OK, ladies and gentlemen. You have done it. Well, almost. The mid-point.
The year is now half over--more than half for the AP folks because your year ends sooner than everyone else's.
So, now is the time for some introspective reflection.
What do you know now that you didn't know on September 3?
What kinds of things still give you fits because you can't seem to grasp the concept?
What would you like to focus on moving forward?
What would you like to see more of? Less of? (don't say work; remember who I am. And, I know who you are--so go ahead. I know you're going to!)
Do you feel like your getting the most out of the class?
Is it what you expected? Less? More?
And, most importantly--are you learning?
Take your time, think about your answers and tell me how you feel. I will use your responses as a means to plan out the rest of your year. If there are other things you would like to say, tell me, vent about etc feel free. If you feel you cannot do this in a public forum, you know what to do.
PS--this is still a blog--it's not a worksheet--please don't answer the questions one by one.
While I’d like to say that the year has flown by, for me it really hasn’t. I will be perfectly honest, this has been one of the longest school years I have ever had to go through. Everyday lasts an eternity perhaps because I have to stay up doing work more so than any other year. So as the first part of my reflection on this past year I guess I need to first review how far I’ve come to then comment on where I wish to go. The biggest thing I’ve learned is time management. This class obviously has to be held to the greatest responsibility for this. I know not to procrastinate and when I start to I get this unsettling feeling that forces me off my couch and into my desk chair. The second thing I’ve learned is a heck of a lot of words between literary terms, vocabulary words and just terms from reading passages I can confidently say that several hundred items have been added to my mental dictionary. However, these words have not been able to improve my AP multiple choice test taking abilities. We haven’t really gotten a chance to go over any strategies or thoroughly dissect a test before. I know these tests are something where it’s hard to teach a way of becoming better at them but any help would be of benefit.
ReplyDeleteThis leads me to what I would like to focus on for the last half of the year. The first of course is more practice doing multiple choice tests. Beyond that, my favorite part of English classes I’ve had in the past are all of the articles that we get to read that I otherwise would never have been exposed to. There are some awesome pieces of literature out there and classes like these are my only access to them. So more articles would be nice, but not the big book assignments. I really have trouble understanding the purpose of them. Additionally, I usually don’t like the articles, the only exception is “I Want a Wife.” These assignments take a lot of time and I really don’t see the learned outcome worth all the time spent. I don’t want to sound like I am justing complaining about lots of work, I understand that it’s what the class requires by nature. I just don’t see these assignments to be as productive as other kinds of work we do. In fact, some of the assignments have just seemed like busy work. Like the play list assignment we recently had, I really didn’t get anything out of it. If the purpose had to do with understanding the tone of music, I think that kind of analysis is too easy for this kind of class. If we can interpret the tone of intellectual essays, music is easy.
When I first walked onto this class I thought that everything I did, from how I write to the process I go through when analyzing a text would be completely overhauled. This prospect really scared me, but now that I’ve found out that all wasn’t necessary, this class is slightly easier than I expected it to be. That’s not to say that it is any less legitimate though of course. This leads me to say that the class is less than what I expected but in a good way (if that makes sense). The fact that my skills only needed to be built upon and tweaked instead of completely redone has eased a lot of stress. What I am learning isn’t necessarily new but I am definitely still learning. I have found this class to be rather self-guided and for that reason seeing my own faults and fixing them has lead me to a lot of growth. My final comments on the class are as follows:
I would really appreciate grades being put in at a slightly faster pace. I understand that grading takes a lot of time but I like having assignments and commentary back before a new assignment is given so I know what I need to fix. Also, I would appreciate even more if we could get more stuff back. I feel like I have only received two or three RRLs back all year, and I don’t think I have seen a single TS/TD with annotations come back to me. Overall, this has been a challenging and testing year for sure, but I can already see that the hard work is building up a work ethic that will really be an asset for the rest of my life.
Tommi, I like your final commetns of getting things back sooner. Most of the time though its hard to get all that work graded with having so many students to grade. But this is for many of our classes,and I understand that.Though if we were able to get back our graded work and see what we did wrong sooner, we could try to look off of old assignments and improve what is needed to be improved for the next assignment.
DeleteWhen you discussed multiple choice tests, the first thing that came into my mind was how badly I did in them and how much of a drastic change one test can do to your grade. Looking at my grades on Genisis, (which I really should refrain from) I find that I've got numerous 100's on things yet the few 60's and 70's I get on the multiple choice tests get me from an A to a B-. I know I'm being a stickler about grades, but it infuriates me how just one test is weighted so much. If anything, I think multiple choice tests shouldn't be weighted as much seeing as they're still a concept we're all trying to grasp. Lit Terms tests I can understand, but seeing as almost everyone fails the multiple choice tests, I feel as if they should be counted less than they are. They're meant to help us with the AP Exam, not destroy our GPA's. I've tried numerous ways to study for these multiple choice test, but after multiple failures, I've come to conclude that I can't actually study for them. I can try making better of my reading comprehension, but I'm not so sure how to. As a class, we definitely need to take more time in discussion reading comprehension strategies. Other than that enormous rant, I pretty much agree in all your points.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteEven though I never check my grades, I have a mother that has freaked out multiple times because there are not enough grades being recorded in Genesis, and this causes me to stress over the idea that my grade is not accurately represented whether it is better or worse in actuality. I would like grades to be put recorded right away for the sake of my anxiety. I also think that the workload has helped me organize my time more wisely despite it's excessiveness. If we worked more on multiple choice strategies in class then I think that will benefit all of us in a major way, especially because these tests are heavily weighted. Not only do I need to improve on the way I analyze the text, I also need to improve on how to pick out the absolute best answer as well as how to manage my time while testing.
DeleteNow that I think about it, I would appreciate grades being put in more too. I worry about my grades a lot because I’m so afraid of getting a bad grade and usually checking Genesis allows me to see what I could do to improve my grade. However, we can’t accurately see our grade because not all the things we’ve done would be in the grade book right away. I understand that it could be very hard to grade so many papers, but I just want to know what I was performing poorly at.
