At the airport...

Wednesday 29 January, 2014

BLOG POST 2

Greetings to my fellow classmates and professor and apologies for this late post!! I finally managed to make it to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, thanks to my friend Svetlana who drove me there! Together we were able to make our observations of the people who had just begun to arrive. We got to the airport at 6 pm, and sat in a small lounge in the main entrance, right behind the United Airlines check-in desks, as there was a late evening flight departing for New York (JFK) and it was the only area of the airport that was actually busy. The other airline desks were either closed or not as busy. Here is a detailed list of the rather interesting observations we made of the passengers who were checking in their bags and printing their tickets. Due to my hurry, to write the information down I included observations and interpretations together. Hope it's not too hard to follow through my notes!

NIKOS:

1. Passengers mostly males, travelling independently. Majority are middle aged, late thirties, early forties and fifties.
2. Most have a single piece of luggage (carry-on), probably going to New York for business rather than a vacation or a long stay.
3. Men look very serious and agitated, whereas women in line seem a little more energetic, either talking on their phones, or to other women next to them. 
4. I-phones and I-pads, almost every person has one in their hands. Texting, calling, playing, listening to music etc.
5. Blue jeans for most of them, suggesting a casual way of travelling. Women a little fancier dressed than men. Men wearing tennis shoes or casual business shoes, women boots. 
6. Two security men dressed in blue talking to each other in the front of the line. Look rather tired and don't look at each other while talking.
7. Men and women have black suitcases, some have brown, two little girls are carrying back packs. 
8. Most people seem to be calmly waiting in line, but most don't have any intriguing expressions on their faces.

SVETLANA:

1. Men look serious, are carrying briefcases or very fancy carry-on bags. 
2. Airport seems very quiet, people aren't talking while waiting in line. Late evening flight, terrible weather, must be tired.
3. Cute little girls, with pony-tails talking to each other and laughing.
4. Woman in beige Burberry coat talking on her cell-phone while leaning on her suitcase. 
5. Two students wearing glasses, one is wearing a New York Yankees hoodie and Nike tennis-shoes.  
6. Tall man wearing long coat, blue jeans and a cap. He is holding a black Samsonite overnight bag on his shoulder  Must be in his late fifties, waits in the express line, must be wealthy or a business man who travels a lot. 
7. Three United Airlines desks are open, the rest are closed. 
8. Women don't seem as frustrated as the men waiting in line and seem a little more cheerful. 
9. Only a couple of women seem to be travelling alone, the rest are either with another adult or a child (or children). 
10. Coffee in man's hand and newspaper on top of his carry on. 
11. Fluorescent lights on marble floor and carpeting in front of desks. 

From these random but interesting observations I managed to understand two things: 1) that Svetlana paid more attention to detail, especially when it has to do with nice clothes (I can't believe she actually saw that the jacket of one of the women was Burberry!!) and 2) Svetlana (and I don't think that this has anything to do with gender) paid a little more attention to the surroundings as well, rather than solely on the people that were waiting in line. We set a time limit of ten minutes for observations and another ten minutes to write down what we remembered and above you may see some of the bizarre things we paid attention to. I must admit though, that despite that we did have many differences in the things and specific details that each of us paid attention to, we did have some things in common. For example, the mood that we detected in the people's  faces who were waiting in line, their posture, the type of luggage they were carrying etc. What I think differentiated our observations, is the fact that we are different genders, and of course the fact that she is intrigued when she goes to airports (she doesn't travel often) and pays attention to details as she likes it. I've been on airplanes more times than I can remember, travelling back and forth to Europe, so for me it's something common that I don't really notice the small details any more, at least not as much as she does, as you can tell from our notes above.

THANK YOU FOR READING MY POST!!!

CLASS SURVEY

CLASS SURVEY

 

1) I prefer to be called Nikos.

 

2) Nestorio, Kastoria, Western Macedonia, Greece.

 

3) Junior history major, art history minor at John Carroll University, would like to teach at the college level.

 

4) I was born in the United States to parents of Greek origin. I was raised in the city of Thessaloniki in the region of Macedonia in Northern Greece, and came to Cleveland specifically for college. I am very passionate about history (any history really!), but more specifically focus on late Medieval and Renaissance European history. I have been involved in politics, and apart from history my other ultimate passions would be European football (soccer) which I have been playing since a very young age, and travelling. I have a younger sister who studies in Columbus, Ohio, and my family is spread between the United States and Greece.

 

5) For me, it is important to get to know my fellow peers in class. I feel that the better I get to know them the more comfortable I feel expressing my ideas to them in class. I feel the same way about my Professor. The better I get to know him and understand him the better I will feel communicating with him in class. I don't mind expressing my ideas, as long as I feel that they will be received with respect from my classmates and my Professor.

 

6) As a student I always enjoying participating in class discussions. If I don't do that I feel that lectures can sometimes be very monotonous and frustrating, which is why I like that we sit in a circle, everyone can see everyone and the Professor encourages us to talk and voice out our opinion. I try to make it to class at the right time everyday, and try not to procrastinate when I have assignments that have to be completed. However, sometimes, I do leave things for the last minute (homework especially!) and struggle to finish them in time, or end up staying up very late. I very much like the lectures we have been having in class so far, and I feel it's important that the teacher isn't the only one talking, but that the students feel that they can also contribute to the class. I have trouble focusing in class sometimes when I am seated for a very long time (classes that exceed an hour) and kind of lose my track of thought. I also tend to forget important things sometimes which is why I constantly need to be taking notes. It is imperative that I meet with my Professor outside class at least once a month, to make sure that I am on the right track and to have him address specific issues that could be troubling me in class.

 

7) Having been raised in a foreign country, I feel that my educational experiences as a student differ from my peers in class. I went to a public school from pre-kindergarten to elementary, and then from junior-high school till I graduated I went to a Greek-American private high school in my city. The amount of work in junior high-school and high-school was I believe unnecessarily difficult. Our final  examinations would last for four weeks, and in tenth grade for example, I had to take seventeen different exams, each for a specific school subject I was taught throughout the year. Most of the material covered was similar to what I am being taught here in college my junior year. I have been adequately prepared I believed, but that system was extremely stressful. Elementary was different, and our teachers were harsh on us. I had a second, third and fourth grade teacher (the same one for three consecutive years) who would regularly beat us on an every day basis. It was the norm back then so we couldn't really do or say anything, since the law didn't prohibit it. It was considered to be a tool of training the youth to be respectful towards their instructors and organized in their work. So I assume a very different experience than most individuals here in the United States.

 

8) For me some of the most important elements that concern me when it comes to education and teaching, would be the motivation behind doing so. If in fact today teachers do it because they really want to teach, and motivate young students or because of financial reasons and any other benefits. Or if it's simply a combination of both. I feel that every individual should never be denied the opportunity to be educated, and that education is the most important factor that will shape a young person's life, so society should place the greatest emphasis on it. It is detrimental that  the educational system of today satisfies the need for personal growth and knowledge of every individual. There should be no economic or political "games" when it comes to educating the masses. Education should always be at the top of the priority list to every government and every society around the world,. and global education even much more so.

 

9) Professor Shutkin, in all your years of being a teacher, do you think you could share with us one of your most important life changing experiences in the field? Something that made you think or see things about the people you taught in a different way that you hadn't noticed before? Thank you.