Learning Profile

Ms. Milbourn followed the common themes we read in the text. At the beginning of the class, we voted on four main chapters to focus on. We covered more than four, but mostly those four. We had a blog assignment that taught us to persist like in chapter two, and managing our college resources. Chapter one covered adjusting to the culture of college, setting your goals, and developing your academic passion. We covered this with a worksheet and a blog. Our worksheet mapped out our academic plan while we are at Butler, and we had a blog discussing what our goals for a career were after college. Our next blog covered chapter three, planning your time and reducing stress. We talked about time management and how it can help you be successful. We did a speed reading program that covered chapter four, building your reading and comprehension skills. The last chapter we covered was chapter five. The chapter outline shows explains, using your dominate intelligence, learning style, and personality type to become an active learner. The teacher had a wide variety of different styles of teaching each lesson giving us a chance to learn which we prefer.


Every person in the world is an individual and has different ways of doing everything, including learning. Some people in the world learn from reading, writing and learning by themselves. Some people have to be told or listening, maybe through lecture or videos. Some people learn form activities that bring them physical learning, such as doing things with their hands instead of just mentally learning. Others have to be interactive with others, and dices to maximize their learning. I personally am the interactive and active learners. I prefer to discuss my ideas and thoughts, and have them reflected on both positively and negatively to father my learning. Activities such as discussion groups, or debates bring in the interactive type of learning. I also do well with activities that inquire physical activities such as in math when we use blocks or counting tools, so I can see things visually. Individuals about to take this class should be open to all these types of learning and try to embrace their strengths and do try to improve in their weaknesses. Learning to be successful in all the different types of learning with expand the knowledge someone can bring in, proving more successful in school.

Along with finding your strengths realizing your weaknesses and trying to improve those weaknesses can be just as important. I noticed while we were doing our speed reading program on the computer that I was a much slower reader. I could read quickly but would not be able to remember or comprehend what I read, so I result to reading slower so I do not have to re-read sections of reading. I need to read more often and stop resulting to learning in other ways such as the active way of learning or the listening way of leaning to improve my reading skills, and further more improve my learning skills as a whole. I wish I did have the skills to read faster, because I always realize I am one of the last to finish a test, or homework and not because do not understand. Sometimes I know I am one of the best students in the class about understanding the material, but I still need more time to complete every assignment because of my reading skills.

After taking this class I have learned the importance of time management, and organizational skills. I know prioritize my day before I start. I will now always do my work before I play, and this will reduce my procrastinating nature, and create less stress in my day. While taking this class we had an assignment to plan out our academic goal to achieve our degree in what we want. I realized during this assignment that I am not sure what I want to do after college, therefore I do not know what kind of classes I want to take while I’m in college. This is important to me because it could effect the rest of my life, and also cost me money on extra years in college. I need to figure this out and start on my degree. The time management skill I learned was the most important skill that I learned while taking this class. I am smarter now to do my work before I play so I do not have to stay up late to get work done or finish other projects I have which will result in more sleep and less stress.

Throughout the class there were many great assignments, but only one merit assignment proved most important to me and relevant to my life. The video on the girl that died of binge drinking is relevant and important in my life, because those pressures and activities of drinking are surrounding me everyday, whether I want them to be or not. The pressures for me to drink are put on me by most students around me, and even the people I call my friends. I love to go out and have fun with a group of friends but I almost can not have a night without some amount of alcohol around me. It is not only important that I do not fall into those pressures, but I feel the relevance to my life about my friends also. My friends have the same risk as the girl that died, when I see them participating in some of the same activities as she did. This worries me, because there could be the same outcome on someone I love and am close to, this is why is brings relevance and importance in my life.