DeleteI completely agree with having grades returned to us sooner. It is very beneficial to us as students to receive critiques from our teachers on the assignments that we complete, it aids us in improving our skills in different areas. I also enjoyed the way in which you described what you have learned thus far in Lang. Sometimes it is difficult to judge what new things we have learned in an English class simply because we don't necessarily learn specific subjects like we do in math or science classes. I too feel as though this class has been beneficial in helping me to expand the knowledge that I had prior to being in AP Lang.
DeleteTommi, I agree with the notion that we need our TS/TD. and reading logs back before we start another one because without the previous homework we can not tell if we doing the right thing. I was really happy to know that we all have our personal experience in Lang upon all the scary rumors we heard. Good job.
DeleteTommi, I understand your frustation.I know that it can be annoying how you can hop on Genesis and there are no book work assigments are how there are never any book wook in the tray for our class. I also know how the MC tests are very hecktic and causes all of us so such fear when we have to take them. I hope the third marking period comes with a bunch of late, graded assignments so we can know whether we are doing our work correctly.
DeleteEver since last year, when most of the former juniors complained about Lang, I was afraid I was going to face the same nightmare they illustrated. In my mind, I said that all their comments and rants could be false because English class with Costal was totally easy. My assumptions were wrong, completely wrong. After the end of my sophomore year, when I heard about “Death Month”, I was afraid that I was going to be stuck in something that I couldn’t handle and I was going to fail because English was my worst subject, but I knew I had to try and stick with the course because I needed to improve my English skills, and I needed to prepare for an English college class. After being in the program for half a school year, I can already tell that the things I hoped Lang to be were completely wrong. When I was in my guidance officer’s office last year, I wished I knew that I had to read a lot more; I mean A LOT. My reading comprehension and grammar skills were and still are very bad and something I wish I fixed a long time ago because reading and understanding a text are important skills to have in Lang. I don’t want to sound pessimistic or demanding, but whenever we’re assigned a RRL or a Multiple Choice Test, I get a little frustrated. I know I’ll have to read the passage about ten times in order to understand what the author is trying to say and what his or her purpose was to write the essay. I really wish we could take many multiple choice tests together as a class and know why the answer was B instead of C, and learn how other people, who are very good at the MC tests, read and understand the passages. I really wish we can take many multiple choice tests before we take one individually, so I won’t score as bad I was going without the prep. Once I understand how to read passages and essays better, I hope I can write better, so when the Lang exam comes I can write a killer essay that makes up for all the horrible essays I wrote in the first-half of the year. I really want to gain great writing skills because I will definitely need those skills if I go to college. I hope our class can focus more on writing and preparing for the exam because four months is about one week when there is so much to do. I know I’m being redundant, but I hope all the work in Lang complements our scores at the end of the year, and all the TS/TDs and RRLs we have to do are worth it. Out of all the things I have been given in Lang, the only thing I have grasped the most are the SAT words. I know my quiz grades don’t reflect how good I know the vocab words, but those words have helped me so much because I know I can use them in real life and incorporate the words whenever I write something. I feel like I am getting the most of the class because there is not a day that goes by where I use an SAT word or have to read something and understand what someone is trying to say and why. After talking to people who took the class, and being in the class for half a year, I can tell that it was what they told and somewhat what I expected. After thinking about the things we learn like figurative language, I can tell that we can use some of those things in real life because there is not a day that goes by when someone says a hyperbole or uses an apostrophe.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on the multiple choice exams. I am also really bad at them and it is frustrating because it is a hard skill to learn since you can't really teach it. I think it would be best if the class actually got through an entire AP multiple choice test together, even if it took all week because that is a huge part of the exam. I also think it might be the weakest of many more people in our class, that is period two and twelve. Some of the essays given for these tests are so unlike any English we read from other sources that it is really difficult to understand, especially with the strict time limit we will have on the exam. Overall, I think you made some really great points in your blog response.
DeleteDavid, I have to fully agree with you when it comes to MC tests. If we could do more of them as a class I feel as though I could pick up on them more easily and grab a better understanding of why the answer I chose was wrong. When I hear other peoples view on the answers it better helps me understand why it's right. More class time activities like this would be a huge help.
DeleteI agree with you on the multiple-choice tests. I don’t think it’s something I’m very good at and do wish we went over it more. I don’t think that being able to take a multiple-choice test successfully is something that could easily be taught, but I do wish that we could go over it as a class more. I think that going over more of these would allow us to understand why a certain choice is the correct answer. Going over these things in class a bit more would be great.
DeleteOut of all the rumors I’ve heard about AP Lang, only two actually prove to be truthful. 1.) That this class gives a huge workload and 2.) It all really does help. Whereas I could discuss how this class has proved to help me in making better of my writing, something I and I’m sure every student who has gone through 204 has learned is time management. Procrastination is something every student struggles with and it wasn’t until this year that I had finally conquered it. No longer is doing homework or papers the night before an option. To say that this class is difficult would be an understatement, but I don’t regret taking this class (albeit, I do occasionally). I’ve learned writing and reading skills that can only help me in my future and I’ve learned how valuable time can be when you find that you have no time at all. Rather than waste countless hours doing mindless things, take that time to finish actual work that matter. Moving forward, I’d like to see more peer editing when it comes to writing, more multiple choice and reading comprehension strategies, and less BB assignments. I absolutely loathe Multiple Choice Tests for I never seem to get any right. I have seen improvement over the course of the school year, but I doubt it’ll help me get a 4 or above on the test. We solemnly ever actually take a substantial amount of time going over multiple choice strategies and I think that will be my downfall in the exam. As for peer editing, I’ve always been fond of getting feedback from other students on my writing. I feel as if getting opinions from a wide range of people, rather than one person, could and would benefit our writing. As for the BB assignments, I just don’t think they help as much as we would like them to. I’d much rather do RRL’s and TS/TD’s over BB assignments that don’t prove to have much significance in anything. I get so much out of RRL’s, TS/TD’s, and Soapstones, but when it comes to BB assignments, I find myself only getting frustrated because they pose no positive attributes other than an additional grade. Don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe that taking this class, no matter how much it might (does) damage my GPA, will only help me in the long run. This is the first english class I’ve had that I’ve actually learned how to be a better writer and reader. So yes, I do believe that I’m getting the most out of this class. It’s exactly what I expected, but more fun than I thought it’d be. People described this class to be aggravating, heart-shattering, and stress-causing, and while it does just that, people failed to mention just how enjoyable our class discussions could be and the amount of times I would want to pee from laughter over Bunje’s stories about Fresne. I've learned a lot in just a few months of being in 204, and I’m sure over the next few months, I’ll learn even more. Taking AP Lang was probably the best decision I could have made academically.
