Bonus 13 Montaya Mccloud

Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go (E. L. Doctorow). 
Discourse 300 Was very different and difficult for me but it was a course I believe I very well needed. I am not used to having a hard time in an English class. I learned about what I lacked in and what I was good at. In the past I was very much used to research paper based English classes, which are way different than this blogging class style. This class made me really use my brain to think and come up with arguments when writing an essay. I had to take some time and actually think how to even write for this class and overcome a little personal inside discouragement that I implemented within my own head. What I loved about this class is the discussion leader. I liked how you made sure every had to voice their point of view on the stories. I am a very introverted person, so this made me have to become a little extroverted for a few days. I really didn’t care for the online assignment posting as we went throughout the class. I do better when I have a schedule of every assignment the class will have at the beginning because it takes me longer to write what the average person would write so I usually start earlier on assignments. Also, I believe it is king of hard for people who are not as advanced with using blogger, or doing work electronically and turning it in. I would have liked turning in actual papers and assignments in better than posting them. The weekly quizzes did a great job making sure us readers stayed on “our toes”. The weekly print out points helped as a reminder to read for the actual quiz in the begging of the class.  Something that I really liked about the class was how Ms.Casady let the class flow in whatever direction we would end up in, an you let people have their own perspective on things. I believe Ms. Casady was a very good teacher and wanted everyone to become a better writer. As a teacher there was never a day that she was rude or didn’t seem like she wanted to be there. I also liked that she could tell apart the different personalities in the class and understood that some students were not as open as all students. I believe Ms. Casady did a great job learning every actual student over the semester. Also, another great thing was about her sharing her actual life and background in the begging and throughout the year and bringing us honey to taste. As Stated by Gustave Flaubert, the art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe. This class definitely Tested writers to figure out what points and arguments did they really believe in or to present good essays and speeches. I like everything about this class, with a exemption of the Online portion.

Bonus 13 Class Review_ Dianesa Sanon

This semester has been quite the ride. I have gotten the chance to become friends with people that I probably wouldn't have been able to make friends with because I'm an idiot when it comes to friendly conversations. The in-class lectures were my favorite because we got to talk freely. We could throw out what we wanted to say into the air and our classmates would mold it into something better or raise you a more interesting way to view things. To be honest, though, it was easier to sit down talking from my desk than it was to stand up and present. It's different when I'm not talking to the back of my classmates' heads and only getting half the eyeballs attentive on me. Granted, it is easier to speak to the class while presenting when you know they are feeling the same way you are so they aren't hardcore judging.
I really enjoyed the readings we did and especially liked how everyone interpreted it themselves. A good twenty-five percent of those readings, though, I've already done before but revisiting them with a fresh outlook was nice. The Bradbury posts were the best in my opinion because of the subtle horror aspect of it. I found myself thinking and rethinking the underlying message since, like many writers, Bradbury doesn't just write just to write.
One thing I didn't really take a liking to in the class was the fact that most of the assignments that needed to be turned in were online. I almost always forget about any online anything even if I set an alarm for myself to remember. And comments? I forgot about those entirely. I feel like the main posts would be better if turned in by hand and the bonuses and everything else should be done on the blog- especially since the blog posts are worth so much more. It’s kind of how I like to read books and have the physical copy rather than have an electronic one. I guess I could also file it as a learned habit; turn in your papers printed and stapled and crisp. I’ve done it that way for so long that because the blog is online it becomes an “out of sight, out of mind” kind of thing.
Overall the semester was fine. Full of laughs and insight. I would do it all over again but I’m grateful that I never have to take another discourse class in my life. It’s been a long semester.

Class Review by Kyra Moore

Prior to coming in this Discourse, I had negative connotations about a three hundred level Discourse class. I had heard a number of horrifying stories such as 20 page long papers and 15 minute speeches. To my surprise, I have grown to love this class and its subject matter- it was actually my favorite class this semester! This class has taught me and enlightened me in a number of manners. It has been the source of a number of conversations that I have had with my friends. The topics brought up in this class has also been centerpieces for an on campus radio show that my friends and I conduct titled Melanin Nights. I feel that this class has done the mission of what a class should do- make you a better student and teach you something of substance. Discourse 300 with Miss Casady has indeed done both of these things for me. With all of that being said, I don’t have any major criticism pertaining to this class. It was rather enjoyable and actually a rather relaxing supplement in my life. I enjoy the act of Discourse and bring up engaging yet controversial topics and this is exactly what this class allotted me.

