At the start of school year 20/21, I told that it would be unlike any in history, and suggested they consider writing a journal of their experiences. Coming off of the COVID-altered 19/20 school year, I had low expectations for remote learning, but the year went better than expected. Although I’m not sure how many students kept a journal, I asked students to reflect – in 500-700 words – on their experience and their learning as their final assignment of the year.
About 75% of my students completed the written reflection which was more than I expected given the challenges I’ve faced with assignment completion, but it may have helped that I asked students to discuss the reflection prompts in breakout rooms before writing. I already discussed one theme that students wish they’d been more active in asking for help, so I figured I’d focus this one on students’ self-identified learning outcomes in my Global Politics classes, since my Ethnic Studies classes were only a single term in length. This is the sort of stuff that makes all the challenges of the school year totally worth it.
Global Politics
- “I learned about multiple global issues such as, the Arab Spring, the Syrian Civil war, the Paris Agreement, and so on… I feel like I expanded my knowledge way more by learning about the world I live in which in my opinion is way better because then we get to see the reasoning behind everything going on. During these past few units I realized that it’s not just one country or person causing the problems, it’s everybody. With this information you start to want multiple perspectives on the situation rather than one, getting one perspective isn’t enough because there is always a second side to the story.”
- “In most of my other classes there isn’t a huge sense of community because we’ve been online, but I always loved coming to Global Politics for the reason that we talk and laugh and it’s just really a comforting class. It challenged me a lot, to think about the other side’s story even when I think they’re wrong.”
- “When we broke down global politics, I started to learn more about politics in general. I thought it was interesting going through all these conflicts. I actually learned a lot of things about Mexico. For example, I already knew Mexico was corrupted but I did not know to what extent…. When I recently went to Mexico, I tried looking at Mexico in a political way and saw many things that I wouldn’t have seen if it wasn’t for this class.”
- “This class lived up to my expectations of voicing opinions about serious global issues… I knew a few things about global politics because of my uncle, who liked learning about the world and how it functions. The final time I could talk to him, I was talking about how much I’ve learned about US and Mexican politics. He was really happy that I spoke to him about those things because it showed how much I’ve matured over a couple of years since I have last seen him.”
- “In the beginning of the year, I didn’t pay too much attention to what was occurring around me. I didn’t look at the news as much as others so I never knew what was occurring to other states. In global politics I realized how little information I knew about when it came to important events and decisions. Being in global politics has been helpful because I am also able to talk to my parents and family about issues that are occurring around the world. I have learned more about climate change and how as humans living in this world we should take better care of our planet.”
- “Politics are actually closer to us than we think. I often saw politics as something in D.C and years of discussions but no. I now realize that actual change starts within our communities, our people, ourselves. The more educated and well-informed on crucial issues such as those discussed in this class, the better equipped we are to fight off injustices.”
- “I personally think I’m pretty open-minded about things in politics and such, if someone disagrees with me I don’t really get mad or anything, but I think one major takeaway from the class is that now I know why many nations, organizations, and governments of states around the world are the way they are and the impact they have on society. I guess It helped me understand why something is the way it is. I never really questioned it back then, to be honest.”
- “This class has also made me realize how there are many issues beyond the US that need to be talked about more. It also made me realize that we are doing much better than many people who live in the middle of a national crisis.”
- “Before this class, I thought the US getting involved in issues around the world was necessary, but after this class, I realize that there are multiple perspectives to consider, some can be positive or negative. This class has helped me keep an open mind on issues going on because there is never just one side to an issue, it is important to discuss all the viewpoints to fully understand what is going on.”
In short, students – at least the ones who completed reflections – are taking away some of what I view as the key insights of the course. It was deeply gratifying to read all these reflections, and particularly at the end responses to the final possible prompt question, “What final comments or ideas would you like to share with Mr. Rolnick regarding your experience?” Overall, students were so appreciative, kind, and thoughtful about their experiences this year, and this has left me very sad that I won’t have the opportunity to teach this wonderful group of students in person next year in the second year of the class.