The Course Which Helped Me Get to Know America - Essay Example

Reflection This was a very informative and useful for me. It provided me with a detailed insight into the American Government and Politics. I learned the structure of American Government, the system used to elect people to different positions in the government, how often the elections are conducted, what are people’s perceptions about American Government and politics in general, and how the policies, laws, and regulations in one state influence those in the others. Before undertaking this course, I was totally unaware of the American Government. Now, that I have completed this course, I have sufficient understanding of it so much so that I can explain it to others. American government and politics are not very much related to my life as I am an international student in America. The influence of American government and politics on my life would have been more had I been a citizen of America. As of now, the biggest impact of American government on my life has been in terms of the rules and regulations I had to face while entering America, the process I went through for being granted a visa, and my rights within this country as an international student. However, I am happy to state that American government allows me freedom to express my opinions freely without fearing undue accountability for the same. The thing that has had the biggest impact on me in America is the attitude of people. Americans are different from people in other countries. Not that that look different; it is a behavior that they exhibit that makes them different. I find Americans to be open-minded and straight-forward. Most American friends that I have speak to-the-point, and don’t brag about things much. I have received a message to be as practical in my thoughts and approach as I can be. I believe the same attitude reflects in American politics also. Government makes such rules that it can implement also. I did not experience any significant issues. We met each other using Google Hang Out. In fact, the group members were very collaborative. I was fortunate to be placed in the same team that my friends were in. My friends and I worked according to a schedule and a time table. We established our goals and took responsibilities considering our strengths and weaknesses through mutual consensus. We kept shifting the leadership responsibility from one team member to another so that everybody would have a fair chance to lead at least once. Likewise, when the exams approached, we conducted group study. We helped each other out over the topics we knew better than the rest. Together, we were able to achieve complicated tasks with ease. Although it is not an issue, yet the kind of collaboration I achieved with my group may have an indirect connection with American government and politics. The American government encourages its citizens to be helpful towards each other and appreciate each other’s differences so that we can take optimal benefit of diversity. I could sense my friends displaying the same attitude. One of the etiquettes of advocacy that I learned was that we should seek the approval of the individual we are advocating. Without prior permission from the individual being advocated, our advice might not be welcomed. In fact, the individual being advocated might feel offended and think that we are trying to underestimate their own rational decision-making ability. Once the approval has been granted, we should give the individual the best and the most sincere advice we can. We should remember that later, we would be judged by the quality of advice we give. Also, what we preach to others has an impact on our own lives as well, so we should be honest and truthful in our advice. Service learning is a strategy of teaching and learning which integrates instruction and reflection with meaningful community service in order to enrich the experience of learning, and strengthen ties among the communities. One thing that impacted me a lot about service learning was the fact that it was one of the most practical methods of imparting learning and the learning thus acquired is long-lasting. Service learning helps identify the underlying problems and issues that the communities are dealing with. This optimizes their chance of being solved as they are brought to the attention of the concerned authorities. One thing about the course that aided my learning about the subject matter was detailed discussions and interactions with the students from a variety of cultural, regional, and ethnic backgrounds. I was not the only international student in the class. There were others also who had observed everything from the lens of their respective cultures. When we sat together for group discussions, we managed to understand the concepts with more depth because we shared our insights with each other. The topics covered in the course are integrally related to American government and politics. These topics are inherently strong and complex. The course can be made more enjoyable by conducting open discussions and critical analysis of the proceedings of the various governmental and political parties in the class. This will make the sessions very lively and criticism offered by students of one political party against other will lead to heated debates listening to which will reveal even more information about American government and politics. However, it will be a little difficult for the teacher to maintain discipline in the class with such heated debates going on. I did quite well in the class. As an international student, I was a bit disadvantaged compared to many others in the class who had been raised in America since childhood and thus had a deeper understanding of American government and political system. However, with the support and assistance of my friends and most importantly, of my teacher, I was able to grab the concepts quickly. I believe I did well in the class because my grades were good enough. Although some quizzes did not go very well, yet overall, taking all grades of assignments, quizzes, class tests, and exams into account, I can say that I did good enough. Once the course is over, I shall conduct a deep study and thorough analysis of American press and media to see if it is trying to manipulate the audience in any way into believing things that are not facts otherwise. Although my experience with the American friends has been very nice and the overall image of the American government and politics that I have formed so far is positive, yet I would like to check why many other countries are skeptical about the sincerity of America towards them. I would like to carry out research and form an independent opinion about American politics and its role in the international political and economic scenario. To achieve this, I shall listen to the mainstream American news channels like Fox and compare the news they deliver to what other channels have to say over those matters. I hope that my research will provide me with a greater insight into American government and politics and that the opinions I shall thus form will be based on facts. This was a great learning opportunity for me. I met some great people in this course and spent quality time with my friends. Undertaking this course also helped me overcome culture shock that I was experiencing since I had arrived in America. The more I interacted with the American friends, the more the culture made sense to me. Read More