Reflection on Honors PS1010

Prior to this course, I had never taken a Political Science course, additionally, I admit to

not being politically engaged and active as I should be. This course has largely instilled a

curiosity and knowledge in me that I will utilize to address social issues and political structures

in the future. The lectures, seminars, and readings introduced me to political concepts that could

be utilized to solve everyday problems or large social issues. The group project engaged our

problem-solving skills through researching and analyzing previous policies and creating our

own. Through this class, I was able to grow as a student, political citizen, and community

member.

I thought the set up of the seminar was engaging and enhanced learning by placing

students in groups so they could focus on societal issues and work collaboratively to examine

problems and create solutions through various social spheres. This method allowed each member

to examine in depth the problem and solution through a perspective lens and afterwards, when

the assignments are complete, group members were able to collaborate and integrate their

knowledge from the entire semester into the final group paper.

Group work enhances collaborative work and accumulates knowledge and ideas to come

up with better ideas. Working in a group brought various perspectives and opinions about the

topic of drug abuse to the table. On the other hand, some ideas may have been overshadowed by

others. In addition, members are assigned research on a specific topic and are not able to delve

through all the various perspectives. Group work has both its pros and cons but in this case the

pros outweighed the cons and our research project was an educational and thought provoking

experience.
 Although, if I had the chance to redo the semester I would chose a different problem. One

problem that appealed to me was the lack of transportation. I feel that transportation contributes a

lot to the state of Detroit, therefore, it would have been very interesting to research about the

problem and possible solutions. After completing the project, I realized that there will always be

people using drugs, and the absolute eradication of drugs will be challenged by many and not

really be a plausible policy unless it undergoes major fixes or alternatives. If I had to stick to my

current research topic, I would enhance it further by doing more in depth research to prove that

there are extensive dangers that come with drug abuse.

Throughout the semester, I learned various research and political skills that will be useful

for me as a student and as a citizen. I improved my research skills by utilizing various online

databases to search for credible and relevant scholarly sources to implement into my paper.

Additionally, I improved my critical thinking and analyzation skills by examining various

policies, why they succeeded, why they failed, and coming up with plausible solutions to societal

problems. Thus, this semester has contributed to the improvement of my research skills and

critical thinking skills.

A citizens duty is to stay informed about the community and societies at large so that one

may contribute their knowledge and opinions to shape the social and political structures that

pervade society and shape the behaviors of many. Thus, citizens should use their voice and vote

in elections, and become politically active by standing up for their beliefs whether it be attending

a protest or expressing their views on Facebook. The knowledge that is needed to be a good

citizen is the circumstances that would provide betterment for society at large, thus, one can

shape society through this knowledge. After completing this course, I acknowledge that I am a
citizen with rights to overcome structures that I believe are harmful to society and engage in and

support activity that promotes betterment for the community.