Project Reflection
In humanities this year our studies are focused on civics and US history. With loose guidance, we were asked to have had a completed project by the end of the trimester to be evaluated on. Of course time slipped our minds and we were left with only around four weeks for the project give or take. We scrambled to come up with project ideas and were finally influenced by the elections going on around us. We split up into three groups and decided that the general theme revolved around current elections. It was up to your group to decide what that project would be.
As we discussed the necessities of having to work in a group, I was quick to worry. After past experience in groups, collaborating in projects no longer was a highlight, but in my ears sounded more like a punishment. I shook in my seat, utterly disturbed by what this would shape up to be. After a debate over our system of choosing groups we decided that we would just have a discussion on who we did and did not want to work with. Hallelujah! The names Anthony, Charlie, and John were put into my group. At that point I would have fought anyone to the death to keep that secure. My thought process immediately went to how easy this would be now that I knew that every group member was sure to be productive. Easy was definitely a poor assumption.
Politics has never been my fortieth, instead I choose to stay rather oblivious to the goings on, whether that be right or wrong. So there I was as we discussed amnesty and relations with China, simply nodding as if I were in the know. Not only did I have to figure this all out as we went, but I also had to do it in the mind set of a communist. Yes, we as a group decided to run for congress in alternative parties. I was up against the tea partier, libritarian, and green partier. When I chose communism, I was going off of the knowledge of negative little things I had over heard about it. My expectations were low for what it had to offer. As I was at a loss for hope on what I was supposed to do, Karl Marx came to my rescue.
Karl came in the form of a perfect little book that held the key to the world of communism. Before I knew it I was an informed communist, astonished by how intrigued I was by the manifesto. I was pleased.
Sadly I feel though that this was definitely a weak project for me. I don’t believe I came out with a very good follow through. It was so frustrating at times to have to google almost every question to find just the definition, let alone a communists thoughts on the matter. I felt foolish that I didn’t know half the things we talked about and ended up a lot of the time avoiding my work. I only came out with two political ads, and a small amount of things to say in the debate.
The debate, oh the debate was definitely a confirmation that I was out of my league. Anthony spoke aggressively about his point, both astonishing and amusing the crowd with his out there beliefs. John was more subtle about his approach, but seemed to me well informed and ready to respond. And of course Charlie, the political expert sitting to my left was wining the crowd over with his endless amount of knowledge, and seemingly the most sane theories at that table. The seating arrangement had been made to represent the left and right wing. This served as a huge disadvantage for me. I being last of the four to answer felt at times rather unimportant, and impatient to wait for the heated debate to end so I may add a word in. On top of all this I also had to defend communism, something that most of the people in the room before even hearing the debate had decided was a bad thing. It definitely felt great to be up there though and to see how well my group was doing, I just couldn’t help but feel like I wasn’t a contributing factor to the success.
I realize that there is more that I should have done in this project, but at the same time I’m not entirely sure if I would have fully been able to do so. My lack of knowledge in this situation was a great disadvantage to me. Though this project was not a failure. Even though I see all the flaws in my part, my group was really dedicated to the project, and I think as a team our results were very good. I am so happy to have been able to work with such a great group.
Our final product matched our expectations, and although we didn’t stick to well to our calendar, I never felt like we were in a rush to finish anything. I felt our time was well distributed, and our project well reflected the amount of work we put into it. This experience has not yet pushed my political up keeping, but has given me a well due update on political issues. In someways even changing my opinion on curtain topics and giving my current beliefs backed up fact. I know that it will someday come in handy when I need to inform the unsuspecting capitalist to my mass knowledge of what is wrong with them.
