My Learning Experience - Essay Example

?Learning can be defined as a way through which people are able to grasp ideas and internalize them into their daily life. It does not occur at an instance but seems to be a continuous process. This leads to the perceived continuity in the learning process over one’s entire life. Learning experiences present themselves to people in everyday activities through the things they engage in. We encounter different situations in the course of our daily chores helping us learn without our realization. Once one reflects on the occurrences in his/her past life, one can be able to analyze the learning experiences in his life, and appreciate those moments. Throughout the academic semester, for example, I have been able to learn numerous things which have enriched my life immensely. Though some occurred subconsciously, others were instigated by the class assignments I undertook. The English class has offered me numerous opportunities to improve my life through the learning experience. The exchange of materials written by myself and others has profoundly enhanced my perspective of sharing. Sharing can be used as a way of analyzing oneself to find the strengths and weaknesses that exist. Finding the weaknesses in oneself can be an extremely difficult task to achieve. Through the criticism, and comments of other people on can be able to analyze himself or herself in a very objective manner. Objectivity in analyzing oneself reduces the probability of becoming paranoid. Critical analysis of oneself can make an individual substantially appreciate the positive and negative comments made by others concerning ones personality or activity. Throughout the semester, I have been exchanging my articles with other students so that they can present to me their views on the articles. The criticisms I received from my colleagues have been essential in developing my writing ability. New ideas have come to my attention through the reviews offered by friends concerning my writing. I have also been able to offer my reviews of others’ style of writing. Through reading their articles, I have been able to get their line of thoughts. This has helped develop my own ability to generate ideas presented in articles I normally write. While interviewing one of my friends called Gideon Park, I came across an intriguing issue which he raised. He believed that structures for essays limited the ideas and creativity for a writer. He believed that the writer at high school level should not be limited to the structure of essay, they should be allowed to write about the topic issued without being restricted by the structures. The issues raised by my friend helped open up my mind. I realized that the issues should be addressed comprehensively to achieve improved creativity of writers. The creativity of writers should be utilized by allowing them to write in their own style. This can also create new writing styles in the English comprehension. Development of the English language can be immensely enhanced by the liberalization of writing styles. Through this discussion, I learnt that, at the university level, this restriction to essay structures was minimal (Tomasello, pg 16). Professors showed more liberalization in the marking of English assignments they issued than teachers in high schools. Writers were allowed to follow a style of their own liking as long as they handled the topic comprehensively. Professors mark the quality of writing and not the structure as it was the case in high schools. I have been able to interact with people from different places in the world and learn their ways of life. I have realized that the American culture does not only comprise of American. The culture can be termed as a global one since there are extremely many people living in America who are not natives in the country. The effects of increased immigration and emigration have caused people to interact and share cultures. I have been able to learn that the outcome of these interactions has been the phenomenon described as globalization (Bhagwati, pg 156). The effects of globalization have not been only experienced at the cultural level. Individuals have also experienced globalization and adopted foreign practices and behaviors. Upon learning about globalization, I conducted a personal assessment to determine how globalization has affected me in person. I discovered that my knowledge of other people’s cultures had immensely increased, and my conscience became clear concerning cultural differences. Not only did I analyze the effects of globalization in my life, I wrote an article about the same as my third formal writing assignment. Through my writing, I shared my experiences of globalization with the readers of my articles. Globalization in an individual is displayed by the change of behaviors, attitude and other personality trait (Sheila, pg 15). This a discovered as opposed to the populist view that a global citizen is one who is widely travelled across the globe or possesses extensive knowledge of numerous places. Though the American culture is globalised, this has been achieved through a past which is not impressive as the present shows. In the olden days, matters of human rights were not taken seriously within the American culture. I was able to learn about the struggle for human rights instigated by the 16th American president, Abraham Lincoln. During my research on writing materials for a paper on human rights, (Cullen pg 211) I learnt of how some right were denied to on racial grounds. Women were not allowed to vote in the American system. Different level of standards was applied when it came to individual rights. The government considered human rights to be innate to people because they were human beings. Other rights, though, were to be offered to the people by the government. In this case, the government did not see the need to give women the right to cast votes. In relation to this issue I also learnt about the deeds of Susan B Anthony, who is considered to be the champion campaigner for women to be granted the right to vote (Lutz, p 140). I learnt that this woman dedicated her entire life towards fighting for the right of women to be allowed to vote. Though she fought hard for these rights, she had died when the amendment leading to granting of these rights was made in 1920. Other than the rights for women to vote, I have learnt about the plight of the black people living in America. I learnt that there was an enormous struggle caused by the desire for black power (Carmichael, et al pg 267). In the mid of the 20th century, the black people were characterized by numerous, serious problems. Among the common problems were poverty and low pay for the working black people. Uprisings occurred supported by the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. The party became extremely popular in the 1960s because the problems it was seeking to enlighten were escalating. The rebellions intensified causing the ruling parties to take action. Decisions were made with the aim of mitigating these uprisings. This led to the development of civil rights and their inclusion in the American constitution (Brown, pg 69). I have been able to critical understand the role these struggles played in the birth of the civil rights act. I have been able to write numerous articles concerning each one of the issues I learnt. These issues have helped develop my writing skills and be able to write about various topics. I have become accomplished as a writer by being able to write about many topics. I hope to integrate the things that I have learnt this semester into my future writing career. Since I’m in possession knowledge on various topics, I hope to be able to write in an improved manner in the future. My creativity in writing has been immensely improved as a result of writing and reading on various topics. The reviews I have done of other people’s work have played a significant role in establishing me as a writer. Works Cited Bhagwati Jagdish. In Defense of Globalization. New York. Oxford University Press. 2004. Brown, Scot. Fighting for US: Maulana Karenga, the US Organization, and Black Cultural Nationalism, NYU Press, New York, 2003. Carmichael, Stokely. Hamilton, Charles V.: Black Power. The Politics of Liberation in America, Vintage, New York, 1967. Cullen, Jim. The American dream: a short history of an idea that shaped a nation, Oxford University Press US, 2004 Lutz, Alma. Susan B. Anthony - Rebel, Crusader, Humanitarian, Fili-Quarian Classics, (2010). Sheila, Croucher. Globalization and Belonging: The Politics of Identity in a Changing World. Rowman & Littlefield. 2004. Tomasello, M. Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition. Harvard University Press, 2003. Read More