Unit 3 Reflection

This course took me through a range of emotions. Initially, I was very excited to find out that this writing class on organizational culture would have a focus on diversity and inclusion. After all, I am very involved in my company’s DEI committee. How exciting! However, when I learned that we’d be sharing our work on the blog, I was horrified! I hadn’t shared my “in-progress” writing with a group in a very long time. It’s so personal! Nevertheless, it is extremely valuable to give and receive feedback. It makes us all better writers. I also learned so much from my classmates about some issues I knew very little about. After a couple of weeks of reading very interesting articles on diversity and inclusion, I started to feel fatigued by my involvement in both work and coursework as it related to racial equity. So, I turned my focus to non-racial D&I. I wrote about AI and its effects on people who are neurodivergent or disabled and seeking employment. I thought it was an important topic that not many were aware of. It was also an emotional respite for me. Later, after recharging, I knew my research project would need to focus on Black equity and inclusion because it was a part of my life experience. I understood that I would need to make a case for why it was particularly necessary for Black people and would need evidence. This was especially important because I envisioned corporate leaders, who are often data-centric, reading my article. So, I concentrated on seeking out sources that provided data and first-hand accounts showing disparate treatment.

Tackling what many might see as a controversial topic, was going to need planning. For most of my life I just sat down and wrote. I didn’t always have a plan. I wrote, then edited. I didn’t think about all the steps, I just did it. This course forced me (in a good way) to break down my writing and research into pieces and plan it out. I found that the Focusing flowchart, Rounding out the Conversation and Notetaking exercises really helped me. All of these were visual representations of my thoughts and enabled me to see at a glance what I needed to do to firm up my ideas, as well as what wasn’t necessary for my final piece. This course assisted me with honing my skills. I must write grievances when I am acting in my role as a union representative. A grievance generally outlines all the wrongs committed against an employee by management, along with a request for restitution. It’s important to amplify these offenses so that the evidence for restitution seems overwhelmingly in the employee’s favor. I think my time spent on this coursework, and practice with case building, will certainly enhance my grievance writing skills. I have also learned about endurance. I don’t think I’ve ever written this much in such a short period of time, and now I have a new appreciation for those who do it for a living! I have always enjoyed telling a story on paper (or maybe I should say “having a conversation” on paper). A much-loved interest has definitely been reawakened!