Hi, everyone!
To wrap up the class for our final blog week, I'd like to ask you about the class as a whole. What did you learn/gain from this course? What text or film did you like best/least? What did you like best overall? Least? Would you change anything about this class?
Have at it! :)
I think the biggest thing I gained from this class was just a better understanding of What a rite of passage is and how it applies to an individual and society. but more importantly, it made me look at my life and really look at what events in my life could be considered a rite of passage and how those moments helped me shape who I am today. My two favorite texts that we read were Ender's game and the Glass Castle. They both had really deep lessons to teach, but were also really enjoyable. I'm glad I chose to take this class.
ReplyDeleteI think someone touched on this during their final presentation, but this class definitely left me with more questions than it answered. But i think that is what has made it such a rich experience for me. I don't think any experience is truly enriching if it does not stir up a questioning spirit. The greatest lesson that I have learned is that coming of age occurs in daily moments. I think that i used to view coming of age as a monumental, life changing event. I certainly cannot discredit those coming of age stories, but i have also come to see how each day, each interaction i have with people, each decision that i make is changing me and growing me, for better or worse. So in this way, this class has certainly opened my eyes and caused me to be more intentional in how i live my life.
ReplyDeleteOh, and as far as what text/film i liked best: i definitely liked the short stories the most. Maybe it is because i have always had an affinity for short stories or maybe because i felt like the stories provided a comprehensive portrayal of coming of age. Through the short stories, i came to understand the various different coming of age processes throughout the world and in different cultures. I also liked them because they showed how a moment or an experience was life changing.
ReplyDeleteI think I made it clear through my final project that I have more questions than answers, but it was definitely an enlightening experience in some respects. Like Alex, I use to think coming of age was a big deal...and I still think that. It helped me gain a better appreciation for the little moments of life that change you. No matter how insignificant your moments may seem compared to others', through reflection we can see that we're all experiencing and learning the same things.
ReplyDeleteAs for texts...I really loved The Glass Castle. It was the first book to strike me on such a profound emotional level, thought I can't say why. Fulfilling experience through and through.
The short stories were my second fave. It would take me a while to get into each one, but once I did I could never put them down.
Glad I chose this class.
In many regards, I actually disagree with the "more questions than answers talk." I really think this class really helped me develop a better understanding about myself, which i think is very important. Yes...in some ways it has me asking "what do other people do about rites of passages?" and I find myself looking for that pattern in every book i read now, but for me, self understanding is the most important factor. And in that regard, this class allowed me to really learn about myself.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think that this class has led me to believe that I have not come of age. One of my interviewees made an excellent point that a trauma is not necessary for a person to come of age, but that a 'reset' or return to the basic person, which is often caused by emotional trauma, is what makes a person come of age. I am not certain that I have had an event like this, where I have needed to completely adjust my paradigms in order to move on in my life. This is a theme that has been in absolutely every text and discussion that I can recall, but one that hasn't really hit me until now.
ReplyDeleteIn other news, I think that the class structure could be altered a bit to include more free writes, as that was something that I enjoyed a bit more than the discussion. As for the texts, the books assigned by the students were much more engaging than the other required reading (no offense), so adding those to the reading and replacing a few others might be a good thing.
I gained a better understanding of coming of age as a whole; I definitely knew that some events shaped us enough to change us, but I know realize that moments that I once thought were insignificant also have an impacting change in our life. This course also broadened my knowledge to other cultures and how many things have an impact on coming of age processes. I am glad that I had an opportunity to not only learn about myself, but about others as well.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite text from this class would have to be The Glass Castle. This book rose a conflict in my mind, part of me thinking, "How awesome it would be to live like that" and the other part thinking, "That must have been a tough childhood."
What I liked best about this class was listening to everyone's different opinions. It was very interesting to hear what others were thinking and how they perceived the coming of age. It showed the impact that environment had on thinking. I had a great experience in this class!
