Goal 3

The third goal of the Honors Program is “the ability to demonstrate excellence in verbal and written communication.” I think that I was able to accomplish this goal with the assignments I have chosen to highlight below. Accomplishing this goal has made me a better writer and better public speaker. These skills have positively impacted paper and speeches completed in other college courses as well.

The first assignment that demonstrates my goal achievement is the Leaders in Film Presentation from HON 250H, Foundations of Leadership. For this assignment we had to look for characters in film that had leadership and analyze them. I chose The Nightmare Before Christmas. This movie has always been one of my favorite movies and so getting to use it for an assignment was a dream. This movie was also difficult for this assignment. I initially struggled to describe the leadership styles of the characters but managed to figure it out through analyzing their voice lines and not just the characters themselves. I think this assignment it was perfect for this goal because I struggled but it was one of my better presentations by my execution of presenting it.

The next assignment demonstration excellence in verbal communication is the Teacher for ½ a Day from HON 264H, Thinking Outside the Box. For this assignment, we had to teach the class something that we were already knew or do. During this time, I was writing a lot of lesson plans, so I considered that my something to teach. I remember being so excited to teach this to someone else, especially being in the education program. I worked through the steps that my professors had walked us through when we were building our first lesson plan. This assignment I think also fit in this goal because I was well versed in lesson planning at this point so I was able to teach others how to do it as well with efficiency.

The final assignment showcasing excellence in verbal and written communication was the Final Paper from HON 264H, Thinking Outside the Box. For the final in this course, we had to draw a slip of paper with a single word on it. We then had the exam period to write an essay inspired by that word. The word I had picked was Face. At first, I wasn’t sure where I was going to take this paper. I eventually got to “facing your fears” and wrote my experience with facing new experiences and how to accept them and learn to get comfortable with them. I was so proud of the paper when I had finished it. I have always found it easiest to write from experiences which is what that paper is for me. I pulled all my information from things that I had gone through. I think that this paper fits this goal because this piece showed the most true emotion with just the word “face.”  I was able to build so much off of it.

Overall, these assignments were some of my favorite and show how I am able to communicate both verbally and in a written format. I was able to present the ideas logically and effectively. These skills will continue with me as I move to my own classroom.