ReplyDeleteAs stated in my essay, I also am not very find of big book assignments but as Bunje made a post below stating she gets the message I won't bother to comment further. Besides I think the class sentiments about those assignments are mutual. Beyond that, I also have found that this class has taken a swing at my GPA. However, unlike others classes where points are taken off for petty reasons (like putting the wrong number of sig figs), this class reflects the struggle we go through to do well. What I mean is that my grade tells me that I still need improvement and I am actually glad it shows that because it motivates me to work harder. Clearly, writing good blogs is not something you need help with.
DeletePaula, though I strongly agree with the less BB assignments and more practice or reviewing of multiple choice test, I like how you added the fact that this class isn't as bad as everyone has feared us to believe. For me I look forward to period 12 Lang class everyday, though the work load is stressful, going to Lang class is odddly not stressful. Our discussions are always a fun way to begin the class and we tend to just always have a fun time in class while adding work and learning to it.
DeleteLast year's juniors made this class seem like it was going to be absolutely horrific but I also think that there are enjoyable aspects to this class despite how difficult it is. My GPA is probably getting destroyed by this class but there are many benefits to this class and eventually it will start to show. I never really thought about it but in a way BB assignments are quite aggravating because they tend to be ineffective. I usually just considered them to be unnecessary at times but yes, it's aggravating to think that there is something else we could do to improve something as significant as reading comprehension/analysis skills.
DeleteTo repeat what Emily said, Lang kids from last year really did make this class sound absolutely hellacious, but it honestly has not been that terrible (at least not yet, I'll bite my tongue until death month). But like you I am obsessed with my grades, and seeing that a few AP multiple choice tests caused my grade to drop a letter is utterly devastating. As you said I think that it would be highly beneficial to spend more time reviewing multiple choice strategies and more extensively going over tests that we have already taken.
DeleteAlthough Lang makes our GPA go down, I think it was appropiate to take the class because we learn so many things that we actually learn in real life. I totally agree with finding some BB work superflous because the work vexs me when we have to read some kind of article that I totally find no purpose for. I really hope that we can get more MC prep, so people, including me, can do well on the MC tests.
DeleteOK--3 for 3 about BB work, lol. Message received! :)
ReplyDeleteJunior year has been incredibly strange so far- most of the time it feels like I've been going to school to do nothing. I know I've learned things but by the time I get home and sit down it's like- did I really just go through a day of school? But the fact remains that I have gone through half of the school year, so there has to be something to reflect upon. I guess with Lang it was both more difficult and much easier than I expected. The actual concepts and skills needed for this class never struck me as very hard- vocab is never a problem for me, there are only so many lit terms you need to memorize, and I find it surprisingly easy to get into a writer's mindset and figure out why an author did something. I find it is all the work we have to do that makes this class a bit of struggle not the actual work itself. I have absolutely abysmal time management skills, which clashes horribly with the load of work I am given every day; the struggle comes from me trying to stop being a useless procrastinator more than anything. Ok yeah, I'll say it: I would like to see less work, because honestly it's the only thing that is making this class hard, but that's obviously not going to happen. I guess if I were to be specific I don't really get the point of big book assignments and feel like I've gained absolutely nothing by doing them, so maybe less of those? And I feel like maybe if we did more of these sorts of assignments together in class, I would benefit from than more than doing them at home by myself. Sometimes I feel like we don't do much in class, if I'm being honest. I'm not saying we're at Cervi levels of unproductive but there are days where I leave feeling like we talked about what we were going to do instead of actually doing it. One thing I wish we did more was go over our homework assignments in class. Sometimes I have no idea if I'm doing anything right because we never talk about it, or discuss what the purpose of it was. I'm still winging it with TSTDs and hoping that I'm doing something right, which is not filling me with very much confidence. But the work I've done at home has taught me some stuff (I will begrudgingly admit). Or rather, it's helped build skills that I probably already had. Like I said, it's easier for me to get in a 'Lang' mindset now rather than a 'Lit' mindset than it was at the beginning of the year. This is probably because of all the reading logs we've done- I know immediately try to think of why the author chose that word, or used that device, and what they hoped to impart on their readers. So if I've learned nothing but vocab and how to analyze writing, at least I learned those well.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that your blog response is closest to how I feel as well. While I wasn't as straight forward with the fact that in class we don't do much (can I use the excuse of euphemism there?), you pretty much hit all the points I tried to in my response. I feel the same way you do when it comes to TS/TDs. Even if we didn't get to go over them in class, just getting them back would be a beneficial start. I don't really like the fact that we put so much effort into our work but once we turn it in, that's it, it is never to be seen again. That has to be my biggest claim about Lang in terms of improvement but as I said, all your points were very valid.
DeleteI forgot to point this out in my blog, but I too feel as if it isn't the concept that makes the class hard, but the workload. As much as I love our random class discussions, I feel as if sometimes I leave that class without actually learning anything knew. We all pretty much have down how to do RRL's and TS/TD's but how do we know for sure if we've only actually gotten one back out of all the ones we've done? In a sense, I'm basing this response from your blog and Tommi's response. I'm sure everyone feels the same way.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThe workload is probably the heaviest burden that comes with this class. Even though our class discussions are enjoyable and stress relieving, I still feel as though I am already bound to suffer later on when I have to complete my major reading analysis assignments. If we worked more on these assignments together in class, I think all of our RRLs/TSTDs will improve no matter what level they're at now. Getting more feedback on these assignments would definitely be beneficial and more critiques will allow me to complete these tasks with ease and confidence.
DeleteI'm not always opposed to us doing nothing in class. It can be very stress relieving at the end of long days and I don't feel as if a tremendous break through would be made in class anyway. Sure, feedback is definitely an issue, but I often rely on twelfth period Lang to guide me into a safe landing for the day. So on that point, I feel as if I disagree.
