Extra Credit #4: How various college classes overlap

The various college classes that I am taking definitely have a lot of overlap. In my opinion, this makes studying much more interesting because as a student I am encouraged to apply what I have learned to other fields of academia. It can be said that classes within the same major can be considered similar. Such as English 1a and English 34: when writing my e-portfolio, I need to be mindful of the diction I am using, which creates a distinguishing tone. This is important because I need to be mindful of my tone when addressing different types of audience. There are also other important writing elements such as concision and clarity that are also important when writing an E-Portfolio. This may be expected, because both classes deal with the English language. However, English 34 isn’t really an English class in my opinion, but more of a technological class that is dealing with a very particular aspect of the online community and social networking. It has a lot to do with the modern world. In class, I would say that we have not devoted a lot of time to learning about the English language, which definitely isn’t a bad thing, but have rather focused our interests to a much different aspect of communication. Across subjects, we can still find a similar pattern especially when discussing English. This is in part because the spoken and written language is critical to any profession, regardless of whether it’s discussion centers around History, science, philosophy, or mathematics. Knowing how to write and talk is something that has proven to be valuable in all of my classes. With regards to another set of subjects, such as math and economics, there is also a very clear relationship. The fact that there are prerequisites for upper division Economics classes is indicative that a clear understanding of mathematics is essential to interpreting highfalutin economic issues that utilize complex formulas. I use basic mathematic formula’s when solving science and economic problems. I also tend to use economic reasoning a lot when arguing about certain topics that may relate to History, philosophy, and science (bioethics). By doing so I feel that I can strengthen my argument because it brings in another rational perspective and may lead to an insight. Aside from specific mechanics such as I have mentioned, all courses definitely teach me to be more diligent when managing my time and resources, more introspective when analyzing issues or themes, and to persevere from start to finish no matter what kind of an assignment or project it is. This is probably in part because all courses at Foothill are similar in the sense that they all have written homework assignments, tests, and some kind of class room element in which students are expected to participate. All of these skills seem like they will be useful later on in life, and I am definitely glad that they are being consistently reinforced in every subject area.