Washington D.C. - A First Hand Experience

13 Pages 3297 Words

fear and anger that Americans felt. The protest on September 29th was not just about protesting the war; it was about protesting the racism that was being promoted because of the war. In the classroom setting I would have spoken about how statements that President Bush had made just after the attacks could have been taken as racist, but I would not have actually done something about it. Participating in the protest, marching from Freedom Plaza down to the Capitol, and actively supporting those who spoke out against war and racism are all things that I cannot do in the classroom. Though one can learn practical knowledge in the classroom (for instance, one can be taught that racism still does exist) the classroom does not provide the student with the ability to act on that knowledge. The student must do that of his or her own initiative.
Working in an Office
One experience that is not offered at Valparaiso University is the experience of working in an office. Many students upon graduation will find work in an office space. Life in an office is completely different from college life, however. In the classroom students are usually assigned special projects or papers and they are due at a specific date. This kind of classroom experience can cross over into the real world office situation. For example, I worked on an article for the “Export America” magazine, a publication of the Department of Commerce. The way doing a paper in the working world works is a bit different from the way it is done in the academic world. In the academic world the student approaches his or her professor with an outline of a topic and the professor either approves or disapproves the subject, also giving the student valued advice. For the article I worked on with a colleague the topic had already been approved and the director had already given consent and advice on the topic. At this point is where the similarities between academic work and off...