DeleteI think everyone wants to discuss our assignments more. I feel the same way as you when it comes to TS/TD’s. In fact, I’m pretty sure that we’ve talked about it before. Getting our TS/TD’s back would be a great help for us because we would know how to improve. We wouldn’t be doing an assignment blindly and wonder if we actually did it right. We so much work at home and I would love to actually get them back to see how I could improve. I’d just really appreciate it if we saw the comments on our work more.
DeleteMaking the decision to take AP Lang this year was a very daunting one. I fought myself back and forth over what choice would most benefit me going forward, and obviously I chose the road less traveled. None of us ventured into Lang completely blind to what it was all about, most of us had a general understanding based on the rants we had heard from Langers of years past. At the very beginning of the year I made a promise to myself that I would not bellyache about the workload that this class undoubtedly entailed, and yet I fell victim to raging about homework on a weekly basis the minute the back-to-school ease came to an end. So after discovering that my rants were unavoidable, I made myself a new promise, and that new promise was that no matter how hard the task or how large the quantity of work I would always get it done. And so far I have kept that promise to myself, and I intend to do so until the twelfth period bell rings on the last day of school.
ReplyDeleteI ultimately made the decision to take Lang on the basis of English being my strongest and most favored subject. I knew that it would be very different from any English class I had ever previously taken, but that was part of the excitement. So far in Lang I have definitely gained knowledge in the areas of being able to better analyze and understand literature as well as expanding my knowledge on many literary terms. I don’t mind reading logs; at times I might even say that I like them. I’ve done some form of a reading log in every English class I have been in since seventh grade, but none of them were quite like the ones that we do in Lang. I am able to get a lot more out of Lang reading logs, I don’t know for sure why that is, but I feel as though I have a better grasp on what I’m reading when I complete Lang reading logs, and I have never had that experience before. I’ve always found it difficult to generalize exactly what I have learned in English class, it’s not like math or science where you can say “I learned fractions today” or “I learned about evolution today”. The concepts that we learn in English are far more complex and abstract than that, which can make it difficult to pinpoint what I truly have learned. But I know for a fact that I am learning and growing in this class, I don’t know that I’ve so much learned anything new, but I have most definitely built upon prior knowledge and expanded my comprehension.
As far as what I would like to see more of moving forward, I would really like receiving more work back at a quicker pace. I understand that teachers have a lot on their plates and it’s a challenge to grade hundreds of papers, but I feel as though we have only gotten maybe three RRLs/TSTDs back since the start of the school year. As a result of that I feel somewhat blind in completing these assignments because I have no idea whether or not I’m doing them correctly. But even so, I would rather do an RRL than some of the Big Book assignments that we have done recently. Now, I appreciate the BB assignments in the sense that they help my grade, so I’m not suggesting that we should do away with them all together. But out of all of the BB assignments that we have had, only three or four of them have really seemed beneficial to me. And lastly I would really enjoy if would could review multiple choice strategies more extensively than we have in the past because that is by far my biggest weakness in this class. I realize that it is probably very difficult to teach students how to take a multiple choice test, but any glimmer of wisdom will be a huge help to me.
Overall this class is much more enjoyable than I had expected it to be. I enjoy coming to Lang class every day (except on the days when we have AP multiple choice tests). Although the work load can be copious at times, this class is nowhere near as hard as I thought going into it. I appreciate all of the growth I’ve seen in myself over the past few months, and I look forward to where I will be by the end of the year.
Going into Jr.year I expected it to be the roughest school year I've ever experienced, well so far that is. I was told of the horrors of taking AP Lang in which I would no longer know what sleep was and that my life would consist of homework beyond homework very late at night every night. Still after all these stories I decided to take the class and I'm more than happy that I did. I prepared myself for the late night studying and mile long piles of homework. Though the work load is rough, I enjoy being a part of this class especially with all that I have gained from it. Beyond all, the most I have learned would be time management. With taking two other AP classes, and also doing gymnastics, Oakcrest dance team, and being the Historian of Oakcrest's student council I tend to find there are not enough hours in one day. Slowly but surly I have been able to manage my time better than I used to. I need sleep referring to the days I have with everything going on I need the engery to get through the day, so I often try to get at least 5 hours of sleep. With that being said I do everything I can to get my work done without the use of procrastination. I have definitely increased my vocab list and find myself using them more and more often in my writing, which also helps improve my writing skills by a bit. Aside from vocab I also am pleased with all the RRL's and TS/TD's because each of these assignments have helped my greatly. They make it easier for me pick out key things in a writing to better understand the passage, such as the authors tone or purpose in writing the piece. Though many things in this class have helped me, there are still things I would suggest to change. I need more help with the multiple choice testing. We have taken quite an amount of these test and still I am unsure if I am really understanding the questions too well, making my grades for these test very low. If we could begin going over thses test and do more practicing together in class I think it would help me better understand why my choice of answers would be wrong and how the right answers would be correct. Not to jump on the bandwagon but sorry I am, I as well am not a fan of the BB assignments, I often find them not helping me improve and would rather see those assignments decrease and get more RRL's or TS/TD's. No matter what anyone says though I am for sure gaining a lot more in this English class than I ever have before. Though I often doubt it, I know my writing has improved and that is only with the help of Ms. Bunje's strategies. I have also begun to watch myself better understand most of the reading passages we have been giving.I used to find myself lost by the first paragraph, though now I am happy to be able to define a general idea of the tone or purpose of the writing. Only half way through the school year, I am proud to be a part of the AP Lang course and would recommand it to anyone. I know its been rough but its worth it with all the help I have been gaining. Everyone needs to stay positive because we are getting through this together and before we know it the exam day will be here and all of us will be more than ready to take it. Thank you Bunje with all that you have helped us with so far!
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned going over multiple choice test strategies, but I have always been of different mind when it comes to figuring out 'strategies' for them. I feel like there isn't really much you CAN do about those tests, besides take a lot of them- the only real way to get better is to build your reading comprehension skills and be able to recognize when they are trying to trick you. I know I will get enough practice with them during the feared Death Month (and I know there will be many tears) so my thought process is to not stress over them too much at the moment. Just focus on improving your reading skills, and take a lot of practice tests if you really want to feel confident, and try to take a breath and relax!
