course, I taught the 8 steps to the research process as students worked to complete a more focused, centered approach to

Throughout the school year I have tended to repeat the same mistake. In the beginning, I fell into plot summary syndrome. This was displayed in my October Sky literary analysis, and my All Quiet comparative literature paper. However, I was able to pin point the reason for this, I kept over thinking my ideas for analysis. I wouldn’t write down the actual ideas I had because I scared they would be wrong so I tried to play safe and summarize points I already made, or those explicitly stated in the book. I think I have improved, but I hope to continue to be conscious of this in the future. Another mistake that I had in the beginning of the year was my issue with organization. In earlier grades I was taught the hamburger model along with many

Overall, I really enjoyed this course because it connected history, a topic I love, with current events. I loved being able to turn on the news and be able to follow the political discourse because of topics I learned in class. Whether is was an action Trump took that violated Supreme Court cases, or the debate over appointments by Trump, I was able to follow the news easily because of this class. Additionally, I was very excited when we would mention current event in class because I could easily see the connections. For example was excited to re-watch the RNC and DNC because I look back with a more critical eye behind the electoral process. Due to the interesting topic in this class, I am considering continuing my study of government into

My view of inclusion has become stronger since the beginning of this course. This course has helped me put into words, what I have been feeling for quite a while. The idea and the concept of inclusion was identified and defined. It has helped me realize that inclusion is a lifestyle that must be chosen by advocates of individuals with disabilities. Inclusion is not a privilege, but a right, to all individuals with disabilities. That right is not just in the classroom, but in society as well.

Dr. Stephen T. Russell is the Priscilla Pond Flawn Regends Professor in Child Development in the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Human Development and Family Sciences. Among Russell’s other credentials, he is an expert on LGBTQ youth with a concentration in their health and rights (personal communication, September 22, 2017). He presented at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education on his research pertaining to LGBTQ youth health and resilience on September 22, 2017. This talk was sponsored by Youth-Nex, which is a center at the Curry School of Education that works to promote effective youth development (“About Youth-Nex,” 2017), and the University of Virginia Department of Women, Gender, and