I'm done... I'm done!

I'm done! Well, done one course that is... 5 more left to get out of the way. On with this week's, and my last blog entry:

Dr. Orr wasn’t overly exciting or educational; but, he presented a couple of interesting points. I can relate to how he is saying that formal education (such as college) and learning are not the same. Formal education forces us to remember and regurgitate information, but learning and understanding forces us to understand and be able to utilize what we are taught. I also did not agree with his statement about it being the educated that are harming the environment. I feel that it is all of us that are. While it is likely true that the educated are in a higher position to influence environmental change, it is up to all of us to do our part.

Dr. Senge’s presentation was boring and hard to follow and he kind of sounded like a dumbass throughout. However, I did find the part about the school in Finland to be very interesting. The fact that there are no teachers or classes, simply one large “project” in which the students are put in charge of developing a company is a very interesting concept. I think this type of course has a component in all business schools; however I don’t think it should encompass the entire program. He did make a couple interesting comments on moving out of our comfort zone and working in an unknown manner.

I think one of the biggest things that our blog assignment allowed us to do was “step out of our comfort zone” as Dr. Senge presented. For many of us, this was one of the first opportunities we were given to write in a less formal, non business format. We were also forced to use a variety of techniques to help display our true emotions and feelings, such as self disclosure. I think one of the greatest things the blog assignment and the CMNS 390 class in general accomplished was allowing us to learn and use teamwork building and social skills. For myself, I have learned a number of things about each person in the class, where as in most courses I’m lucky if I know everyone’s name by the end.

I think CMNS 390 has been an excellent class and have been recommending it to all of my friends that are going into their third and fourth years. Great job on the course design Marc. I still wonder why this course isn’t mandatory. It is definitely more applicable to the real business world than the majority of our other mandatory courses.