DeleteI didn't even consider how greatly this class has benefited my time management skills until I read your post. And now that I have reflected upon that idea, I realize how much I have grown in that area since the beginning of the school year. The work load that AP Lang entails forces students to learn how to better manage their time, because if you don't than you're staring down the business end of many sleepless nights and stressful school days. I'm completely with you on needing help on multiple choice tests, I'm not terrible at them, but my skill level is nowhere near where I would like it to be,
DeleteI definitely agree that so far this year has been my busiest. It seems that I have been caught in the middle of a giant whirlpool of homework and drama and choir and millions of other things, and while it is stressful, it is all that I wanted and more this year. I also agree that taking Lang has benefited my time management. While I have been slipping back into old habits recently (as my suddenly nosediving physics grade has told me) I feel like I have gotten a better work ethic overall, and Lang is one of the biggest reasons.
DeleteI didn't even think about the life lessons lang is teaching me besides working towards the AP exam. It really has helped me to start focusing on my time more and using it wisely. Also I I agree that RRLs and TSTDs help out a lot with reading, I'm starting to read and deciphering the text as a habit (although it can get a hit annoying at times). But yes, Lang has helped improve my time management and my reading comphrehension which is a great part of the class I barely even considered
DeleteFor many people, this year has gone by really quickly, but that isn’t the case for me. This has been one long and very stressful year. Everyday consists doing hours of homework. I have never had to do so much work for school, but all this did teach me better time management. I have always been a huge procrastinator, still kind of am, but this class has taught me that I really can’t do papers the night before it’s due, especially when we’re given weeks to do it. I admit that this year has been a struggle for me due to all the work that’s been given, but I don’t regret it. This class has taught me many new vocab words and literary terms that I have never even heard of before this class. I’ve learned many new things in this class, but all these new things don’t seem to make me any better in taking AP Multiple Choice Tests. We’ve taken many multiple-choice tests, but I don’t remember ever fully going over a test and really breaking down each question. Teaching us to be better at taking these sorts of tests isn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world, but I’d just like to be able to go through tests more. Moving forward, I’d love to see more of us going through the tests and the work that’s given to us more. Just like everyone else, I would also want less BB homework. I never really get to improve my multiple-choice tests, RRL’s and TS/TD’s as much as I think I could because we never really go through it in class. Our mistakes as a class get pointed out, but I never know exactly what I did wrong because we rarely get our RRL’s and TS/TD’s back. I understand that you are busy with other things, but sometimes I wish that we didn’t get as much RRL’s or TS/TD’s as we do because I really don’t know have to improve them. As for the BB homework, I think everyone agrees that they don’t really help us as much as you’d hope it would. It just seems like busy work sometimes because we usually don’t go over them. Doing these assignments as a class would probably edify us more than when we do it by ourselves. I do appreciate the extra grade that helps negate all the other bad grades that I get in this class, but it just doesn’t seem to really help me very much. I might struggle with all the work given, but I do learn new things in this class and I don’t regret taking it. Therefore, I do believe that I’m getting the most out of this class. People warned me of how much work this class would have and how stressful it would be, but people seem to leave out just how much fun this class would be too. No matter how stressful it could get, the times when we could have fun hearing stories about Fresne and Olivo’s shenanigans make this class worth it. There’s no doubt that I have learned a lot in this class and I’m sure I will learn many more especially in our so called “Death Month.” This has been one crazy and stressful year, but it’s going to be worth it in the end.
ReplyDeleteThis blog response is in a way related to the lessons have learnt for these past months. Taking the Ap Lang class has definitely improved my time management. Good job. Despite the amount of work, I agree with you that it has definitely made an impact on our lifes.
DeleteWhat I've come to notice lately, is that I honestly don't mind doing RRL's and TS/TD's anymore and I think I've actually mastered how to do them. But, as you said, I do think we need to get our stuff back before we do more of it. You grade us on these RRL's yet we've only ever gotten one back and that doesn't actually help us in identifying what we need to improve on. I'm pretty much on the same page as you, Danielle. More work back, more time spent on multiple choice, and less BB assignments.
DeleteI think almost everyone here can agree that we want discussion on what we are doing, especially with assignments we are handing in. I've gotten barely any reading logs back and no TSTDs so for all I know, I could be doing them completely wrong and actually be teaching myself an incorrect way of analyzing something. I know sometimes that 'going over homework' in class can seem like a waste of time, but I feel it does help. It's the same in Matlack's, to be honest. Just knowing that I'm actually doing an assignment right, and going over it gives me a huge confidence boost.
DeleteOh my gosh Danielle I absolutely agree with you, this class has taught me time management. Honestly I never had to work with time all of my assignments I've done the day they were due because I could finish it, it was never hard before this class. I guess this is better because I would have learned the hard way probably in college and the out come would not have been pretty, so that's one of the many necessary things I have learned this year.
DeletePart 1:
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, the school year so far has been such a drag. Every day of this year has been filled with challenges that have proved to be detrimental to my physical, mental, and emotional health. My daily routine is filled with a heavy workload from multiple AP classes and I can’t go a day without stressing over tasks that need to be completed by a certain deadline. I am physically incapable of sleeping at any time past 1 am because my body has gotten so used to staying up to finish school work. I guess this could be considered something beneficial for this class especially because I am generally more productive at later hours. For one thing, Lang has taught me a lot about time management skills. The calendars are extremely helpful that way I know how to organize my time more wisely. At the beginning of the year, I was unsure of how exactly I should balance out my workload in Lang along with my assignments from other classes. Since September, I have gotten into the habit of putting Lang work at top priority. This class has even become more important than chemistry. Getting my Lang assignments done before working on any other subject has made my daily homework routine a lot less stressful.
I know that a class this rigorous requires a heavy workload so I can’t complain too much. However, there are certain assignments that are arguably unhelpful. BB assignments may help my grade in a slight way but at the same time I do not consider them to be extremely beneficial. The tasks from this book can eat away at precious time that could have been spent on assignments as useful as an RRL or TSTD. BB assignments usually don’t give me a better understanding of how I should analyze an excerpt. Occasionally there will be a task from this book that I find valuable to my time but I generally feel unproductive while completing these assignments.
