The Purpose of an Education

It is because of people like Ms. Worthy that so many young people today have been inspired to go beyond just making it through school, but actually strive to succeed throughout the rest of their lives. It is so refreshing to see the type of enthusiasm and dedication she holds towards giving children a better future through their education. She expressed how important it was for young African American children to realize their potential and how they need a deeper sense of knowing someone cares about their success.

Community responsibility was a topic that needs to be addressed more over the country. This concept is crucial in raising children to understand they can do anything and that they have the support of everyone. There is a saying I always hear, “it takes a village to raise a child” and I truly believe this is accurate. Everyone needs to work together to bring our people out of the bad stereotypes and let us know that we are just as god as any other race. We all need to support each other I order to survive at the fullest.

“Ubuntu: ZULU PROVERB A person is a person through other persons. We affirm our humanity when we acknowledge that of others.” I love this concept also because it plays into the fact that we need to respect and treat others as though they were family. It is important to show respect to all people, no matter the case, because you never know what effect you may have in someone’s life.

Howard Homecoming...what an experience!

The amount of activities, performances, food stands, and entertainment in general was amazing. Homecoming here at Howard is definitely something you couldn’t even come close to at another institution. The football games, to begin with, keep your blood pressure up at all times with the many interceptions and touchdowns. The vendors lined up outside the gate added to the excitement and true football game feeling we had been lacking during previous games.

            Yardfest was an experience in itself. I couldn’t believe that many people could fit on the yard at one time. The performances were pretty good but I felt that we could have had better artists. The step show wasn’t as good as it had been in past years but it was still entertaining also. I loved watching the different fraternities and sororities get up and show their dedication and love with their line brothers and sisters. The performance by Travis Porter was also nice although it was hard to see from where I was sitting.

Overall, homecoming was an amazing experience and I truly believe no one can compare to a Howard Homecoming although many may try. I wouldn’t trade this school for anything and I love that we can be known as prestigious but yet know how to throw a good party.  

Freshman Seminar Group Projects

Our group focused on advances in the field of psychology and what scholars have done to further advance this field. Our power point focused on Mamie and Kenneth Clark who were Howard graduates who worked in child racial psychology. They studied the effect society had on black children and their thoughts of which race was prettier, better, uglier, etc.. They opened a counseling center over 65 years ago in Harlem, NY  in order to help the youth of the neighborhood overcome challenges and have a safe haven. This center is still in existence today along with many of the changes they made to help support Brown vs. Board of Education. The effort these two people alone made in the field of psychology is amazing and I really enjoyed learning about them during this project.

First Semester Lookback...

I felt that my first semester here at Howard University was without a doubt a learning experience. As I look back on things I have accomplished I am proud but I also wish I had known certain things before starting this semester. This semester was a bit of a struggle as I tried to adapt to the new work load and free time. It is difficult to transition from high school where your parents are there to help keep you on track, to college where your success is solely dependent on what you make out of your time here. I know that next semester I will be better prepared to tackle the work load and obstacles Howard will throw at me. It has been a great semester in all though.

Groups As A Whole

My group members and I focused on the filed of psychology for our group/oral presentation. one group in our cohort focused on biology and what it takes to find the cure for cancer. This group was particularly informative about experiments done previously and current work being done. Another group focused on the importance of one's voice. They focused on protests dating back to the 80's. Some were even at Howard. This included the several protests in front of the Administration building including the lockout done in '89.

Semester Review

Overall the first semester has been a good growing experience. As a student I have made adjustments to my study habits and have learned that study groups help me best. In particular, freshman seminar was a good addition to my classes. It was nice to have a class that was culturally relevant and informative on the condition of blacks in modern America. I found the lecture on the New York City burial ground lecture to be the most interesting lecture. I find it disturbing that cemeteries with blacks are still being destroyed and built upon. In general the course served its purpose, however I found it to be a lot of work for one credit. I would have preferred that half of the blogs were due but I still would have kept the freshman seminar project. In the future I think that the directions and prompt for the freshman seminar project should be made more clear for students. In all, freshman seminar did an adequate job at giving students a chance to reflect on African American culture.

One Semester Down, Seven To Go:Self Reflection

Over the past four months I have sat through countless lectures in several of my classes and have learned a great deal about my self as a student. For the most part, my classes have gone well and adequately taught me what was necessary. However, I find myself very disappointed with the Freshman Seminar course. This course seems to have been originally intended to help students become familiar with college and life at Howard University. Instead, this course should have been labeled Intro to African Studies. All we learned about was several African concepts and what it means to be black in America. I know that I attend an HBCU but that should help, not hinder, my learning experience. The blogs and group presentation are not a lot of work but they are a lot of work for a one credit course that will not be factored into our GPA if we pass. I did enjoy some of the lectures such as Dr.Carr's and the lecture about the African Burial Grounds in NYC. Overall, Freshman Seminar taught me about my culture and legacy as an African American student but it did not teach me what, I feel, it should have.

Culturally Relevant Teaching

Ms. Kimberly Worthy did her lecture and spoke about her mission with the students in the LEAP program. I never really knew about a middle school that focused so much on African culture, and seeing that Ms. Worthy focuses a lot on that was really interesting to hear about. The fact that she's teaching these students things as African Logic, and bringing them countries in Africa is amazing. Usually a teacher will teach their class the traditional way of teaching. Sticking to the the traditional techniques and lessons but culturally relevant teaching allows the students to be open to new experiences and develop new perspectives, which motivates them to succeed. Ms. Worthy also talks about freedom social-emotionally and academically. This brings up a good point because exposing students to a different way of learning, this allows them academic freedom. They don't only have to stick to the usual way of learning they have the freedom to expand their mind. The emotional program that her students have is something I wish I had when I was in middle school. Children don't usually get the chance to talk about how their feeling. They take their feelings out on other kids or just keep it to themselves, but the emotional program gives them a chance to talk about what's bothering them so it can't be deal with in a more appropriate manner.

For Colored Girls

For Colored Girls was the best movie of 2010. I had always wanted to see the play or at least read it so I was excited when I saw the posters in front of Ira Aldridge. On the opening night of the play, I had class at 6pm so I knew that I would not be able to make it. When I went back on Thursday, the tickets were sold out until Tuesday! My friends and I bought the Tuesday evening's tickets and made our way to the fine arts building around 7pm Tuesday in order to be allowed in at 7:05. The theatre was very small so it allowed for an intimate viewing. I loved the way the seats were arranged because you felt as if you were almost in it. When the actresses were singing, it seemed liked they were looking right at you. My favorite part of the play was the opening number because the dancing along with the soloist were so intense. My favorite characters were the Lady in Yellow and the Lady in Blue. I liked the Lady in Yellow because she was so tiny but when she opened up her mouth to do a solo, she had this bug. amazing voice. I liked the Lady in Blue because she did the poem about abortion and the way her legs quivered, she made me believe that she was actually up on a table getting life sucked out of her. All in all, I did enjoy the play. Howard students have a tremendous amount of talent and I am glad that they are able to display that talent.