07:752, Overview of Educational Issues

Following guidelines and rules in safety, production and meeting standards is what we trust the road construction companies have in place. There should be a measure of accountability and an understanding of the quality that is demanded. I’m almost certain there are workers and taxpayers do not value the extra burden that guidelines, rules and standards put on their day and we can lose sight of their purpose.

I have never considered myself a strong writer and still have visions of essays being returned covered with red pen markings to be edited. This course caused me stress! The stress came from challenging my standards, precision and technical writing. As a Graphic Communications teacher I work with translating ideas and concepts into images and media. I am deeply invested in communicating thoughts and ideas through audio, video, graphics and art and far less interested in technical writing and APA formatting.

The passion and precision demanded from this course earned my respect. I was held to a high standard and was forced to own my mistakes. It was beneficial for me to be put into a position of a frustrated student who needs to acknowledge and problem-solve lack of skill and interest – a push for empathy to others in that situation.

I was honored to be asked to submit my essay to be published in the Brandon University journal. This was a proud moment as I have never considered myself an accomplished writer. Unfortunately, my pride was quickly deflated when I held my essay next to the others who were also published in the journal. My essay seemed very broad, where as the others seemed to go deep into a topic. I was also disappointed in myself at the “celebration” that was held for the journal authors as I thought it was a casual presentation, but others had prepared cohesive presentations. I was somewhat embarrassed and I continue to be shy about sharing my work.