Pick one of the following prompts and write a paragraph response to it (here, on the blog, under this post).
1. In “The Discovery of What it Means to be an American,” James Baldwin mentions the “hidden laws” that govern all communities. Â It occurs to me that our class at City Tech constitutes a unique community with its own lawsâhidden and not. Â It’s still the beginning of the semester and we are in the process of figuring out what these “laws” areâand, more broadly, what the “community” of our class should be like in order to maximize learning.
 Respond below with a description or a list containing descriptions of what you want the “learning community” of our class to be like.  You can (but don’t have to) respond to any of these questions: What will help you learn in this class?  What might prevent you from learning?  What are the “hidden laws” of City Tech?  Are there any “laws” or rules that you think we should uphold in our in-class community?  Be honest!
2. Baldwin’s essay “The Discover of What it Means to be an American” leads us into an “educational experience” he has after he moves to Europe. Â This experience leads him to a more complicated understanding of what the word “American” means (and doesn’t mean). Â Write about Baldwin’s new understanding of what it means to be an Americanâand, perhaps more specificallyâhow living in Europe alters his sense of race and class. Â You might also write about an educational experience you had while traveling to (or living in) a different place: how did this experience change your perception of the two placesâthe one you began in and the one you traveled to?
Something that would help me learn In this class is discussing things, so we can learn and get information from each other.
I really donât know what would prevent me from learning except myself because Iâll always be learning something and nobody will effect my learning experience.
I donât know if there are any hidden laws in city tech. However in class there should be basic rules that we should obey like respecting the other students in the room.
Alla Abramova
Option 1
What I would like the “learning community” of our class to be is a safe and comfortable environment that people enjoy coming to and where they learn something new daily. What would help me learn in this class is working with others to help improve in certain areas such as becoming a better writer/reader. What would prevent me from learning is being distracted, having no motivation to learn or not being accepted for who I am or what I like.  “Hidden laws” are unspoken no one tells you because you’re expected to know as it states in “The discovery of what it means to be an American” “Every society is ruled by unspoken laws but profound assumptions on the part of the people and ours is no exception…”. The “hidden laws” of City Tech or any school are don’t shout out an answer raise your hand and wait to be called on, don’t leave class until the professor is done, come to class on time no excuses, dress appropriately, be respectful to your professor and your classmates, don’t be selfish and keep others in consideration and plenty more that I’m still discovering along the way. Yes I think there are laws that need to be maintained in our class community because without them there would be complete chaos with everyone doing what they wish without actually getting an education.
Something that I would like the âlearning communityâ is learn something new each day. Also help each other understand how to do the work and become better writers. Also I would like my vocabulary to improve. Something that would prevent me from learning is being distracted by other people or people talking without raising their hands. The only âhidden lawâ in city tech is that in every class we work by our own and sometimes is good to work in group and learn new prospectives.
1) Â I want the “learning community” of our class to be open-minded, respectful and easy going. I’m not sure what some of the hidden rules of City Tech are because I’m a first year college student so I haven’t had anytime to full get accustomed yet. There’s “hidden rules” all throughout schools, I like to think of them more so as educational norms, a social behavior you’re expected to have at school, City Tech may be different but I can’t determine that at the moment. I think respectfulness is the most important rule that should be followed because it allows people to feel as though they can express their thoughts free of judgment.
 In my opinion âlearning communityâ of our class should people shouldn’t make fun of anyone when they make mistakes.We all should help each other with our work, and we should not be afraid of asking for help from one others. and people should share their idea with the class, and if they disagree with someone they should response with respect. In this class I would like to improve on my writing and I would like learn new vocabulary that would help me in my writing. no one can prevent me from learning because I will be the person who can prevent me from learning. Well rules or laws of City Tech are your responsible of your self and your work. But one thing would I like see in our classroom is more group work. When you do group people will more comfortable to share their ideas.
Option 1.
I want the learning community of our class to be understanding and not judgmental and to be helpful. What will help me learn in this class is clear instructions and examples of how to do what i have to do and interesting topics.What might prevent me from learning is unclear instructions and no examples of how i have to do what i have to do. And also NO interesting topics! The “hidden laws” of City tech are respect yourself and respect others. Think before you speak. Do not be a rebel. The rules i think we should uphold in our in class community is be respectful and help others when they need help. Team work is needed. A class that works together passes together!
Thank you Ishrat. Â Letâs talk about strategies for dealing with âunclear instructionâ in classâitâs an issue that a lot of students experience in college!
Iâd also like to hear about topics of interest to you.
