Discussion Madness

To prepare for our small-group discussion I first read through the questions and circled the ones I was most interested in thinking about as I read the story. Then I made sure to read the story really carefully. Normally I don't have the time to reread things I need to read for school, but I realized the importance of this assignment so I carved out more time for it. I spent more time than I usually do reading “Notes of a Native Son” in order to make sure that I knew what was going on. Along the way I underlined or circled parts of the essay that would help me answer the questions I had selected.

I learned how more I can glean from a story or essay when I read it carefully. This exercise helped me to gain a greater appreciation for reading things thoroughly. I was surprised with the things I had learned. During the discussion things that had been percolating inside my mind came forward, and it turned out that I knew more than I thought I did about the various questions, even the ones I hadn't focused on.

I was also really impressed with the thoughts of my fellow classmates. I'm afraid I didn't take notes on the conversation, but I feel pretty lucky to be in a class full of brilliant people with deep ideas. I was really impressed with everybody's ability to share the discussion.

I really enjoyed the process of preparing for the discussion. I learned a lot from it. The type of preparation I did really helped me dive into the text on my own. However, I think I prefer the regular class style. I really like how we are divided into different groups regularly. Because of that process I've been able to get to know, on some level, everyone in the class. Since I know everyone a little bit I feel really comfortable most of the time speaking up when something comes to mind, even if I don't know if it is right, or even a great idea. This created a weird conflict in me during our small-group discussion because I felt like I had to hold myself back from speaking often once I had run out of responses. I'm not usually a big talker, so it was cool feeling so comfortable with the folks around me that I had to restrain the ideas in my head.