Muse Class & Peer Mentor

After being in my Muse class for about a month, I feel like this Muse class is definitely helping me. The transition from high school to college can always be a tough one, but luckily for me, I have not had much trouble. Part of the reason is the Muse class. I feel like this class helps me prepare for college and can offer some helpful tips on success in college. I also feel like the peer mentors are a big help too. A lot of times, some students feel uneasy going to the professor about a problem. Having a peer mentor there can help a lot, as students will more likely feel more comfortable going to the peer mentor. I also feel like the peer mentors do a good job of explaining the assignments in a way students understand. I cannot wait for the rest of the class to unfold.

Creativity

The ability to think critically is crucial to success not only in college, but also in any career, especially in engineering, which is my major. Thinking critically means to be able to think through problems and come up with solutions. A good part of thinking critically is creativity. If you are creative in your thinking, then you can often come up with the best solutions. Thinking creatively involves taking a unique approach to problem-solving. Most importantly, just be original.

Learning Preferences

In chapter 4 of our textbook, it describes the number of ways people learn. They separate the methods into 4 categories; learn by reflecting, learn by creative thinking, learn by doing, and learn by critical thinking. Learning by reflecting means that the person needs to absorb information and compare that to personal experiences. Learning by creative thinking implies that the person prefers to use personal expression, and write and brainstorm. Learning by doing means that the person prefers to actually work on problems and simulations. Learning by critical thinking means that the person needs to think out problems. Personally, I learn best by doing. I need to work on problems and be able to solve them to obtain the most information.

Self-Portrait Poem

Ryan
Nice, Respectful, Athletic, Friendly
The Barker Clan
Family, Friends, Academics
Busy, Tired, Hungry
Sleep, Success, Finish Homework
Love, Acceptance, Respect
Bees, Trouble, Bad Grades
49ers, Domination, Fun
Sunnyvale, Erica Dr
Barker

The Cost of Plagiarism

Plagiarism, which is defined as presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own, is very, very BAD! Plagiarism causes lots of problems, and you can get seriously punished for it. In school, you will often receive an F for the assignment, and can get expelled from the school, and some other serious punishment. Plus, this shows that you are lazy and do not care about your assignment.

Writing Strengths and Weaknesses

At the end of chapter 9, one of the activities is to evaluate our writing skills. I believe that overall, I am an average writer. I do some things well, such as finding my concrete examples and discussing my argument. But I think I can improve in a lot of areas, such as supporting my arguments with examples and also explaining and connecting all of my evidence.

A's vs Rangers

As a fan of the Oakland A's, I love going to the games. I went to the game last night, when they played the Texas Rangers. The A's had won 7 games in a row before that, but they played absolutely horrible last night. Texas scored 9 runs over 3 innings, and ended up winning 10-3. The really only highlight of the A's came in the bottom of the 9th, when Matt Carson, who just got called up from the minor leagues a couple of days ago, hit his first major league home run. Even though the A's lost, it was still fun to see them play one more last time before the season is over.

Improving Your Life

The textbook for our MUSE class, Your Guide to College Success, offers some key ways to better our lives, such as relationships and time management. One of the most important aspects of life are relationships. In a relationship, communication is absolutely necessary. It's also important to be able to listen well, and to share your life with others, such as parents and loved ones. Time management is also crucial to have a successful life. Using a planner can help organize your time. Even though we all do it, we must avoid procrastination! Using these tips can help us achieve our goals.

MLK Library Tour

One of the wonderful resources that are available to students here at SJSU is the Martin Luther King Library. It is the largest library in the United States west of the Mississippi River. I have used this library a number of times before I enrolled at SJSU. Earlier last week, our class took a tour of the library. We didn't venture around the library, but rather we took a tour of the digital section of the library. Online, any student at SJSU can access hundreds of databases and scholarly journals.

The Reflection of the Mime

Today in class, we were asked to perform this unusual activity. We split up into pairs, so one person was the mime and the other was the mirror. I was paired up with Ansel. So I had to do certain body movements, and Ansel had to follow them, and then we switched roles. At first, it was a little awkward, but then we started to have fun with it and enjoying it. This taught us that when we work together, we all have to be on the same page.

The Age of Technology

As the human race continues to develop and mature, the importance of technology increases, especially here in college. More and more classes are starting to put their material online. Various student services on campus publish all of their material online. And one great, easy to connect and interact with fellow students is through the internet. Learning and understanding about the internet is crucial to student success here in college.

Selecting a Major

One of the big differences between high school and college are the majors. At the beginning of college, you can select your major. A major is an area of study that you will concentrate on and learn more about, and eventually earn a degree in that study. My major is civil engineering. When selecting a major, there are many important choices that should go into it. First, you should consider the career options of your major, such as whether or not there is a high demand for workers. But more importantly, you should choose something that you enjoy, because if you enjoy your work, you will be successful.

Setting Goals

In order to be successful in college, planning and setting goals are absolutely essential. College is so much different than high school. Here in college, you have so much free time, and you make up your own schedule. If you do not plan, then you will end up wasting your valuable time. When I was in high school, I wasted so much time that I became a pro at it. But now in college, I plan out my schedule so that I can spend enough time on my school work, and still have time for some mind-blowing activities.