Learning Profile

An overall summary of the common themes I read in the text. The text was there for us to help better us. To help us fit into the world of college, but personally I didn't need to read the text. I was given this course the SECOND part of the semester, which in my opinion was stupid. I'm not saying the course was stupid, but having it the second 8 weeks when I've been pretty much orientated the first 8 weeks was quite dumb. The text though was interesting to read from time to time and should definately continue to use it, but in doing so then the book needs to be written in a way that catches a college students eye.
My strengths as a learner are many, but one in particular stands out and that is pay attention. You won't get far in the world without paying attention because everything is made up of directions and tests. How to get to a party, grocery list, watching for the mailman, etc. Life is made up of things we need to pay attention to. Things that come easy to me in activities is when we're able to talk to people. I have a way of talking to someone I don't even know and making them feel comfortable. For example, the community service activitiy was something where we all had to interact with one another and for some people that can be uncomfortable, but I was there to make people laugh and feel comfortable talking about the events. If you're new to this class then the best advice I can give you is to, again, PAY ATTENTION.
I don't necessisarly have weaknesses, but I do have one weakness that's my kryptonite and that is socializing. I can't help but talk to people and it's always hurt me in school. I've learned to control it for the most part though, but it's definately a weakness. Probably the biggest task I've done in this class would be this blog right here. I'm trying my best not to sound redundant.
In all honesty I didn't learn much from what I've already known when I entered the class. I didn't see the reason why this course was needed at the second 8 weeks of the semester and I know I've already stated this, but what is the point? The only thing I found enjoyable in the classes were the class activities we had and when we got to talk to one another. Another one of my favorite assignments we did was the career tests. I found that rather interesting to see how much money you can make with certain jobs. For instance, I realized that I could make probably the most money if I was a illustrator, which would be a job I love, but the only problem would be having deadlines that quick.
Personally, I thought that student connect wasn't really a good class. To me it seemed really unnecessary. I didn’t really learn anything new. The only good that came out of the class was to help us think about things that we normally wouldn’t have thought about. If you were to keep anything in this class I think that it should be the Academic Plan. Especially when we had to get on the Discover program and take the tests to help us figure out what kinds of careers we could be good at. Again, I also thought that the Community Service thing should be kept. College students tend to get wrapped up in things that are happening to them and people close to them. With the Community Service group discussion we talked about the problems that are happening with in our community and around the world. I definitely thought that if you are going to do the Butler Resources then you should change it in a way that makes students think a little more.
I don't really need to tell future students of the class anything because it's such an easy course. Basically you come in, listen to the teacher, do any assignment she has for the class, write a blog, and then you're done. So I really don't think new students to Student Connect need to be worried because it's a very simple class. You do need to be there for all the classes though because you never know what you're going to do and you could actually miss something important. Like the career test, the Presentation, or the community service activitity. Although I will say that you'll have more homework in this class than any of your other courses.
Honestly, things in my life really haven't changed that much. I have gotten better at writing things down that I need to remember so that it won’t be as easy for me to use the excuse of forgetting. I'm still going to interact in the same way with people as I did before this class. Trying to change us into better learners isn't something we should be doing. Let us figure it out, get us ready for the real world. Let us make the mistakes and learn from them because thats the best way to learn anything. We shouldn't try and change ourselves into something we don't want to be. You'll always hear, "If I did this or did that" and what better way of living then thinking about alternate situations in which you could have done. Being creative. This course had it's ups and downs, mostly downs, but to try and better someone can be somewhat of an insult. It's like using the phrase "sort of". It's just a filler. It doesn't really mean anything, but for certain things it sort of means everything. Like after, "I love you" or, "You're going to live" or, "It's a boy!" What I'm trying to say is that this course made me feel like I needed to be better. I felt like this course was saying, "You're good at learning, sort of."