In my opinion the class for me had some beneficial information and skills that I learned while participating in the class. I believe the two projects that should never be dropped is the movie over the girl dying of binge drinking, and the speed reader exercise. I believe those were the most beneficial activities of the class because everyone has to experience the peer pressure of college, if they have not already in high school. Also a great number of students have trouble reading or comprehending what they read. I believe that the speed reader exercise should be taken at the beginning of the class, and then given reading assignments during throughout the class. Then at the end take the speed reader course again and see the improvement in both speed and comprehension. I believe the number of blogs could be dropped and implement different types of exercise to learn the same concepts the blogs were meant to teach. I believe the course was conducted well, but I believe there could be more full class assignments to take place of some of the blogs.

There is not much to tell a student that has not taken this class other than to participate and take a positive attitude into everyday. This class is not to mind boggling and difficult but does need to be taken seriously. Without a positive attitude in this class will make it so much easier to get through and enjoy the class as you learn. The one aspect that made me struggle was the freedom that was given us and the trust the teacher gave us to complete the blogs. I ended up procrastinating some of the blogs which resulted me scrambling toward the conclusion of the class. The one word of advice I would give to a student that has not taken the class is plan. If you plan your day and your homework before your play in the day you will have no trouble getting through any class no matter how difficult. Just set your mind to accepting hat is given to you and doing the most with it. The words I would put above my desk is “No one gets anywhere without hard work.”

The experience as a learner in this class has taught me I have not been the best learner in the past. My two biggest mistakes have been my listening skills that I lack, and my procrastinating habit. I will get distracted and not go into every class period with a positive attitude and ready to learn. Therefore I would not listen as well as I should. Also I would put of my work and would do what I would want at that moment and time rather than what I knew was best for me and for my grades. I would procrastinate my homework until the last moment and would cause me to stay up late and lose sleep which would further hurt my grades and school work. I will now forever do my work before I play and will get more things done in a day by doing so. My listening skills have improved and get me further in the direction I want to go quicker. While learning to listen better I have learned other peoples views and can reflect on them and incorporate them into my own life.

Academic Plan

I have come to Butler to create more opportunities for myself to transfer to a division I college or university to play football. Along with my sports I want to graduate from Butler before moving on to a four year college. Even though i am not quite sure of what my final major will be, I am as of now "majoring" in Business. I want to own a Restaurant when I retire, and also participate in a lot of real estate. I believe my classes in business, such as Accounting classes, Math classes, and other such classes will help me in my life when I begin those goals of mine. I do not believe I will finish my business degree but i believe those classes can help me in almost any profession or any other degree I choose to seek. A couple of ideas I have are coaching, personal trainer, teacher, or an agent. My love and passion in life is sports, so anything that involves sports would fit well for me. I also enjoy success in life, and after my college career in sports I will not have the opportunity to succeed the way I love. This is why i want to be in a career which i can help other people succeed. In helping others succeed in sports preferably, or school and life, would bring the feeling of success to my life and fulfill my life goal.

Time Management

When I fail to manage my time well and fail to fulfill an expectation I feel worthless. I feel I have let myself down. I could have finished the paper, assignment, project, or task if I had prioritized and managed my time better. When I chose to play video games, play with my friends, go to the mall, or watch a movie before I do my real work such as school, sports, or a job I do not fulfill all my needs and then there are consequences. When I chose to play before my homework I sometimes do not get the homework all done which hurts my grade in class. Or if I decide to stay up really late and finish it I will lose sleep, and most likely not perform as well as I can the next day, whether that be in the classroom or on the field. If I do not manage my time for sports, I will not get better. I could be slacking off and doing something else rather than practicing while someone else is working hard and giving themselves enough time to practice, which will make them pass me up and I could get benched. At work if I do not prioritize well and manage my time I will not get my job done. Working as a buss boy if I decide to stop and watch the television or get distracted I could get behind on cleaning tables. This could result in losing costumers because there are not tables to sit them in until the tables are cleaned, so the line gets backed up. This could result me in losing my job. Since I have been in college I have learned to prioritize myself better, resulting in better time management. I now do my work before I play, and at the end of the day I feel like I have accomplished everything I need to rather then going to be worried about what I did not make time for. Since I have learned to manage my time my life is less stressful and more complete.

