Reflection: Weeks 13 & 14 & overal course review

The last two week of class have come and gone!


In week 13 we went to the Goodwill in west Duluth.  It was a very interesting experience.  I've already been there a couple of times.  I've gone on my own, and I've gone a couple of times with my clients at the group home I work for.  I wasn't expecting that I would learn so much.  I had no idea Goodwill was known for hiring individuals with disabilities.  I think what struck me the most is when we talked about the different jobs that the workers do.  I loved how they said they didn't really care about how efficiently things were done.  They would use several individuals on one task as long as it was beneficial to those individuals.  After we went on a tour of Goodwill we went to the store and did a little activity.  We were each given a task and we had to complete it with a budget of only $20.  My group completed our task by finding plates, bowls, silverware, glasses, and decorative items for a kitchen!  I will definitely be visiting the Goodwill again!  You will always find a treasure of some kind!

During week 14, our very last week, we shared our junking projects!  I made my project while I was at home for Thanksgiving break.  I used an old box that held thank you cards.  I turned the box into a jewelery box by making dividers out of cardboard pieces from a shoe box!  I also used paper and a photo to decorate the box!

 

After we each shared our projects we talked about the most significant things we learned throughout the semester.  I talked about the power of social change.  

Overall Course Review:  It has been an interesting and fabulous semester.  I'd say this was one of the most enjoyable classes I've taken in all my time at UMD.  It's just so relatable to my life. It's unlike any other course you'll take - teaching style and subject alike!  I wish everyone had to take this class.  I think there is value in knowing how to create and operate a blog.  I also think there is HUGE value to the subject matter.  This should be a prerequisite just to be a member of earth!  I feel like so much more educated on issues I knew the minimum about.  I also feel like a more educated consumer.  I'm now an eco-chic consumer!  There is real life value to this class and I would recommend it to anyone.  The work load was pretty substantial, but it was spread out and it was something you just got in the habit of putting in your schedule.  I'm glad I did because now I have this amazing blog that I've created that is storing everything I learned this semester and it's mine forever!  It's almost like your very own little electronic portfolio of a semester's worth of knowledge!