I gained a better understanding of what a coming of age actually is. It's not just some ritual that a person goes through. It's all of the little things too. What may only seem like day to day events can actually have a great and powerful impact on us. I was also able to look at my own coming of age moments and reflect upon those so I did learn about myself some. I think my favorite text from the class was Flowers for Algernon because I had never thought of that book in the way of a coming of age. What I enjoyed most about the class was listening to everyone's difference in opinion and also the size of the class. Way better than some giant lecture hall with 100+ students.
ReplyDeleteBefore this class I never really put any thought into what it meant to come of age. I never really thought about coming of age at all. Now that I’ve taken this class and looked so intently at different rites of passage I am able to realize my own past moments and new ones as they occur. It’s given me a new perspective on my own life and made me realize that I have so much more to learn and experience. In a sense my life is only just beginning. I’m very curious to see how my own coming of age transpires.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alex because I used to think a rite of passage was a life changing experience. I did find out that I haven't really had many rites of passage that I thought of as significant because it everything just seems to go with the flow and I don't remember when a rite of passage occurred. My favorite book was Ender's Game because I like sci-fi and got to see it in a different light when I read it the second time. Bend It Like Beckham was my least favorite because I don't like Keira Knightley and the stubbornness from the parents bugged me. I liked that we had activities to go with the stories we read and that we also watched movies in the class, but I didn't enjoy the short stories as much because I like stories that can get more in depth with details.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite new text (as in I had never read before) was Plain Truth. I’m not quite sure why I loved this book so much. There were just so many levels to the story and I never lost interest. I loved how there was more than one coming of age that we were following, both growing in completely different ways. I also loved the culture aspect of the book, I now find Amish people very intriguing. My least favorite was text was Oresteia. Mainly because after reading the introduction, which was a painful 31 pages, I already knew how the entire story was going to pan out, yet I had to read it anyways. My favorite part about reading is not knowing what to expect on the next page and the introduction ruined that for me.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part about this class was the size of the class. I love the dynamic that a small class has, it’s much more personal. I like being able to know the names of everyone in my class and I like when my professor knows my name, which is rare in college. I also really enjoyed our discussions, I liked being able to share and hear everyone’s opinions and personal stories. I think we had some very interesting and often humorous discussions. I loved it.
ReplyDeleteI know this is improbable but the only thing I would change is the amount of reading. About one book a week was simply too much for me and extremely time consuming, even though they were good books.
I loved how familiar we all became with each other. I hate classes where your just another brick in the wall so I definitely appreciated our friendly atmosphere, even though Norma's always talkin' shit but whatever. I really think I gained some perspective on who I am as a person, all the retrospection and talk of coming of age actually made me come of age I think! I'm older and wiser now... It kind of sucks- thanks for robbing me of more innocence Kathryn, REALLLLY mature of you to do that, jeez whiz...! I'm really glad we watched Stand By Me, that's one of my favorite movies. I definitely would have added a buffet in the classroom had I been running the class... hint, hint.
ReplyDeleteI'll get right on that buffet, Sage...lol. Thanks for your wonderful responses, all. I'm so happy you enjoyed the class! I really loved it myself, especially all of our little inside jokes like poking barns. Thank you for allowing me to get to know each of you better and making this class so fun. Yay!
ReplyDeletePosting a little late but...
ReplyDeleteI learned a whole lot from this class and I really liked the fact that we had a class based around something that is almost taken for granted. There are so many rites of passages in different cultures and it was just really cool to look at a ceremonial rite of passage and contrast it with another one like driving to school for the first time or just getting out of your comfort zone and how it can have a major impact on your life without you even knowing it.
I liked the Glass Castle the most. It was just so intense and was one of the few books that i just couldn't put down. I was so intrigued with Jeannette Wells and how she kept hope and strived with parents who I feel gave them a toxic environment in Welch.
The 3rd? short story book wasn't my favorite. Maybe it was an abstract presentation of coming of age stories but stuff like "Mr. Tang's Girls" had me scratching my head a bit.
I liked the format our class had a lot. Just how we would watch a movie, learn some cool stuff about it, then hop into some good questions and tackle some discussion topics as well.