Spring 2014 Go Posts

#1: Write about your favorite class. Who taught it? What was it about the course and
instructor that made it so great? Did you notice particular assignments or teaching
strategies you thought particularly effective?
One of my biggest weaknesses is an inability to choose favorites, but I can safely say
that one of my favorite classes at UW thus far was Honors 232: The Children of Immigrants
with Kathie Friedman. Typical of Honors classes it was fairly small, maybe 20 students or
less, making for a friendly and open environment in which I think we all felt comfortable
sharing ideas and expressing opinions. Professor Friedman also was a huge part of why I
liked the class; she treated every students' contributions as valuable and was genuinely
interested in what we had to say. I think this made all of us feel comfortable and
enthusiastic about participating which is something I find essential in a good classroom
environment.
The subject matter and the course's approach to it was also new and interesting. I hadn't
been particularly interested in the topic of immigration prior to that class but the description
looked interesting so I went for it and found myself in class discussions about so many
things I hadn't thought of before. I think the best part of that class was the opportunity to
hear some pretty incredible stories, both from some of my classmates who themselves were
the children of immigrants and from sources outside of the classroom. The final paper
consisted of interviewing a community member and I had the opportunity hear and write
about the story of a woman who fled from Iran after the fall of the Shah in 1978.
Perspectives such as these as well as the welcoming environment fostered by Professor
Friedman are what made it one of my favorite classes.
#2: Do you identify yourself as a leader? What does being a leader mean to you? In what
parts of your life do you inhabit that role? What experiences have you sought out to gain
leadership skills? Please answer each prompt above.
I would identify myself as a reluctant leader, which isn't to say that I don't enjoy being one.
Rather, it's that I don't feel the need to lead at all times or be in charge of every situation,
but if there is something that I feel strongly about or there is a role that needs to be filled I
am not at all hesitant to step up. For me it is important in a campus culture that stresses
involvement to choose the opportunities through which I seek leadership selectively to avoid
spreading myself too thin as I see many of my peers fall victim to. The quality of leadership
experiences is much more valuable than the quantity.

To me being a leader means acting in a way that warrants respect. Traditionally the best
leaders are those that people want to allow to lead them because this leader earns their
respect. I really liked what Awuah said, which is that leadership is a priviledge. I think good
leaders recognize the humility that comes with their position and incorporate that into their
practices.