In class, I would like it if we spent more time going over different strategies that we could use to analyze passages.This would hopefully help us out with multiple choice tests as well as RRL and TSTD assignments. Also, I would like it if we spent more class time discussing the text before the work is due that way I will be more confident with the content that I am putting into my homework. I enjoy the discussions that we have in class and I think that Lang should be somewhat likable but there are somedays where we will spend the whole time discussing things that don’t help me get a better understanding of the assignment that is due the next day. I would like to see a balance between work time and discussion time in class that way we aren’t too overwhelmed when it comes to completing these tasks. In terms of what’s essential to the AP exam, I think that we should spend more time going over different techniques and strategies for the multiple choice sections and rhetorical analysis essays. Although I have improved since the beginning of the year, I am still struggling to write the perfect essay and I still find difficulty in picking the absolute best answer choice.
Part 2:
ReplyDeleteAside from the academic aspects of the class, I feel as though there is a minor miscommunication issue. Sometimes the instructions given are unclear or they vary among the two classes. For example, my class was told that this blog assignment was optional and I just recently found out that it was actually mandatory. Sometimes it causes unneeded confusion but it’s not a major problem. I would just like to be completely aware of what’s going on before I complete my necessary assignments. I’d rather not continue the rest of this year with added stress caused by uncertainty.
After being in this class for half of a school year, I feel as though I have gained a lot from Lang. One of my major gains comes from my improvement in writing skills. My essays still have a long way to go but reading and writing them has become much more enjoyable throughout the year. I really admire the assignments such as the Gladwell essay and the satire essay because they have given me more opportunities to be more creative with the way I write. I also know many lit terms as well as SAT vocabulary words which will benefit me when it comes to standardized tests. It’s also just generally helpful to expand upon this sort knowledge. Even though the workload and the stress is overwhelming at times, I’m glad that I decided to take this class. The rumored amounts of rigor that come with this class may be true but at the same time I never expected to enjoy this class as much as I do. Of course it is one of the most aggravating classes this year but I couldn’t imagine how bored I would be with any other English class. I am gaining the most out of this course and I am prepared for any of the other obstacles that will come my way in the future.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteNaturally, I empathize with many of your complaints. I relate very much to that debilitating mental and physical lag that is the result of our workloads. You brought up the commonly overlooked issue of miscommunication. This is my number one personal stressor. A great example of this is the impression that this very blog was mandadatory so thank you especially for bringing that issue to light.
DeleteI feel like there's a lot of random little miscommunications actually. They just don't normally seem to be too much of a big deal because there's so many of us and we all have Bunje's phone number. But about this blog in particular I was a little distressed. It's sort of rare for me to be sure about anything, but I was pretty insistent on the fact that it was optional. And of course, I was wrong. And another thing I do agree on is the usefulness of the calendars. I actually lose them constantly so whenever I get them I just take a picture and put them in the 'favorites' section on my phone. It's just a pain when there are changes, but you saying that reminds me once again of how I may be the only Lang student that still puts everything off to the last possible second. I'm glad you're better at it. I'm getting there.
DeleteIs half way through the year that has brought joy and tears. Well, prior to this junior year, I was quite skeptical as to take the class or not. With lots of discouragement from the four corners of Oakcrest and even friends from other schools, I still took the class.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we find ourselves in the toughest situations and we allow them to prevent us from reaching our goals. Taking the class has being really stressful for me regardless of the sports or clubs that require my services. English might not be my first language but I could have opted for honors but taking honors sophomore year I realised I needed to challenge myself more because ,when you became too comfortable at a spot time runs fast without you accomplishing anything.
I came to the class with a lot of expectations such as improving my vocabulary, writing skills and most importantly understanding the English language. I knew personally well that, I lacked vocabulary not because I wanted to sound smart but to improve my speech and writing. The blog response, the TS/TD, reading logs, homework from the BB are all part of the million reasons why I'm better than how I was before. Vocab and lit terms are also contributing factors to my improvement in the English language or perhaps in school. The class indeed, has helped me with time management, critical thinking, understanding concepts, self confidence and endurance. A lot of people would bare with me that public speaking is hard especially we the shy folks.
I want to be always improving regardless of the challenges and taking this class is constantly helping me. Honestly speaking we would all like it or perhaps just me if we had few homeworks and less work. But taking this class has thought me a valuable lesson in life, nothing good comes cheap and its only in the dictionary that success comes before work. I would personally prefer if we had a lot of practice essays and multiple choice questions not forgetting the vocab because these are the areas I would like to improve at.
It's not being a bad half way through the year, and I think taking the class if not now will go a long way to help me in the future.
Stav, you made an excellent point about our vocabulary words! Although I do not use them in conversation in my quotidian life, I appreciate the fact that I know how to use them. In all seriousness, while you are engaged in an argument with someone, just slip in some vocabulary words, you will feel empowered! Your point about public speaking really made me realize that people tend to be shy when forced to give a speech. Don't be shy, just go up there and do your thing and you will succeed.
DeleteStav, I'm glad that this class has had such a profound effect on you its cool to see someone who is not native to the English language pick it up and use it so well. I know people who have been here many more years than you and do not use the language as well, its a sight to see.
DeleteComing into Lang, I had no idea what to really expect. I really only knew that the class was going to be a lot of work, but that was hard for me to imagine because Costal’s English class was essentially a support mechanism of AP Government. Sera talks about the values of American voters. Costal demystifies any ambiguity by telling us that The Scarlet Letter reflects how Puritans made Americans a bunch of prunes. Sera talks about incumbent advantage. Costal makes us annotate a passage about the modern day Mr. Smith failing to go to Washington. It wasn’t exactly a well-oiled machine, but it made the class enjoyable for me by connecting all sorts of variables and making sense out of them. By now, I have accepted that the Lang-USH cohort is completely the opposite of a cohort. But I still enjoy US History because the constant reiteration of certain facts in different contexts allows me to draw parallels between two seemingly independent things. For example, learning about the Age of Jackson and Market Revolution in detail helped me understand the genesis of American individualism. On the other hand, Lang seems to be more isolated. To me, Lang seems like an exercise in developing terminology and a skill set that is both interesting and practical. However, that skill fails to connect with many other concepts I am currently learning. The most I’ve been able to do with my skills as a Langer is analyze how Stowe’s use of unrelenting pathos in Uncle Tom’s Cabin apparently started the Civil War. But I feel like I would have been able to make that conclusion even if I wasn’t in Lang; I would probably just use different diction because of my unfamiliarity with the word pathos. Oh yeah, and diction also has a Latin root. Thanks Mrs. Kennedy. Just thinking of those connections was a husk.
