I feel like I have experienced a lot in only 2 months. I have never really been in an environment where discussion is so open and productive as it is in ESEM. I think over the past weeks our class has grown to become comfortable with one another and we always end up running out of time every class period. I think Serendip is ingenious but I still feel like some of classmates continue to be hesitant about what they post on here. This class has allowed me to improve the way I interact with people and how to create ideas from one's thoughts instead of just recieving information from a teacher. I also learned how to frame my questions so it's asking a more general question that can be built on when I post my thoughts on the internet. I think my writing needs more work in ways like how to argue more effectivly and how to reach a larger audience. I can't wait for the rest of the semester.

The excerpt below is taken from an interesting article from the Gawker by Ryan Tate in the Censorship and Authoritarianism section:

"The internet allowed people around the world to express themselves more freely and more easily. With the App Store, Apple reversed that progress. The iPhone and iPad constitute the most popular platform for handheld computerizing in America, key venues for media and software. But to put anything on the devices, you need Apple's permission. And the company wields its power aggressively.

http://www.autostraddle.com/zachary-quinto-is-gay-says-so-116420/

Over break I stumbled upon this article while catching up on some light reading on a the website autostraddle. It is a website that primarily caters to lesbian and queer female audiences with material written by a similarly aligned writing staff. However, that does not mean that autostraddle doesn't often cover the full spectrum of lgbtq media, entertainment and social issue related events going on in the world. Their scope and attention can and does encompass more than lesbian exclusive interest pieces. This is how I came upon the piece about the "coming out" of actor Zachary Quinto. Much of what I saw in the autostraddle piece on Quinto pointed towards our class discussions on utopianisms and dystopias. Quinto wrote about an, "enormous shift of collective consciousness throughout the world.  we are at the precipice of great transformation within our culture and government." And yet he writes that his widespread, public coming out moment was precipitated by the recent suicide of gay teen Jamey Rodemeyer. It is hard for me to imagine coming anywhere near the utopian vision of Qunito when we are being bombarded with internalized hate crimes.

I've found this week's readings to be both interesting and salient, especially in comparison to Elly Teman's Birthing a Mother (which I have been reading for another class). Teman's book is an ethnographic exploration of surrogacy in Israel. It examines the process of surrogacy as perceived by both the surrogate and the intended mother, and it addresses the construction of motherhood within the particular context of Judaism and nationalism of Israel.

So far I have really enjoyed the class. Not only have I learned more about views on the world around me, but I have been able to further my own opinions and dissect my place within this world. I am still working on gaining confidence and comfort to contribute more in class and online and hope that by the end of the semester, I will be a regular contributor. I am still learning the meaning of being in an educational "community" as opposed to just being an individual in a class, and I feel that this form of contribution will help me understand what this means for myself and others. More than anything, however, I would love to help my own growth and that of others.

I'm still working on being more concise in my writing, but I think that will improve by the end of the semester with Anne's help and that of my peer editors.

I feel as though this ESem has given me the chance to grow, not just as a writer, but also, and especially as a fellow student and participant in class discussions. The dialogic nature of our class has constantly made me feel more dynamic of a learner. With every comment made in class, I've felt as though I've not only gained a new perspective and another facet to my beliefs and my opinions on certain topics, but I've also been inspired- both to change from just sitting back and listening to the inspiring things that everyone around me is saying, to being one of those people inspiring my fellow classmates while always maintaining an open mind about other perspectives. This idea will help me continue to learn and grow and develop and apply this multifaceted perspective to a grander scale. I know that this ESem and the conversations that I've had the opportunity to engage in will continue to teach me to feel comfortable and contribute in any class, and to allow myself to remain open to changing my opinions-whether that means adding another dimension to them, modifying them, or completely changing the position of them. And I know that ESem gives me the resources and company with whom I can continue to grow as a learner.

The subject of the Esem class and the class itself provided me with a very interesting perspective to see the world and education. Students came into the classroom with certainty: education is important and that’s why everybody is here inside the classroom. At least I hold the belief that education is the essential part of one’s life so that every one should try his/her best in order to get in college! However, given a chance to insight into the education, we learn a lot from the process. We start with categories and explore the spectrum from educational autobiographies, which is a really engaging way to start a deep investigation. I started to notice the differences and to be conscious of those differences: social mobility, class matter, “common sense”, access to education etc. Surprisingly, I found that I started to be a “education-sensitive” person while I think about educational problems both unconsciously and intentionally on my way back dorm or even in the dinning hall. Meanwhile, I always found that the discussion in class and all the reading materials are so informative that there is always a lot of connections to make and fruitful thoughts to illustrate in the writing process. Writing partners and weekly conferences are definitely helpful because some feedback from others. It also good to try different genres of reading.

It's been a big challange but it's also a great chance for me to read and write the analytical essays. The class, both classmates and teacher, helps me push myself to get my own ideas systematically and deeper. I did not usually ask myself why I think in this way or that way. But now I started asking myself more questions. I found out many things that I am not sure about, and I started doubting them. Since I am from China, and I have been received Chinese education for my previous school education, I like to compare the things in education between USA and China. Education purpose, education method, students tendency or common characters, etc. Through reading lots of different kinds of opinions, I get to know what other people think about the questions in education. I shall get to talk more next half semester. Overall, it's been really nice. Thank you guys!