Reflection on Colloquium

Coming into this class, I didn’t really have high expectations and just wanted to get the requirement out of the way. I assumed colloquium was just going to be another boring class teaching me about certain plants and animals and how they are affecting the environment. I had heard it was going to be easy but with a lot of busy work, something I wasn’t looking forward too. After the first colloquium lecture I was definitely impressed by my professors teaching methods and way to keep the class interested. He didn’t bore me at all, he stood in front of the class and got to know everybody because he felt that was a big part of teaching. If you do not get to know who your students are in a discussion based class, then you’re not doing your job right. Well Professor Wilkinson definitely did an awesome job at getting students involved and letting us share our opinion or story, because it helped him get to know us better and it made us feel like we were contributing to the class discussion. I also learned that the class was going to be a lot more than lectures about different plants and animals, but about all of the global environmental problems we are currently suffering from and how every action we take can make a difference in someone’s life. I never realized how many environmental issues there are that are affecting the sustainability of every country around the world and how much of an impact an individual can make. That’s another big thing I learned, is sustainability, the definition and what it really means and how it’s affected by such small actions as changing our light bulbs to be more efficient or turning off the lights after you leave each room and not leaving water running when you’re not using it.

After all these rumors and stories about how bad this class was going to be, I can honestly say I enjoyed it and really learned a lot. Especially after completing our Plan B projects and watching everyone else do theirs, it really taught me a lot. It was interesting to see and hear about all these problems from my peer’s point of view and hear what they have to say about the different solutions we could be taking. I am glad colloquium is a required course for the university because it really teaches students about problems that they are adding onto without even realizing it and its problems we should all be aware of. Thank you Mr. Wilkinson for an awesome successful semester and for teaching me a whole other side about the environment that I wasn’t ever fully aware of. I feel like I can make a huge impact in someone’s life now.