ReplyDeleteNow, I guarantee you if I were to open up my Chem textbook, I could make an easier connection to other fields. Oh look, the Haber Process is at equilibrium and it can be modelled by derivatives. Connection to calculus is established. The Haber Process was developed as a result of industrialism. Connection to History established. Latin roots are all over the page. The Haber Process also scarred many soldiers in the form of a chemical weapon. Connection to psychology. The Haber Process sustains 1/3 of the world’s population. Connection to my own life established. Yay! I can reflect on several things I have learned just this year and connect them all, but Lang is still isolated. Because of this, I’m sad to say that I don’t feel like I have learned that much in Lang. Though I enjoy what skills it has given me, they don’t really make me feel any more productive. It’s a class I do enjoy but its design is a bit of a disappointment.
I could thoroughly pick out the things I like and don’t like about the class, but this seemed to my deepest concern. I don’t exactly know how I’m going to use Lang and I’m unsure about whether or not it helps or stagnates my experience with the other areas of academia that I feel more engaged in.
I agree that Lang definitely feels like a standalone class. Nothing we learn in it really gets applied to any other classes, and has a primary objective of developing you as a writer beyond all else. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is definitely a different feel to every other English class that I have taken, in that it wasn't made to cohort with anything.
DeleteLast year when I signed up for AP Lang I knew I was in for a very extensive, tough class. Many previous students have told me that this class is definitely one of the hardest classes that is offered at Oakcrest and with that being said Lang has proved to be just that. Lang has been a very difficult class but I know with each sleepless night I am only becoming a stronger, better student and I’m learning things that I wouldn’t have learned if I took honors or cp English. Freshman and sophomore year when I took honors English one and two I was able to breeze by, without actually having to put in too much effort to pass those classes with an A. Being able to breeze by in those classes didn’t actually help me as a student at all. On September 3rd when I walked into Lang I realized that I was not ready, I realized that I’m a horrible writer, I realized that I hate reading, and without being able to write or read well I knew I wasn’t going to be good at anything that this class entails. Since September 3rd I have learned how to write better, I’m obviously not an excellent writer yet but looking back on my first blog post and this one, I can say that I have really improved on my writing skills. I have become a much better reader, I can now read passages and figure out exactly what the author is saying and how they get their point across. I could never do this before and I know these skills will help me greatly in college and in my career later on in life. Something that I still don’t really understand is those rhetorical analysis essays. I just can’t seem to understand how to write a really good essay with that format. Another thing I had trouble with was the satirical essay. Although Bunje gave us a bunch of examples of satirical essays to help us write one, I still felt like I didn’t know what to do like I needed a paper to explain the exact format she was looking for. I like when things are precise and exact and I don’t like trying to figure out what you want in an essay. I like being told exactly what to put in it and how to do it. So moving forward I guess I would like for you to explain assignments a little bit more because sometimes I get confused and stress myself out over not knowing exactly how to do something. I’m going to have to jump on the bandwagon and say that BB assignments although some of them are helpful; some of them aren’t really helpful to me. I wouldn’t want to get rid of BB assignments because I do like some of them and I do like having them to boost my grade a bit, I just think some of them could be eliminated, especially on a week that we have an RRL and TS/TD due. I also feel like I’ve done about 20 BB assignments and only one or two are in genesis. I feel like we’ve done about 10 RRL’s and TSTD’s and only of a few of them have been put into genesis as well which upsets me because I spend hours on these assignments. That’s about it though, I wouldn’t want to change anything else in the class, it’s very hard and challenging but that’s exactly how this course should be especially if we all want to pass the ap exam. I definitely feel like I am getting the most out of this class, like I said earlier I have improved in writing and reading tremendously since the beginning of the year and I expect to grow even more in these areas as the year progresses and the ap exam approaches. I think the class is exactly what I expected, it’s actually better than I expected and I’m so glad I took it. I’ve learned so much in this class already, so thanks Miss Bunje!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree about feeling like a lot of our assignments make it into our gradebook, but I suppose that is understandable because it really would be impossible to grade them all. Putting effort into those assignments anyway will prove to be a benefit just in terms of practice; at least that's how you should look at it if you want to stay positive! But Lang was certainly a change from previous English classes- I feel like we barely even had an English class last year. Even if we're unused to actually doing work in an English class I'm sure we will all benefit from it by the end of the year- whether we improve things like writing and reading comprehension skills, or even just learning better time management.
DeleteI would definitely have to say that Lang has made me a better overall student. Without it I for one wouldn't have realized my potential at intelligence, and I certainly wouldn't have gained friendship with people that have helped me compensate for the things that I have less intelligence at. While I can talk about how Lang has made me better at doing Lang stuff, it has also taught me about the beauty of collaboration, and without Lang, I'd still be muddling through school not asking for help at all.
DeleteI'm glad you brought up not knowing what rhetorical analysis essays are very well. I feel like we rushed through that a bit. I couldn't tell you what it is if I tried, let alone write one in a times environment. I would like to spend some time going over that as a class and preparing to write the best one i can on the exam.
DeleteThe work load is also what i enjoy about this class. It makes me proud to see myself caring about the mechanics of writing rather than writing essays it's like learning the basics so we can write and read anything and really understand. Like learning a whole new language; i love it.
