Mid-Term

Introduction

We’re halfway through the semester and there are a lot of things I have to say. Having chosen this research team makes me feel lucky because I am surrounded by extremely intelligent and creative people as well as committed to the program. Our teacher has guided each of our steps and has created an environment of peace and work that we all enjoy. Something I can say I struggled with may be the readings because they were too long and my mind reached a point where it felt tired. The creative freedom that Dr. Jack has given us has been the most precious thing we have because it allows us to express ourselves and our opinions in an environment in which we do not feel judged or belittled.
I firmly believe that I achieved most, if not all, of my goals to achieve my desired grade.

Down below, I describe how I developed myself in each of them:

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Suspends judgment in interactions with people culturally different than themselves. (25%)

During this course I want to maintain a positive and respectful attitude towards my classmates and teachers, respecting their ideals and culture. I commit to being an open person and keeping my eyes and ears open so I can gain knowledge from my classmates and teachers based on what they share related to our cultural differences.  

As we already know, CODES is a diverse group, with people who come from different places, who have different thoughts, knowledge and opinions. Without a doubt, this helped me broaden my vision and be able to complete certain assignments that were difficult for me to understand. I always maintained a respectful and open posture to listen to each and every one of my colleagues.

I’ve been working with each and every single one of my classmates. It’s incredible how much I’ve been learning for each one of them. Having the opportunity to work with them helped me to realize the potential that we all have when we are together. I know who I can reach out for when I need something specific. Takara is really good at talking and she helped me a lot with my grammar and assignments. Karmen is creative and smart. Cullen always digs deeper and finds a new way to do everything, he also is the goofy one in our team. J.B help us to ponder our decisions or opinions. Zachary’s math reasoning and how he calculates the outcome of our actions is incredible. Ayo is pretty reserved I’m still trying to find out what I can learn from him, and last but not least E.J. ability to listen, analyze and smartly express his opinion is something I want to learn from him. He could be quiet sometimes, to me that only means that he is thinking about what to say and he is about to come up with a good idea.

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Takes risks in assignments and in approaches to learning to create new knowledge.   (25%)

I want to stay passionate about learning, taking risks, and getting out of my comfort zone. I promise to broaden my vision, listen to my teachers and classmates and take the best of their testimonials and comments in order to take advantage of everything I learn during this course.

Taking risks in this class has been one of the most fun things I’ve done so far in college. Asking questions that I would have previously preferred to keep to myself, resolving my doubts and asking for help, making comments without fear of making mistakes, and talking about different topics in class in a language totally different from Spanish makes me feel proud and motivates me to continue taking risks. and not be afraid of the mistakes I may make, I have learned a lot from them.

Here an example of it:

https://eportfolio.siue.edu/alejandra-beltran/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2023/11/mobot.docx

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Develops clear, innovative central messages with significant supporting materials.   (20%)

My compromise is to always look for sources of information that are 100% reliable and always ensure that the work that I present is always consistent and does not lose the main message. 

UnEarthed Podcast on Spotify

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/

https://law.wisc.edu/fjr/rjp/justice.html

The Missouri Botanical Garden and Slavery

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/about/additional-information/our-history/henry-shaw

https://www.mobot.org/mobot/archives/image.asp?filename=IMAGE0153.tif&returnto=/mobot/archives/results.asp

MBG: An Illustrated History of the Missouri Botanical Garden – Image (mobot.org)

Review on JSTOR

Making Reparations Possible: Theorizing Reparative Justice (marquette.edu)

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Implement solutions to address multiple contextual factors. (15%)

I will work hard to generate solutions that encompass and solve problems of any kind. I am aware that multiple problems of any kind can arise in the middle of our path, and this is why I want to work on being bold and intelligent to find the solution as soon as possible and execute it effectively and successfully. 

During these weeks there were no major difficulties, however, I faced the following problems.
– I didn’t know that our source analysis and research team projects had to be published in WordPress but fortunately, Dr. Jack went over it and taught us how to do it.
– The readings were too long and it was difficult for me to understand them so it took me a long time to complete my activities.

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Uses language to skillfully communicate with clarity and fluency.  (15%)

For me, being a Mexican girl, whose first language is not English, it is difficult to communicate certain things accurately. I am committed to improve my communication skills as well as my confidence in order to communicate clearly, fluently, and objectively everything I need to express. 

I consider that I have improved my ability to express myself in English. I have learned new words that have expanded my vocabulary and that have helped me express what I want to say more accurately. A great example of this is one of my last essays that I presented in my CODE-121 class in which I felt quite in control of what I could and wanted to say. 

https://eportfolio.siue.edu/alejandra-beltran/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2023/11/mobot-3.docx

• Whom: Whom is defined as the subject of a verb or preposition. If I can substitute the term with he or she, I’ll use who. If I can substitute him or her, I’ll use whom. When referring to the topic of a statement, who should be used.
• Ineffable: The dictionary defines ineffable as “incapable of being expressed in words” or “unspeakable.” His music is ineffably beautiful.
• To cherish: he meaning of CHERISH is to hold dear, to feel or show affection. I want to cherish him in my heart.
• Interweave: to combine or bring together two or more things. Interweave the last two assignments so you can build your project.
• Juxtaposing: To place close together or side by side, especially with an arresting or surprising effect, or in a way that invites comparison or contrast. The juxtaposition of those two is comprehensible.
• You can only do so much: I want to mention that this one was pretty funny and confusing cause if I translate this to Spanish it means to keep trying and not give up but I understood that it means that there is a limit. I know you have been trying to change this situation, but you can only do so much.