According to me I think a “learning community” is when someone actually learns about something new everyday for example a fact, or a life lesson. In addition a person in this community should have the ability to share their opinions, feel comfortable, be open minded, respectful, and help others in need. Also, I feel that many things can get a student distracted such as loud noises, not knowing the topic, being confused, or their personal life outside of college. Last of all in City Tech their is “hidden laws” maybe for the school system to be controlled like the grading policy.
Thanks Salama. Â Letâs talk in class about what youâve mentioned about confusion and some strategies we can develop for dealing with it. Â I also would like to talk about what you wrote regarding the learning of âfacts.â
I want the “learning community” of our class to try to be understanding and not judge on another. I want us to help each other improve, be better writers and possibly better people. You are allowed to have your opinion but I believe you should be as respectful as you can about it. I believe what would help me learn the most in class is connecting what we are learning in class to our selves. I feel this can make the class a bit more interesting. Lastly, I believe following rules is only fair to help you do your best and regulate you.
I think the learning community of our class should be very open for discussions and opinions. I feel that everybody should have a chance to be heard and have a chance to voice their opinions. Thereâs is much more knowledge to be learned from others opinions and stories than you could ever learn by yourself. Everybody should be respected. I think the âhidden lawsâ at City Tech are to stay open minded and attentive so that you can get the best and full learning expierence and help others learn better too.
Option 2
Baldwin asserts how hard it was for him being black in America, he explains how him and other black writers had difficulty finding their identity. He explains that America is blocking people from being who they are due to racial issues. He decided to go go to Europe to discover hisself which he spent many years in. Being in Europe made Baldwin felt open, he realized that his skin color didn’t mean anything when it came to finding hisself. He found hisself having amazing relationships with white Americans which didn’t compare to actually being in America. Throughout his time in Europe he felt lest shameful of his identity he was given the freedom to express who he is and was becoming. Baldwin experience is something that is still happening now with the discrimination between races. Just because you’re a specific race don’t determine if you a good or bad person but since James Baldwin time discrimination has decreased but it’s still existing.
Thank you Nazarah. Â Iâm interested in experiences youâve had that are similar to Baldwinâsâwhere you went to a different place and discovered a new way of thinking about some part of who you are. Letâs discuss in class.
1.
Iâd want the learning environment to be where there can be an open discussion about anything without any judgement and everyoneâs thoughts and opinions out in the open. It should be where someone can feel safe to express how they feel about a certain topic and share there thoughts on something. What would prevent me from learning is getting distracted and not focusing on whatâs being discussed and doing something else instead. What would help me learn in class is talking about new things Iâve never discussed before and being shown something from a different perspective Iâve never thought to look at before.
1)  In my thoughts “learning communities” meet regularly and frequently during the workday to participate in collaborative professional learning to strengthen our practice and increase the results of us as students. Trying to learn from others is a good way to get ideas and take keywords that can be found over the course of the school year.  What will help me learn in this class is clear instructions and examples of how to do what i have to do and interesting topics.  The âhidden lawsâ of City Tech or any school are donât shout out an answer raise your hand and wait to be called on, donât leave class until the professor is done, come to class on time no excuses, be respectful to your professor and your classmates.
I would like the learning community of my class to be a tad bit better, it would be nice if everyone participated a little more that way we can all get more positive and negative feedback.That way we can help each other become a better writer. Being more interactive would personally help me in this class because I feel as if I express myself better when Iâm able to get my words out. What might prevent from learning is keeping my thoughts to myself , often times I will think something but be afraid to say it out loud and that is one of my many problems because if I donât speak my mind be able to know whatâs wrong or right. In my first couple of weeks Iâve learned some unspoken ârulesâ. For 1 college is completely different than high school, you have to be on top of stuff and take initiative. For 2 you have to be nice to everyone because you never know when you might need someoneâs help with something.
Thank you, Ijeoma. Â Letâs talk about the importance of speaking up more in class!
1. I would like the “learning community” of our class to give insightful feedback and be respectful of each other’s opinions. No one should feel discriminated or scared to voice their own opinions and everyone should be able to learn from one another to effectively grow as an individual and a class. It’s hard to give criticism that isn’t biased but we can still try to be as objective as possible to help improve the work of others. Some things we’re going to run into that may slow us down are probably uninteresting topics. English classes often focus on reading complex texts and trying to decipher a meaning from them. Many, including me, have difficulty doing this because our minds aren’t simulated enough. I feel like topics I would like to talk about are personal experiences or problems around the world so we can raise self awareness, learn from others, and make class a little more interesting.
option 1. I think our “learning community” should qualify respect for one another and to also have fun learning. If this happens the class would want to learn and have an easier time learning. Also being respectful with everybody and going into group work actually would be nice too.
option 1. I think our “learning community” should qualify respect for one another and to also have fun learning. If this happens the class would want to learn and have an easier time learning. Also being respectful with everybody and going into group work actually would be nice too.