In an article titled, “Would You Be My Friendster?” by Andie Wuster, talks about how social networking expands the horizon of one’s connections, friends, experiences, lessons, communities, sights, knowledge of the world.
Read the article here: http://www.cathedralcatholic.org/facultyresources/242/34/Wurster%20Won’t%20You%20Be%20My%20Friendster.pdf
I think as we grow older, the more we absorb what we see and learn, the more we fail, the more we fall to get back up on our feet are all needed to continue to develop and grow into who you are.
I think we need to continue to expand our horizons. To great distances, to great lengths.
In school, about two of my classes has truly expanded my horizons.
My english and my broadcasting journalism class.
You would think the normal english class typically reads the assigned book, does monthly reading logs, vocab quiz every week, along with tests on grammar and the assigned book, maybe some book reports and all that great stuff.
Not in my english class, thank God.
What I do in these classes are in a sense similar except one’s obviously dedicated to literature while the other is intended for jounralism and anything to do with broadcasting.
However, it’s what we do that is similar. It’s what we do that has expanded my horizons.
In english, we are given DIY projects, it’s any project of our choice we chose to work on during the year. We are given Fridays to have our DIY time to work on it in class. Doing my project, which is podcasting has tauaght me a lot of experience especially since this project is more like a trial and error type of thing. It’s not on if I read my goal, but what I learnt from it, my mistakes. Also, english has taught me time management and group skills. How does that expand my horizons? Well, it can definitely be useful later for a job or juggling all work plus education. There’s always something due and you have to keep track of all the dates. You gotta be one step ahead of the game to get through this class in my opinion. It taught me to schedule things ahead, to not procrastinate and if I do so, that lags everything. For group skills, I work in tables in my class. When there’s discussions about books we’ve read or articles in class, you learn to open your ears but your mind as well. You have to be open about what other people have to say. It’s one of the ways to grow and continue to learn as a person. You gain something new all from a different person’s point of view. If that doesn’t expand anyone’es horizons, I’m not sure why it wouldn’t.
I honestly learn a lot of life skills in english. Like recently, learning that all the argumentative essays and analyzing of them have helped me to be a better argurer. Not just on paper, but as well as in person. Making claims and have evidence to back them up shows you know what you’re talking about versus no evidence. Like you wouldn’t listen to someone who has making up random facts and having nothing to base their opinions on, you would rather listen to someone who is arguing with actual evidence and well thought out claims. Everything is an argument and it wasn’t till english that I was taught that.
As for my broadcasting class, I’m taught time management as well. Since there’s deadlines for clips to be made, interviews to be done, etc. But my experience in my broadcasting has truly spread wide thanks to all the crazy stuff that no normal class would teach.
Things like editing with professional software, camera angles/shots, how to storyboard, video etiquette, collaborating with people who are in/out of your comfort zone, producing a video for your student body to watched to be informed as well as entertained. You learn to pick up so much in this class. Whether if it’s a small tip on editing the video to make the footage brighter or realizing that the right way to screw on a tripod head isn’t left loosey first but righty tighty.
You pick up these small, little bits of experience, lessons, knowledge and it adds up. It grows tremendously. It continues to expand and expand.
I learn to communicate, to reach out to my student body, to those who have a say and want their opinions voiced. I connect with my audience, I deliver their message. I am a student myself, it would only be right to gather what other students just like myself have to say.
I meet new people, I learn to work with others whom I never spoken a word till I met them in this class. Imagine to work with people you never even knew existed and to produce a clip for your entire school to watch.
My experiences have never been so grand. I never have appreciated them as much as I do now.
Just like social networking in Wurster’s article has expanded her horizons, so have these classes for me.
My horizon has never been so wide.
Best of all, it’s going to get even wider. -A
Smells Like Teen Spirit 