This blog represents the collaborative efforts of a writing professor and his students at the University of Denver, as they reflect on their experiences reading, thinking, and writing about illness, service-learning, and the public good.
So this is my last post, I’ll try to make what follows something profound and inspirational. After looking over most of my responses and those of my fellow classmates, I am impressed with the sheer amount of material we produced. Each blog and all their associated responses are intricate and explore areas of thought that we may not have had the chance to encounter while in class. Following my own interests I am drawn to a particular comment I made at the beginning of the quarter:
“By studying AIDS in the manner we have, I feel like I have finally adjusted my lens (to continue the metaphor) to see illness in a more individual light. My focus has not been on the numbers or the effects of the epidemic on millions but rather what an illness does to one person at a time. I can’t say, at this point, if this new viewpoint is a change I admire or even one I will continue; however, I do realize that gaining a new perspective is always helpful to better understanding myself and how I fit in the world.”
I doubt this says anything profound to any reader other than myself but I see this comment as incredibly poignant in regards to my current attitude. If I have taken anything from this class and these blogs it is that there are always new perspectives to be explored. I would never have assumed my use of language surrounding illness could potentially be detrimental to others. Less specifically, each comment I read from a classmate was another chance to discover a new perspective that I may not have considered myself. These posts allow us to solidify and preserve our own thoughts, place them beside the ideas of others and read product as one piece. The value of this could certainly be explored more thoroughly, but I certainly feel this method is more permanent than traditional class discussion and is more rewarding as a result. While a discussion may be enlightening, these posts preserve our ideas so that we can reflect upon them and have the opportunity to learn a second time.
1 comment:
So this is my last post, I’ll try to make what follows something profound and inspirational. After looking over most of my responses and those of my fellow classmates, I am impressed with the sheer amount of material we produced. Each blog and all their associated responses are intricate and explore areas of thought that we may not have had the chance to encounter while in class. Following my own interests I am drawn to a particular comment I made at the beginning of the quarter:
“By studying AIDS in the manner we have, I feel like I have finally adjusted my lens (to continue the metaphor) to see illness in a more individual light. My focus has not been on the numbers or the effects of the epidemic on millions but rather what an illness does to one person at a time. I can’t say, at this point, if this new viewpoint is a change I admire or even one I will continue; however, I do realize that gaining a new perspective is always helpful to better understanding myself and how I fit in the world.”
I doubt this says anything profound to any reader other than myself but I see this comment as incredibly poignant in regards to my current attitude. If I have taken anything from this class and these blogs it is that there are always new perspectives to be explored. I would never have assumed my use of language surrounding illness could potentially be detrimental to others. Less specifically, each comment I read from a classmate was another chance to discover a new perspective that I may not have considered myself. These posts allow us to solidify and preserve our own thoughts, place them beside the ideas of others and read product as one piece. The value of this could certainly be explored more thoroughly, but I certainly feel this method is more permanent than traditional class discussion and is more rewarding as a result. While a discussion may be enlightening, these posts preserve our ideas so that we can reflect upon them and have the opportunity to learn a second time.
Post a Comment