Self Evaluation

I came into freshman seminar confused. At first I thought the class was going to be  structured very differently than it actually was, and just that alone was enough to make me not like the class. But over the weeks, with the different scholarship from all over the world coming in and lecturing us on the importance of contemporary issues, I began to take my first opinion of the class and change it a little. I realized that there are things at hand greater than myself, and one of the greatest lessons I learned in the class is reaching back while moving forward. Turning around after my success and helping those less fortunate, or those that want to be successful in life. I learned that if I don't advance the community around me that my success will have been for nothing, for what use is a successful man if he has success alone and does nothing for others? There's no values in that. I looked at some department heads and excellent professors get up and deliver impassioned speeches, that really showed how involved they were with helping others and advising us, the class of 2010. So I was very grateful for that. The class also taught me a little about group work and research, that through the combined effort of many individuals from many different fields that it's still possible to solve today's problems, from many different perspectives. I learned that with a common goal in sight, that any group of people can achieve success if they work hard enough through good means.

self evaluation

To be honest, When i signed up for this class thought it would be a waste of time due to prior students filling my head with their own opinions about the class. After the first lecture with dr.Carr I immediately fell in love with the course. There were spme days that were very boring I have to admit, but all in all this class was very beneficial in my first semester at Howard University. I experienced some of the finest teachers at Howard without having to take their courses and I recieved advice on what to expect and what to do to reach my ultimate goal of being a Howard University Graduate

Presentation 2

I walked into class today not really feeling thee whole freshman seminar presentation thing. I had a stressful night the day before and I did not get that much rest. The group that was presenting was speaking about stress so I payed attention to what the group had to say because I was going through a lot of stress in my life during that time. Turns out, the group touched on several basises of stress and how college students are more than likely to be more stressed than any other people. We go through a lot of different trials and tribulations throughout our college careers and it takes a lot to succeed with all of the odds against us. The group then passed out some test for everyone to take to rate their stress levels and most of us recieved high scores due to the amount of stress in our lives today.

presentation 1

This presentation started with a video of a girl who thought she was a dog. The video basically showed how we are products of our environment. The little girl was raised by dogs so now she crawls,barks, and eats just as a dog would. The video showed how if we are socially deprived y the human rce and raised by animals, we too can begin to think we are savage. The video freaked me out because I was puzzled to see how a human being could think they re an animal.

Faculty Interview

I interviewed Coach Travis Lyons of the Howard Mens Basketball Team on how he felt about race in sports. Coach Travis uttered that race plays a big role in sports in the pros and definitely in college sports. Blacks are unable to express themselves as individuals in sports because they are looked upon as thugs or uneducated individuals. Coach Travis also said that the black coach is definitely rare nowadays in sports although they are always interviewed to meet certain quotas. This does not mean that black coaches are not qualified but it means that black coaches are frowned upon in professional sports and also in collegiate sports. Lastly Coach Travis spoke on how race plays n important role in salary as well. A white pitcher in baseball will be paid more than a black pitcher of the same quality due to race.

African burial ground

The African burial ground was a very interesting and informative field trip. Firstly, New York was a great experience in itself. The scenery and the environment was a great experience. At first, I initially just wanted to go shopping in New York and that was mostly why I went on the trip. My opinion was suddenly changed once we embarked on our journey at the African Burial Ground. The things that were talked about were very interesting and I learned that much more about my African forefathers. Another thing that interested me as well was the video shown inside of the building about how the slaves lived decades ago. The sculptures seemed so realistic that I thought they were regular people. After the African Burial ground I went shopping in Harlem and found a lot of things that fit my taste. All in all, the trip was a splendid success.

Dr. Carrs lecture

Dr Carr introduced us about the African history. The history helped me open up on different parts I f Africa. He talked about the language. He was so intrigued about the African culture he began to talk about the African language.  The different words he was bringing up shows how important the culture was. The words he talked about I never even heard them before. He also said that our ancestors went through so much.  They were being carried in chains on ships to be taken to work in the fields. They had it hard and I wish it wasn’t them that had to go through it. They Growing up I never even learned African Literature because my teachers never told me about it. In class we would always talk about the Civil War and the Vietnam War but never anything about how our ancestors struggled just to be here. I was amazed how he preached the African literature. He was so strong about it. To this day I’m still amazed and I want to be in one of his classes so that way I can understand more about the subject. I enjoyed this lecture a lot which is a reason why I liked freshman seminar for the semester. 