I would have to say the most enjoyable part of this class has by far been the bonuses. I loved the intellectual conversation that those prompts brought up. I enjoy and encourage thoughts that are different than mine but are rooted in logical thought. I also liked how the bonuses, some of them, kept up or correlated with current events happening in society. I definitely feel as I have learned a number of things worthwhile in this class. I feel as if I would not have known about some of these events had I not been enrolled in this class. Continuing this class, I feel that the bonus was a great additive and was also a helpful tool for students.

Speaking of helpful tools, I greatly appreciated the compassion and level of understanding that Miss Casady had with our class. She was very open, understanding and relatable with our class- which ultimately contributed to the fact of this being one of my favorite classes that I have taken thus far in my collegiate career. Every time I would “check in” with her before writing a piece for class, she always had a refreshing and open mind set. While she was open and understanding, she also held us accountable for the things that were assigned in class.      In regards to the blogs, I was a fan of them! The blog was chill but was still an outlet for our academic writing. I was a fan of the structure of the class as a whole. Requiring me to read the writing of other students made me aware of the things that my peers feel are important or are at least worth writing about. The texts were also good choices I feel as well! Some of them I had already read but that may be attributed to the fact that I took advanced college credit English courses in high school. Nevertheless, they are classics that I feel everyone should read. Overall, this has been of the best classes that I have taken and I have no major criticism regarding it.

Bonus 13 - Class Review by JJ Leath

        Overall, I think this was a great class. I transferred to UMKC from the University of Arkansas, so this was the only discourse class I had to take. Because of this, I didn't really know what to expect from this class and I have nothing to compare it to. I really enjoyed this class, though. The format was great, and I felt like a learned some cool stuff. Further, I felt like the format gave me the opportunity to get to know my classmates, and that was great. I really enjoyed being able to connect with others, especially since this is my first semester at UMKC. The only thing that think could be improved was the discussion leaders.

        The blogging format for our assignments was very interesting. I felt that it really pushed me as a writer. I am used to academic writing, but I do find myself lacking when it comes to informal writing. I'm still not superb at writing informally, but I did get to practice it and feel that I will continue to get better at it. Further, the blogging format was enjoyable. For whatever reason, I felt far less stressed writing a 1500 work blog than I would a 1500 work paper. Additionally, the way that you structure the content of the class was enjoyable as well. I really enjoyed reviewing and writing about films. I especially enjoyed the section over Film Noir.

        In addition to being enjoyable, I felt like this class was informative as well. I had no idea about film analysis or Film Noir before this class. I really enjoyed learning about both of these topics. It definitely changed the way I look at movies, and it has made movies all the more enjoyable for me. Even though I didn't agree with all of it, I also enjoyed learning about film critique theory. I think that the paper I wrote on Big Trouble in Little China might be a little far fetched, but this class did force me to recognize that there are underlying messages in all forms of media, and I feel that this class has equipped me with some tools for uncovering these messages.

        The only thing that I would say could benefit from a little tweaking would be the discussion leader portion of the class. I think it might have been better to space it throughout the entire semester instead of cramming it into the last half of the semester. I really enjoyed the discussion leader portion of the class, and I really enjoyed the assigned readings that I was able to read. I especially liked the Omelas story. The problem was that I couldn't always make time to read each story. I work full time and go to school full time, and there are just so many hours in the day. If the readings were more spread out, I definitely would have read each. I wasn't able to read the story about the old man with wings, and I would have really liked to been apart of that discussion. My time constraints are obviously not your problem, and I am definitely not trying to make an excuse for why some of the readings weren't done, but I feel like there will be students in my situation in classes in the future that could benefit from the readings being spaced out more.

        Overall, this was a very enjoyable class that I felt I got a lot from. If you teach this class again, I would definitely recommend sticking to the structure and content used in this semester.