Final Reflective Post
Dear Past Self,
I want you to know how far you have come since the beginning of freshman year, and even last semester, as a writer, presenter, and person. From freshman year, you were terrified of showing your work and letting teachers use your written work as examples to the class. You were shy and embarrassed of your writing, for what? I have no idea even now. However, you are not that same person anymore. You enjoy writing and sharing with others the pride you have for your work. You most defiantly strive and earn your grades.
I admire the picture above for numerous of reasons. When I saw it; I right away thought of myself. I know past self never valued the writer in her openly, but secretly she always did. This semester you have learned so much within yourself. I can honestly describe my growth as a writer as a; caterpillar throughout its stages into transitioning into a butterfly. To succeed in this class, revising, being prepared, training, communication, time management and PARTICIPATION is key. I felt that I learned pretty quickly my freshman year that revising and revising often was very important and effective because a last minute rush paper is never the way to go. Being prepared comes with revising and being attentive. Being prepared means being open to sharing with your classmates, helping them, and to give them or your teacher your full attention. I felt that before I always had someone that I knew in the same writing class as me so I never hesitated for them to review my writing. But, this semester, I knew no-one, and having Dr. Kyburz before, I knew I would have to share. At first it was a bit awkward just asking someone to actually care about your paper enough to review and mark any errors, or give me honest critique. However, a paper that helped me get out of that shell of being shy to share with strangers was our narrative project. Our narrative had to be based on why we chose to go into law enforcement. It could of been one specific story of multiple of ones. I received a perfect score on my narrative and I was thrilled about it. I felt honored and with pride to share with my classmates, hoping it could help them in any way. With this specific project I also learned the value of semicolons! I never knew the importance or significance before but, oh boy are they important! I caught myself knowing when to use them and maybe overusing it a bit!
I felt that in the beginning of this class, we all struggle to help one another and be open to each other. Throughout the semester, from doing group projects; I saw the huge difference from just writing a standard 5-7 page paper individually. I felt that we all grew as a class, which will benefit our professional training. It took a while for the class to get comfortable to each other but once we did; I felt like we finally understood the concept that if we want to go into this field; we have to be comfortable with presenting to other people and more than likely, superior roles. I felt that I was always good with time management but with everything that I did this semester I truly value time and actually KNOW how much time there is in a day. I am truly proud of myself for getting through this semester. Participation was something that I felt that everyone struggled in the class, so I felt that I had to be that person to always answer questions, share their thoughts, and overall just be active. I felt that I was consistent with participation, but it overall increased throughout the semester. I was truly truly proud at myself for how successful mock trials went. I didn't think I could give that type of performance; I didn't even stick to the scrip; I was just "acting" within the moment and really focused on the suspect and just tried to bounce back right away after she gave her answers. I didn't want to drag to ask questions so I felt that it came natural to me. The questions were prepared before our performance but I noticed myself naturally going along with the story that the suspect was feeding. Our report for this project was very well done with everyone taking in leading up to our performance. Everyone showed effort and interest in giving a show!
The grading scale for this class was fair and just! Every project was worth 100 points with participation and the "genres of LE writing" group project being worth 200 points. I felt through the genres of LE writing powerpoint I got a feel of what types of reports there are in the criminal justice system, but I truly understood the difference when we took part in our exercises and quizzes through the textbook, and our first group report project! The textbook was informative and touch based on things I knew already but when we had to examine a clip of non-fiction videos and type up a report; I really looked into the four types of reports. In my last post, I touch base on every report and the importance of their differences. We had to carefully examine the scene multiple of times and act as if we were the officers in the video. I felt that my group worked extremely well together as we always do! I felt that Richard, Tim, and I clicked very easily which showed in our final work. Through analyzing clips and typing up a report, I felt that we learned to closely review the scene and ask questions that would need to be ask if we were actually on sight. We supplied evidence to support reasons for the arrest and how to balance reason, emotion, and authority. Law enforcement is no joke, one will have to learn to separate emotions with reason and authority for what's best for the people. These video projects truly leave us articulating complex thoughts. What's best for the victim and suspect? If an arrest is to be followed what will benefit them to better themselves? What is the arrest for? Do you have evidence and sources? Did you include reason or probable cause? Did your report include any dialogue presented in the clip? What was your discovery? Ability to explore beyond the video and much more comes into play. I cannot emphasis enough on your report; it must be perfection because it leaves an impression of you and your work ethic.
