This semester has been an exciting time for me, in ENGL 2111 and otherwise. But as for this class, it has been enlightening, challenging, and fun. I think that the most useful skill I honed in on over the course of this class was my ability to think critically.
Reading the literature throughout this class, a lot of which I was already familiar with, was about a lot more than just reading, listening to a lecture, and having a class discussion. Professor Hamon challenged me to think deeper about not only the literature, but how it applied to my own life.
Even more importantly than the application of this literature to my own life though, was the challenging of my own beliefs about the world around me, politics, morals, and so much more. The discussions in this class helped me realize how constant my state of change, learning, and evolution truly is, and that "mastery" of basically anything is almost a joke. I always considered myself open minded before, but now I am trying a little harder to really challenge where I picked up on the things that I think and why I hold a lot of the beliefs I hold. I don't necessarily think I am wrong about everything, but I now want to try a little harder to make sure my beliefs are truly my own and not just a product of the small amount of the world I have lived my life in.
Although the semesters tend to blur together, I think that a part of this class will be useful for me not only throughout the rest of my college career, but my life itself.
I really like your statement that "mastery of basically anything is almost a joke." Yes, there is always more to know about even the simplest things than we will ever have time to learn. It doesn't mean that we can't build a well-informed opinion, but it does mean that there is always more to learn. As an educator, I find that most promising. Thanks for being in my class. You made it better.
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