Government Class

     Hi all!! Today I'm going to share about a government class that I just finished. It was challenging, but in a good way, I think. I learned a lot, not just about government, but also about speaking in public and doing projects that weren't necessarily papers.

      So… Here's what I liked the most about the class, and what I liked the least:

Liked:

• Being in an actual room with other people - as opposed to just an online classroom

• Getting to know some people I didn't really know very well before

• Our teacher!! He really has a love for government, and it showed in his teaching. He really made me excited about it just listening to him.

• Watching CNN Student News every Friday and all groaning at Carl Azus's awful puns. Check it out if you're interested… skip to the end for the puns. :)

• Working in a group with other people for several weeks

• The way it pushed me out of my comfort zone, and encouraged me to push myself out of my comfort zone

Disliked:

• The way it pushed me out of my comfort zone… Which seems like a contradiction, but I knew in my head that this was good for me (and even tried to encourage myself to go out of my comfort zone by answering questions, etc.) but my heart (and stomach) really didn't appreciate the whole 'having to talk in front of people' aspect. But it was good for me!

• Having to leave the house so early… 'Cause of traffic, we usually had to leave by 7:15. Which isn't awful, but I still had to get dressed, eat, and that kind of stuff

• How nervous I was for it. The first few months of classes, I couldn't eat anything because my stomach was too nervous. The last two-ish months, though, I managed to down some food before, which was great!!

• The time commitment involved. As I mentioned above, we would leave at 7:15, and wouldn't be home until 1:30 or even 2:00 in the afternoon. And afterwards, I just wanted to crash from using my brain and trying to stay awake so much. :) It basically claimed my whole Friday, and I'm thankful to have a five day school week again! It also took a good amount of time to complete assignments (especially some that were harder) and the fieldwork we were assigned.

     So! That's that. :) In case you're interested, here's a quick list of what I did for fieldwork: went to a city council meeting, volunteered at a Republican campaign station (we called people), went to a court room to listen to a case, wrote a blog page about the election process, emailed a city council member about an object of concern, and volunteered to pass some food out to the homeless.

     That's a lot of stuff! XD

     Winston Churchill said our quote for this week… And though it's mainly comical, it's also often true.

The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.

     Thanks for reading and have a great week!!

~Anna