Overall this class took awhile to pick up because of the effort put in by students but I truly felt that it ended on a strong note. I know I advanced as a writer, push myself to reach and offer help, create bonds with students, and value my work. I value the writer in me.
Yours truly,
Tatyana Gonzalez
I want you to know how far you have come since the beginning of freshman year, and even last semester, as a writer, presenter, and person. From freshman year, you were terrified of showing your work and letting teachers use your written work as examples to the class. You were shy and embarrassed of your writing, for what? I have no idea even now. However, you are not that same person anymore. You enjoy writing and sharing with others the pride you have for your work. You most defiantly strive and earn your grades.
I felt that in the beginning of this class, we all struggle to help one another and be open to each other. Throughout the semester, from doing group projects; I saw the huge difference from just writing a standard 5-7 page paper individually. I felt that we all grew as a class, which will benefit our professional training. It took a while for the class to get comfortable to each other but once we did; I felt like we finally understood the concept that if we want to go into this field; we have to be comfortable with presenting to other people and more than likely, superior roles. I felt that I was always good with time management but with everything that I did this semester I truly value time and actually KNOW how much time there is in a day. I am truly proud of myself for getting through this semester. Participation was something that I felt that everyone struggled in the class, so I felt that I had to be that person to always answer questions, share their thoughts, and overall just be active. I felt that I was consistent with participation, but it overall increased throughout the semester. I was truly truly proud at myself for how successful mock trials went. I didn't think I could give that type of performance; I didn't even stick to the scrip; I was just "acting" within the moment and really focused on the suspect and just tried to bounce back right away after she gave her answers. I didn't want to drag to ask questions so I felt that it came natural to me. The questions were prepared before our performance but I noticed myself naturally going along with the story that the suspect was feeding. Our report for this project was very well done with everyone taking in leading up to our performance. Everyone showed effort and interest in giving a show!
The grading scale for this class was fair and just! Every project was worth 100 points with participation and the "genres of LE writing" group project being worth 200 points. I felt through the genres of LE writing powerpoint I got a feel of what types of reports there are in the criminal justice system, but I truly understood the difference when we took part in our exercises and quizzes through the textbook, and our first group report project! The textbook was informative and touch based on things I knew already but when we had to examine a clip of non-fiction videos and type up a report; I really looked into the four types of reports. In my last post, I touch base on every report and the importance of their differences. We had to carefully examine the scene multiple of times and act as if we were the officers in the video. I felt that my group worked extremely well together as we always do! I felt that Richard, Tim, and I clicked very easily which showed in our final work. Through analyzing clips and typing up a report, I felt that we learned to closely review the scene and ask questions that would need to be ask if we were actually on sight. We supplied evidence to support reasons for the arrest and how to balance reason, emotion, and authority. Law enforcement is no joke, one will have to learn to separate emotions with reason and authority for what's best for the people. These video projects truly leave us articulating complex thoughts. What's best for the victim and suspect? If an arrest is to be followed what will benefit them to better themselves? What is the arrest for? Do you have evidence and sources? Did you include reason or probable cause? Did your report include any dialogue presented in the clip? What was your discovery? Ability to explore beyond the video and much more comes into play. I cannot emphasis enough on your report; it must be perfection because it leaves an impression of you and your work ethic.
Overall this class took awhile to pick up because of the effort put in by students but I truly felt that it ended on a strong note. I know I advanced as a writer, push myself to reach and offer help, create bonds with students, and value my work. I value the writer in me.
Yours truly,
Tatyana Gonzalez
Well, darn it, it worked! Of course, you're such a talented and willing student. I've been so grateful to have been a part of your education, Tatyana. I appreciate this thoughtful reflection!
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