Butler Resources

Pregnancy is a big step in someone's life and can change that persons life forever. Some good tips on what to do in that type of situation is to attend your local doctor and ask him what your options would be. Going by the health services could help you find out more information about anything on the pregnancy. If you wanted to speak to someone privately at Butler then you could always go speak with an advisor in the 600 building. Their more than welcome to speak to you about the matter. If you were wanting to research everything yourself then you could go to the library where Butler has a wide variety of books over pregnancy, or you could use the internet. Here are a couple websites to check out.

http://www.sbamh.com/
http://www.butlercc.edu/nixon_library/index.cfm

Academic Honesty

From reading most of the other student's blogs I'm noticing that most of them are saying cheating is wrong, but what I don't get is that each of them has most likely cheated in their lifetime. I know I have and quite frankly am ashamed I have done so in the past because looking back at the assignment, it wasn't that difficult. Plagiarism is a tough issue though in high school and in college. That is your work that someone else is using and calling their own. To some people plagiarism isn't bad at all. To some they think plagiarism is okay, but it's not and it needs to stop. Trust me, down the line when you actually put your own blood and sweat into a project, into studying, or into anything; it's 100% worth it. The gratification that comes along with finishing something YOU started is an outstanding feeling that no one should miss out on. Do the world a favor and don't plagiarize because you're not just hurting yourslef, but you're hurting the person who put there own work into it.

Here are some good websites to make you break those habits of looking off someone else's paper or using someone else's essay.
http://www.sfu.ca/policies/teaching/t10-02.htmhttp://www.sfu.ca/policies/teaching/t10-02.htm
http://web.grinnell.edu/writinglab/CitationGuides/achondiscuss.html
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html
http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm#suggestions

Academic Plan

My academic plan should be really easy, but it's not. After college I want to pursue acting, but that's not a for sure job. I've thought, and I've thought, and I've thought until I think I finally decided what I should major in. Ultimately I've decided I want to major in teaching and minor in theatre. In the end if I don't go places with my acting then I could teach it to young minds that need to be molded. At first I thought I could teach English because senior year in high school my English teacher made it so fun and enjoyable. I thought to myself, "Huh, now that would be fun to teach English like him." I realized I don't think I could because he's just too smart. So for the longest time I had no idea what I was going to do. I just figured that my acting would fly off and take me places, but I can't rely on that. I've even taken up stand-up comedy and that's definately a job you can't rely on! Here are five sites to go to incase you can't decide what to do.
http://www.butlercc.edu/educationdiv/index.cfm
http://www.emporia.edu/teach/
http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/academics/education.asp
http://www.education.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education

Don't slack and don't wait around forever for something to just come by. Go out and get whatever it is you want to do. It is your life afterall.

Community Service

What is Community service? Is it picking up trash that someone forgot to throw away? Is it helping some who is elderly cross the street? Or is it just letting someone take your spot in line? To me I think all these things are community service. The one thing I remember about helping my community was my senior year in high school. My drama teacher came to me and asked if I'd like to be in a play that dealt with the mentally challenged and having a mentally challenged uncle I didn't hesistate to say yes. It was a great experience for me. For about three to four weeks I was with different mentally challenged people and got to see they all had amazing talents. One in particular was a lady by the name of Lauren. She was blind and slightly deaf, but she could play the piano without using her thumbs. Now to some who don't know how to play the piano you'd think anyone can play without their thumbs, but really that's a key part of playing the piano. She also had perfect pitch. You could hit a note on the piano and she'd tell you it was a C note. I grew fond of her and not because she had an amazing talent, but because she had an amazing sense of humor. I couldn't believe someone who has gone through such hell could have such an amazing sense of humor. Seeing that made me want to be like her. Wanted me to just laugh things off and I've tried to work that into my life somehow. That experience was one to never forget.

Time Managment

For me lately I've been having trouble managing time. I'm so busy with school, work, and now a girlfriend. School is what really takes up most of my time though with the different classes I have and the different papers I must write before holiday break. I'm looking forward to the break and also looking forward to not taking as many credited hours next semester. As I get older it seems time starts going by rapidly. I remember when I was younger and things were so slow and how I wanted them to go by fast, but now that things are going by fast I don't want them to. I enjoy being able to let stuff sink in, but as we get older we can't afford that luxury. I just need to try and atleast get my associates out of the way so then I can focus on what I want to major in, which by the way I still haven't decided if I want to major in mass communications or become a drama teacher. Managing time sucks.

Coping with Change

It felt really awkward once I graduated high school and was pushed out into the real world. I wanted my senior year to feel as though it could last a lifetime, but in all honesty that's not realistic. I felt safe being in a school where everyone knew everyone and anyone could get along. The last couple weeks I couldn't help, but realize, "Wow...everything is changing so fast. So rapid." I couldn't believe how fast it went by and then how fast college approached. I thought entering college would be fun and exciting and it was for awhile, but now it's getting boring. I hardly know anyone here except for a select few from my high school. I guess when it all boils down to it is that I'm doing my best to cope with the change, but it could be better.