Self Reflection

During the beginning of freshman seminar I thought the class was going to be stupid and dumb. I didn’t think I was going to learn anything in this class. I really thought this class was going to be pointless because I took freshman seminar in high school and it was exactly like that. In the middle freshman seminar started opening up my mind and I started to become intrigued in the class. I enjoyed the lectures especially the one that Dr. Ghabasgin talked about. That really showed me what I needed to do and how to treat the lady right. I also liked the lecture when the guy came dressed up in a dashiki, I thought that was pretty cool how the school blended in with the African culture. When I first came to Howard I didn’t think teachers would come to class dressed up in African Clothing I thought it was going to be way different than that. I enjoyed the blend of the two,the new age versus the old age. I liked his lecture and how he used music from the ojays and put it in his lecture. In the end, I think I struggled with the most was listening to the lectures and not understanding what they were talking about. It seemed as if it was going in one ear and out the other. I can’t believe how I attended every class and took a note that wasn’t like me in high school. I enjoyed the trip and I had an amazing time in the class and I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity. 

Student Presentations

      The first group opened up with a video of a person who thought they were a dog. This person's parents were killed at a young age and she was raised by dogs. She thought she was a dog so much that she walked on all fours, barked, howled, licked herself, and even scratched herself like a dog. This young girl's behavior was very wild and aggressive. Children that grow up in these tough situations with a lack of human community end up socially traumatized. It brought up the question of humanity and what is it that makes us human? Is it our community and culture? The students presenting this topic were mainly psychologists and wanted to help children such as this to figure out how to reverse the process that got them the way they they are.I enjoyed the presentation and how they did their project.

Another group presentation:
 I don’t remember the name of this group but they talked about STDs. The group started off with how you can be safe and what other ways that can keep you from getting them. They then talked about fashion and how it plays a role dealing with sex. When people dress a certain way it can explain how the person is and how they carry themselves. They say younger girls get approached by older guys more because of the way they dress. Sometimes they dress to old for their age group. For guys it doesn’t work that way. Guys are portrayed by the way they carry themselves but it doesn’t make them look any older by the way they dress.  I enjoyed this presentation and it gave n=me knowledge that I didn’t know before.

 

 

Group Presentation

I watched couples and here’s one that I liked. The group was called Berry Man Johnson and they talked about how they lack on teaching African American children African literature. They explained in several topics The one I liked the most was in the media. I noticed that it was true. They lack on teaching African American children literature or even TV shows. The shows on television are Dora Explorer and Nnikawhow, but there isn’t any show teaching children African language or anything about the African culture. There so many Spanish shows but there isn’t any on African language or culture for that matter and I don’t understand that. I also like the graphics of their presentation. I also liked their video that they had it had me intrigued. It’s funny how they talk about learning the African culture and studies but the program at this school is being cut. I don’t understand why the program is being cut, when there are so many people wanting to know about African culture. Next year studies are going to have to pick their majors wisely since there isn’t going y to be any majors that they want.  I think its ridiculous with people having to choose their majors without actually wanting to do that with their life. 

African Burial Ground

I didn’t want to go to the African burial ground in the beginning. I was so tired and I didn’t get any sleep that night either. I stayed up for the whole 24hrs and I was wide awake during the trip. The bus ride was all horrible, it was so hot and uncomfortable I didn’t enjoy it at all. When we got off the bus that’s when it started. I enjoyed when Dr. Carr talked about our ancestors and how he poured water on the ground to ask for the respect of our ancestors. He told us to say ashay to let them know we are asking for respect to come into their territory. We then headed to the sculpture part of the museum. It was the different parts of and what the Africans did. We then went inside the museum and we looked at the different bodies and how they were messed up during the burial ground. We looked at this presentation and it explained how the Africans lived their lives and the struggles they had to go through. I was shocked on how much they experienced I was thankful that I didn’t have to go through that in my life. I was glad that I went on the trip and I enjoyed myself.

Albert Ellis 

Omulabi and community resoponsibility

Walking into Freshman Seminar today, I felt like this lecture was going to be good and in the end I was right. Dr. Gbadegeshin came and talked to the class told a common African folktale.  He talked about a girl and a guy who was in a relationship. The two love each other but the guy treated the girl wrong in every way possible. Even though they had arguments the girl stuck through with it until she had enough. She left the man and took all her stuff with her. Eventually the guy lost all of his money and he started looking for the girl he lost. He traveled through mountains and rivers looking for the girl that he thought he would never find. He found her and he told her that he wanted her back and she said no if he doesn’t change the way we treated her. The moral of the story is to treat the girl right that your with because you never know what might happen in the long run. He then jumped into the drums and what it means. I liked how he transferred the language of the drums to English terms.  I thought it was really unique how he did it. I hope he comes back to the class, I enjoyed his lecture.

 Albert Ellis