My Experience in Interdisciplinary Learning as a Student

As a student, I had experienced a type of interdisciplinary course many years ago, but I was not aware that I could adapt the idea to my art classes back then. The course was a writing course, which was not required. I voluntarily signed up for a writing course with the ambition of improving my writing skill as a graduate student in New York. It was shortly after I started attending my graduate program, still excited over having been accepted into the program. I took two semesters in the ESL program (of course I had many years of English in Korea) and began my M.F.A. study. As my first semester progressed, I felt sick due to the serious concern whether I would be able to finish the semester successfully, not to mention the following semesters. The standardized English test score that the university required was not quite enough to handle the graduate level art history courses, in my opinion. I was reading and writing during my every waking moment. Then, I voluntarily registered in to remedial writing courses for ESL students along with my graduate-level courses. I took the writing course with assumption that the course is secondary and only a tool for my important graduate level courses. However, the course began taking more time than I had anticipated because the instructor provided the topics such as “animal testing of products,” “the welfare system and taxes,” and “gender issues in different cultures.” It was not easy to just write on those topics without research and careful thought on the topics. I had been very well trained not to question teachers, but I was not happy about the fact that the course consumed many hours. After that semester, I have realized that that approach to the writing class improved my writing skill, as well as my critical thinking skills, my research skills, and my awareness of possible different perspectives on issues. I was so glad that I finished the course. I did not care when my fellow students were teasing me with comments that I am wasting my time on a course that is not important. It changed me; it helped me to realize more fully who I am.