HON 110-300 Home Page

Journals

Why?

Keeping a journal of your first semester experience can be a treasure you revisit your entire life.  You may already find it is hard to remember what you were thinking as a child.  As you start your college career and later your professional life and a family of your own, you will find it is hard to remember what you were thinking, dreaming, and maybe even worrying about as a freshman.  The journal you keep for HON 110 should focus on your intellectual life, but since this is also a time your social life is changing, we will address topics concerning your adjustment to these changes as well.  The journal will also be used to record your reaction to guest speakers, including Chancellor DePaolo, and the Schweitzer scholar.  Please keep your journal after the semester is over!  Better yet, continue it throughout your college career.  

Format:

• Purchase a notebook exclusively to use as your journal for this class.  You will hand the notebook in on three Tuesdays (see below)  The notebook should be a composition book.  Write "Honors 110 Journal" and your name on it. 
• Date each entry clearly
• You may find it helpful to choose a particular time to write in your journal and stick to that time whenever possible- for example, after lunch or late afternoon that you can react immediately to your daily experiences; after dinner, but before you begin a study period or hit the library; before you go to bed; early in the morning so that you can reflect on the previous day.  

What to Write:

• You should write in your journal at least three to four times a week, preferably every day.  You are starting a very meaningful part of your life and you will have lots of new experiences, lots of new questions, lots of insights.  This journal is a place you can use to explore some of your insights about college.  In that way, this journal may be different from diaries that you have kept before;  it is not meant to be a list of your daily activities (get a planner for that) or a list of what you ate each day, or a "journal of the heart".  Reflect on your day and distill something important that happened from it.  This will not happen every day, but will more often than not if you are taking time to think about your experiences. There will be some great days both academically and socially, but if you have a bad day, think about what you might do to make tomorrow a better one.
   
• Write and react to specific class activities:  Refer to the course calendar for topic related questions to address. 

• At least once per week, include a (minimum one-page) entry about an article from the New York Times that relates to the section theme, "Medicine, technology and ethics."  Clip the article and tape/glue/staple it in your journal.  Be sure to note the date of the article.  Summarize the content, tell why you think it is relevant to the theme, and why you found it interesting or useful. 

• Other topics you may wish to write about are:

1. Why are you attending college?   

   Consider:  What are your goals in attending college, and UNCW in particular?  What's the difference between  becoming an educated person and earning a college degree?  What do you really want to know about?  Is there anything you have always wondered about but not explored in depth?  What are the things that capture your imagination?  How do you find out how to find out more about these things
    

2. What are your greatest excitements and biggest challenges?

   Consider:  What do you see as the new opportunities your college experience opens to you?  What should you do to optimize your experience and achieve your goals?  What worries you about your ability to succeed in college?  What specific measures can you take to strengthen yourself and dispel any self-doubt you may have? 
    

3. How are you dealing with the new freedoms you have?

   Consider:  This may be the first time you have spent this much time away from your home and your parents.  How are you developing new habits or preserving long-standing ones that will help you succeed at UNCW?  How are you coping with the way university course schedules differ from that of high school?  How are you managing your new freedom? 
    

4. [If you live in a dorm] How are you dealing with living in the dorm? 
   [If you live off campus]  How are you dealing with changes to your living arrangements since your high school days?  What is different and how have you coped with the changes?  

   Consider:  How will you turn your dorm (or other living) environment into a study/learning environment?  You may have never shared a room with someone before.  How are you developing mutual respect, mutual consideration, and quiet hours?  If you don't live in the dorm, what do you think are the advantages and disadvantages?  How can you overcome any disadvantages?   
    

5. How are you establishing new friendships?  How can you enrich them intellectually and culturally?  

   Consider:  What are ways that you can direct friendships and relationships toward learning and enhancing your education?  What things can you do with your friends that will help you move beyond mall shopping escapades-- how about attending a campus lecture and discussion together-- visit the aquarium together-- check out the local museums.
    

6. How are you establishing valuable teacher-student relationships? 

   Consider:  What benefits can good teacher-student relationships bring you?  How can you get to know your teachers and help them get to know you?Compare the coach-athlete and teacher-student relationship.  Think in terms of roles and responsibilities.   The book Tuesday's with Morrie should help inspire you with this topic.  

How Your Journal Will Be Evaluated:

Due Dates:

So that I can spend an appropriate time reading each journal and still get them back to you as soon as possible, the class will be divided into two teams to turn in the journals on alternating weeks.  You should continue to write in your journal every day or two even on weeks you are not scheduled to turn it in!  

• Teal Team Due Dates: 
• Gold Team Due Dates:   

TEAMS: