Reflection #2 Lisdany Alfonso (Better Citizen)
My Second Reflection on SPC 2608 Class Presentations
"How to be a Better World Citizen?"
For our next presentation, the professor picked the theme of how to be a better world citizen for our second presentation. We also invited students from another class to come witness our presentations. When it came time to select a topic, our group decided on culture. This topic is the best approach to teach people on how to be good global citizens. Because of the strong focus on individualism in today's culture, the notion of being a better global citizen might be difficult for some individuals. Nevertheless, it is crucial to change oneself so that you can benefit the world.
I researched about different religions in Asia. This was a little bit difficult to narrow down since Asia is the biggest continent in the world. With some research, I was able to find the top 3 most popular religions practiced in Asia. These religions were Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism. I put my information in a google slide that was shared with my other groupmates. Emily was the one who set up the google slides and created the theme and design we would use. I followed that theme when designing my slides and tried to keep is as simple looking as possible with big pictures and few words. We worked individually on our parts but collectively as a whole on our PowerPoint. It all worked out and looked aesthetically pleasing to the eye in the end.
Group 1:
Group 1 presented first in the "How to be a Better Citizen" event we had on the 14th of November where each group spoke about different topics. Group one's topic was "Respect", they summarized on different importances of respects. By teaching us how being taught moral principles such as respect and morality at a young age is essential for the development of our society, I discovered that respecting other people's views and upbringing liberates us from megalomania1. Respecting race and cultures is crucial in becoming a better citizen. One of my classmates in group one said
"To me, the best way to respect people from other cultures and races is to strike a balance between curiosity and appreciation. Ask questions if people are open to it but learn how to silently observe and appreciate the differences that makes us all unique".
I really resonated with this statement because it made me realize how important it is to know the time and place to be curious and ask questions. I became aware of the value of treating everyone with respect regardless of their ethnicity, sexual orientation, or background. They did a great job of explaining everything in a straightforward and lucid manner, which opened my mind to a whole new universe.
Group 2:
The presentation continued with the second group, which was my group. My group was enthusiastic to begin the research. We decided to cover food customs, religions, and clothing traditions of each continent of the world.
Leslie talked about Europe's great food culture and their most common dishes, Emily spoke about Asian food, including the best dishes from Japan, India, Thailand, Korea, and other nations. Jarumis discussed rich African cuisines and interesting Australian dishes. Karla spoke lastly about North American and South American food. After food, came the religion topic which was my subtopic. I was a bit nervous to present but I spoke about the most popular religions in Asia. Then, Europe was discussed by Mairo. Melanie followed with Africa and South America. Dani finished it off by speaking about North America and Australia. Our last subtopic was clothing. Jessica touched on Asian and European clothing traditions. Deborah spoke about Australian and African fashion. Lastly, Eugenio talked about North America and South America fashion traditions.
I enjoyed presenting this topic with my group. I learned so much about the importance of culture and how it is a necessity to learn about them to become a better citizen. Knowing about many different cultures makes you gain something known as Cultural Relativism. Having this new perspective leads to the belief that no culture is better to another in terms of morality, law, politics, and so on. In order to do this, we can start learning about simple traditions that make up a culture such as food, religion, and clothing. Slowly, we gain more knowledge and become a wiser person as a result.
Group 3:
The third group presented, and they taught me ways to raise awareness and aid my local communities. This is a highly relevant issue which everyone can participate in. They highlighted how difficult it is for students to strive for excellent grades while studying for exams while coping with challenges in life. This topic impacted me because I can empathize with them; as a full-time student and a part-time employee, I have to deal with the pressures of balancing my education, work, and domestic chores. When we don't have someone to turn to for assistance, I believe it's critical to be aware of certain circumstances in an individuals' life that might trigger depression. They discussed how to help, how to set up groups for support, and how to design stress-free outdoor breaks filled with movement. Additionally, I learnt about the elderly and their major difficulties. Despite the misconception that they lack depression due to their age and experience, studies show that one in four adults in the United States suffer from mental health disorders. This is a highly concerning trend, and families should be aware of it. This groups presentation was important because it teaches all of us how to act and become actively involved in our communities which overall aid the globe. They give us the steps on how to take action and become a global citizen.
Conclusion:
I enjoyed working on and watching this second presentation. The opportunity to practice my speech skills and learn with my classmates was enlightening. The more I learned about the world, the more I realized how different other people's lives are. I am confident that appreciating, studying, and being conscious of our differences will put us on the correct track to being better global citizens. By helping a person or simply treating them with respect, you may be that person who really can change someone else's life.
1 Obsession with the exercise of power, particularly over others↩
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