I have held and currently hold a number of leadership positions that make me a leader in
technical terms: 7th grade ASB President (woot woot), volleyball captain, NHS officer,
offices within my sorority, recruitment counselor, Honors PE, and so on. However, I feel that
I fulfill the role of a leader more so by example through my actions. I like to think that I
make a genuine effort to treat others as I would want to be treated, make the right choices
in striking a balance between school, work, extracurriculars and social activities and be
positive and respectful with those that I interact with. Of course, I know I am the farthest
thing from perfect. The point is that the way individuals act is an important part of
leadership, which is something Patrick Awuah makes a compelling point for in his TED Talk.
#3: What did you learn from the the mini-teach? What worked? What would you change?
What did you see a peer do well that you would incorporate into your teaching?
As I was doing my mini teach I noticed that I hadn't allowed or planned for much flexibility
in my lesson plan and I felt like that limited my ability to connect with my 'students'
effectively. I was trying to gauge the group as I taught and wanted to alter my lesson to fit
their level of knowledge and learning pace but my plan was pretty rigid and linear. In the
future when planning a lesson I'll make sure to plan ahead for different potential scenarios
concerning how the class responds to it so I am prepared to alter my teaching to suit their
needs. I think this is relevant to all PEs because our classes are each going to have a
different dynamic based on the combination of students in the class and we'll need to be
flexible with our teaching to whatever best fits that class dynamic. There's a certain level of
unpredictability in terms of how a lesson will go over with a class so we need to be prepared
to respond to different scenarios.
#4: What techniques have you seen teachers use to draw everyone into a discussion? How
to recognize individual strengths in the classroom and make sure everyone can contribute?
How does this connect to your growing understanding of your leadership style?
Since people have all different levels of comfort with participation I think it's important to
engage the class in ways that are accessible to the whole spectrum of participation comfort.
I'm a fan of small group discussions because not only do they accomodate people who don't
like to talk in front of the entire class but even those more inclined to participate in a large
group setting are probably more likely to take risks in a small setting. Building toward a
large group discussion from small groups gives students time to have prepared responses
which could make some middle ground students who feel okay about joining discussions but
maybe are nervous about knowing what they're going to say more likely to participate. I
think the laid back discussion environment that this creates is definitely related to my "cool
cucumber" leadership style because it's what I'm most comfortable with as well.
#5: How have you created a sense of community for yourself on the UW campus? Where
are the places you've felt most at home? How did you get involved there?
My college decision consisted of a few smaller liberal arts colleges and UW so when I chose
UW I made some very deliberate choices to join communities in order to "shrink" the
university for me. I wanted to make sure that I would have a support system so that I
wouldn't be facing such a big school on my own.
Being a part of the Honors program was a big part of that, and having access to such
individualized attention and small class sizes my freshman year was extremely helpful. I'm
still in touch with a number of the people I met in my first few Honors classes and multiple
Honors professors have written me recommendations. It was also reassuring to know that
through Honors advising there were accessible, helpful people that I could talk to not just
about Honors-related things but my academic and life plans in general.
I also chose to join a sorority on campus, which has given me a home away from home
and a huge support network. There is a wide variety of women involved in all sorts of things
on and off campus that serve as great resources that I have been able to approach for more
information and to get connected with clubs, jobs or classes that I'm interested in. I've
gotten resources for internship hunting from someone who is also in the Jackson School,
gotten the inside scoop on Spanish professors from another Spanish minor and even played
on multiple IMA volleyball teams with other girls who also played in high school. People
around the house are asking what I'm up to and how I'm doing on a daily basis; being
reminded that there are people watching out for me helps me stay aware of how it is that
I'm doing and remember to look out for myself. The support of this community really helps
me manage college.
#6: Reflect on your group teaching experience. How did your teaching session go? What
surprised you about the experience? What went well? What would you do differently if you
were to teach the same lesson again?
My group was really excited about the Experiential Learning categories quiz that we created
and I think that part went over well with our audience, confirming how helpful it is to have
an exciting interactive tool to engage the class. On one of our feedback forms someone
made a good point that when presenting this exercise it is important to emphasize that it
does not restrict you to any one category but is solely a tool to prompt students to reflect
on their personalities and interests to help them choose an Experiential Learning project
that they will enjoy. My main role in the presentation was going over some more specific
options in each learning category to give students some concrete ideas for Experiential
Learning activities. Going into it I thought that I had prepared this great detailed outline of
various options within each category what was going to sound awesome in class.
Unfortunately, in practice this resulted in me rambling for far too long and boring the class
half to death. It was clear to me that when I do this with my Honors 100 students in the fall
I will need to present it in a more interactive format. The same goes for the "nuts and bolts"
of Experiential Learning, which can be boring and confusing when confronted all at once.
Something that surprised me was how fun it ended up being preparing for this lesson and
creating a teaching tool with my group, which I'm hoping to find rings true with lesson
planning and workshops moving forward as well!
#7: What is a campus resource (person, office, service, etc) that we havent learned about
yet that you think all students should know about?
We haven't talked much about safety resources, which are important for students who may
be new to the urban environment that surrounds our campus. Many UW students (myself
included) come from suburban cities around Seattle or even rural areas and are not aware
of the safety implications that come with living in the U District. I have seen various efforts
around campus to increase student awareness of safety and I think it's important that
students know about the resources available to them to help them stay safe at school, such
as UWPD and Husky Night Ride. It could even be cool to have a UWPD officer as a guest in
section to talk about campus and U District safety as well as what services the UWPD
provides for students.