The Wheels are Spinning

I have always thought of myself as someone who could analyze information and draw a well thought-out conclusion from it.  What I discovered throughout this course is that I needed to work on articulating that information in a much more defined manner, and get directly to the point.  I chose the second timed write as a piece that demonstrates my critical thinking skills because I was able to draw some conclusions from the movie and articulate them to the reader.  The film The Visitor was the focus of the assignment and was an independent film that required some critical thinking to sort it all out.  The prompt was to consider your own perceptions of non-conformity, and how did the film and the group discussion that ensued challenge these perceptions.  The tricky part was that the discussion board leading up to the timed write didn’t have much activity and became a two person dialogue rather than a group effort.  The movie dealt with some issues that can have some gray area and I did my best to draw a concrete conclusion as well as address the prompt.  The statement “given the choice of abiding by the law or living a life in this country, I, like Tarek would be forced to cross the line and my own morals to live a life of freedom in this country” illustrates an effort to think about the issues, address the prompt, and draw a concrete conclusion.  Articulating the specifics of what I am thinking is a skill that I will continue to work on, and this class has been instrumental in further developing that skill.