Coping with Change

The biggest change I have gone through in the past year is moving out of my house and away from home. Moving away from home has cut of my funds from my grandparents, and has made me learn more responsibility. I have to now manage my money and work for everything I get. I also have more freedom which makes me make better decisions because I have the freedom to do what I want. I have to chose to do my homework now rather than be told to. Change is hard for me, because it comes unexpected and always overwhelming. Change is necessary for growth. If I did not move away from home I would not have learned the responsibility to live on my own. I would always rely on my grandparents rather than grow into my own identity. Growing apart from the dependence of my family has given me the chance to experience what it will be like to have the responsibility of my own family. While I was in high school the teachers took care of their students as they were babysitting, but in college the teachers put the responsibility on the students to do their work and get everything done. I have experienced physical change sometimes when a big change has occurred in my life. If I feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar I will not be as hungry or eat as much. Change is necessary in life and for the happiness and success of a person in the world.

Academic Honesty

If you were dying of an illness that required operation to survive, would you want a doctor who cheated his or her way through medical school, or a unqualified auto technician working on your car? This is what happens when we have dishonest academic students. Academic honesty is an important part of any level of education, but especially college. Plagiarism is a dishonest academic act. If you plagiarize you are stealing someone else’s work and using it for yourself. Plagiarism as defined by Dictionary.com is “the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work.” Most student who do resort to plagiarism do not realize they are plagiarizing, which they are also breaking the law. Plagiarism in most universities and college’s has consequences such as suspension, but usually expulsion. This means all scholarships are lost, and you are kicked out of the college, costing you a lot of money. Most students priorities are not right, usually leading to more partying and less studying. This is a main reason students plagiarize. They do not leave themselves enough time the paper or project and they research ends up directly in their papers. They do not give the credit where credit is due, therefore they are plagiarizing. Most students can avoid plagiarizing, and maintain academic honesty by giving themselves enough time to cite everything, and write their own work. Time management is a big key to this solution.

Community Service

One of the fastest rising concerns in America is child obesity. Children spend more time inside playing with their video game systems rather than outside enjoying the fresh air and exercises. Families also have become more lazy on meal time. More and more Americans resort to fast food and eating out instead of a home made meal which would result in more healthy eating. A way to lower obesity and higher health in all Americans would be to put a regulation on restaurants health levels of food. This would eliminate the greasy unhealthy dinner times for most Americans. Parents could also create outside high energy activities in their neighborhood to bring back the kids that don't want to come in and end their day. I could start some activities in my own neighborhood and start to include other neighborhood's so that the trend will spread. All they want to do is stay outside and run and get dirty and without them knowing, exercise. Another idea is to inform children when they are young in school about health, and start them with good habits. I believe from elementary school and on there should be time in between meals for a healthy snack. This will keep the metabolism going which will therefore lower obesity. I could volunteer as a helper during recess to encourage kids to play rather then sit around during this time. Schools and parents should also encourage big breakfast's and smaller dinners with no snacks after dinner or before bed. These three ideas will lower the child obesity from rising and turn the tide to start lowering the weight of children in America.

Case Study

For a student in Jordan's situation they should first look to a Butler counselor for help, since there are no clubs or groups associated with his concern. With the counselor's help they could create a group or club that brings people that have the same concerns together. This group could create plans and ideas to create better situations for people with concerns about their sexual status. Like in his home town they could create a Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual support group. Also in most public high schools in the United States of America, there are groups called Gay Straight Alliance. He could talk to a representative from the club at El Dorado High School, to get ideas and support. He could even create a linking club with the high school and the Butler County Community College.. With some support from other groups and leaders he could bring awareness to others that are interested in the same concerns as Jordan, but had no one to turn to. These people would now be able to help him and he would now have more support for fixing the problem at Butler County Community College. If he realized how much help he would be to other people that have the same concerns, his efforts would be appreciated and bring results.