Day One Assignment

My name is Lauren Shafford, and I am a transfer student from UT San Antonio, but I’ve lived in Austin my entire life. I still haven’t quite decided what I want to major in but I’m finishing my core classes this semester so I hope I’ll be able to sort it out by the time registration rolls around. Right now I am officially a psychology major. I’ve never really heard the term “speculative fiction” before, but I imagine that it is along the lines of a ‘what if’ hypothetical scenario, like if such-and-such happens, or continues to happen, this could arguable be the outcome. Feminism is a term I have heard before, however, though in many contexts. While some see it as the empowering of women over men, or the idea that there shouldn’t be such harsh or absurd stereotypes and judgments against and about women in the media and in real life, I see it as more of a social justice issue. It’s not right to make judgments on anyone based solely on gender, race, culture, or lifestyle. There are many groups affected by inequality, and women are one of those groups. As far as science goes, people are pretty much the same on the inside anyway, so shouldn’t they be treated equally on the outside?

What makes a class more effective cannot be pinpointed to a single criteria. There must be an active effort coming from all sides. If the students do not care about a class, they simply will not learn, no matter the teacher. If the students have a desire to learn, but the teacher either does not enjoy teaching or is disinterested, they cannot communicate the lesson effectively, rendering any lesson incomprehensible. Active and positive communication between instructor and student is the basic starting point for a good learning environment, but as we discussed in class, there are many other factors too, such as feedback, the way the subject is taught, a sound environment, and judgement-free communication. These all lead to a willingness to participate on both sides, and hopefully though the lesson and the classroom experience, new ideas and ways of thinking will flow through the classroom and give each individual a new way of looking at a subject or problem, which is just as good as or perhaps better than just learning the subject itself.


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