DeleteI don’t usually look at other people’s responses before I post, but this time I really couldn’t help myself. At first I thought the blog was optional, so my reading was only for curiosity’s sake, but now that I know I do have to do it I just hope they haven’t impacted my thoughts on this too much, but basically, this is probably the longest school year I’ve ever experienced. I think that every year, but this is to an extent I have never before thought possible. My school rages are often, but they’re not too often about Lang. It’s just a lot of work. I don’t know what parts I think are actually difficult- probably about none. Logs give me stress, but from the things I’ve gotten back I don’t really think I’ve done anything about them wrong. Same for TS/TDs. I can do the assignments fine, but I’m just not a fan of the repetition unless I am being told I’m doing something wrong. I just feel like I’m writing the same things over and over again, and just slightly switching around the words. For the other stuff we do, vocab is just vocab. I remember the words for a week, but then I feel like the majority of them are lost forever, until there’s a cumulative test. All else we do (that I remember) are the multiple choice tests. I have never been scared of these. In previous years they’ve always been my strong point, but for the last year or two that doesn’t really seem to be the case anymore. Not that I’m bad, but I feel like I’ve just lost that mindset and I can’t really be sure of anything I write down anymore. This happened on the midterm. The night I looked at the questions and made mental notes to myself, but then when I actually took the test and circled things my answers were completely different from what I thought they were the day before.
ReplyDeleteNow that I do think about it, I am really bad at AP essays. Really bad. I don’t know how I can be better at them either. I just feel like I sit down to write them and I just ramble for a page and a half, and I’ve had to deal with the consequences of writing them before, because those kind of essays are usually sent off to the state to never be seen again, and I just get a number back in the mail that’s already been tempered to be less terrible by (what used to be) decent multiple choice scores and whatever other writings that have been done to redeem myself. So, I don’t really want to have to do them, but they’re probably where I need the most help. After all, if all any college really cares about is me passing the exam, I should attempt to do well.
I had almost no expectations walking in. I thought it’d be work but not too hard, and I don’t want to sound terrible for saying this, but I think for the most part I was right. The work just makes me feel incredibly un-stimulated, but I guess that’s to be expected? Or maybe not? Most likely the thoughts I have on Lang as I write this are probably different from they are on the days where I actually have work for it to do, but I don’t know. In most classes I feel like the actual act of going to school is more a social aspect than anything else. On days where I do just have one of my rants, something I often say is that the classes I don’t feel like attending should just give out their own calendars, because they would accomplish the same thing. I go to school and just wait for the day to be over, and then go home and try not to off myself with the amount of work I need to actually do. It’s not a very satisfying cycle. But that’s not really Lang. I enjoy the discussions, and just because I didn’t mention it before I’ll say that I also really love all the different readings and styles of writing, and basically I love the atmosphere of Lang. It’s just that I’ve also been one of those sad few that hasn’t stopped procrastinating just because of the massive amount of assignments due, and I pay for it, but I just can’t change my ways.
Taty, I will agree with your statement about AP essays. They are the bane of my existence. I'm more than sure Bunje will have a field day as she is grading the essay portion of my midterm. By the time the test rolls around, hopefully we will overcome this dilemma. As far as your daily cycle is concerned, I will admit that I was once there and it is not the most joyous place in the world. You will rise out of this nadir, though. I have faith in you. Tatyana, you shall prevail!
DeleteAgh. AP essays and multiple choice tests will be the death of me. I am with you there, but I think you are much better off than me (on multiple choice tests). I enjoy the discussions though, especially the discussions from debate and discussion. They really help me to gain a different perspective on things.
DeleteAp essays and multiple choice are the type of test that give us a preview of what to expect on the Ap test. Despite the multiple choice known to be bringing my grade down constantly, I know practice makes perfect. Tatty, if not now, we shall benefit in the future. we could call our class the legendary class, we would definitely make history.
DeleteOne more thing, Good Job.
DeleteTaty you are so right about the AP essay. I also lost focus during the midterm. Not for the multiple choices but for writing the essay. I remember that it was about the two different groups but I could remember what I planned out. My mind just went blank which is why I say I am not a good test taker. I agree with you that I enjoy the discussion and that I really enjoyed talking about current events but I feel like we need to focus. We have an AP exam coming up and I just feel we are too distracted. Overall great job on this essay Taty.
DeleteSaying AP Lang is hard is an understatement, but to say that it isn't rewarding is just simply untrue. I have learned a lot about writing this year. I have learned new ways to spruce up my writing, and I learned the technicality of things that I already used, allowing me to harness them more effectively. I definitely feel like a much better writer than I was coming into this class on September 3rd. That being said, I don't entirely feel prepared for the ever looming AP Test. This is because I don't think we have gone over multiple choice strategies as often as would be a good idea. A way to fix this, as much as I feel bad for beating a dead horse, would be to replace BB assignments with some multiple choice pieces to go over at home to be gone over the next day. Not necessarily for a grade of accuracy, more for completion. I think that doing this sometimes, and going over what answers would go with each type of question in different situations would be very helpful to all of us.
ReplyDeleteBefore signing on to this thing called AP Lang, I had heard various horror stories about the workload, and while the work certainly is challenging, the stories I have heard seem a bit exaggerated compared to what I have experienced. Sure, I have had much less sleep than my last two years in high school, as to be expected, but I have yet to have that moment where I curl into the fetal position at some ungodly hour of the night wondering if there is a benevolent God out there (well, it hasn't happened because of Lang). Although another thing I heard often about Lang was that I would like going to the class, and being a person who doesn't like going to school and sitting in a room for 45 minutes 8 times a day, AP Lang exceeded any and all expectations I had about liking this class. I had assumed it would just mean I wouldn't entirely mind showing up to class, but as I came to realize, I would actually be incredibly sad if I couldn't go to class. No matter how bad of a morning day or week I'm having, I can walk into 204 and know that something will happen in there that will improve it at least somewhat. Whenever someone talked about the Lang family, I always thought they were exaggerating. It was a concept that was foreign to me. But now being a part of it, 'I could not imagine my junior year without it, and I am genuinely looking forward to another amazing half of the year with all of you fabulous individuals.
I agree with the point that we should curtail the material we learn to a more exam-oriented format. I think this well alleviate a lot of stress when it comes to Death Month and will boost our overall confidence going into the AP exam.
DeleteTom, I agree receiving multiple choice homework then going over it the next day would be helpful for all of us because we could see our mistakes and correct them so we know how to choose the correct answer before the big day in May without beating up our grade in the meantime.
DeleteTom, i definitely think we should focus more on multiple choice strategies. I feel like everyone would benefit from that. Also, another point I found interesting was your point at the very end. How Lang feels like a family, in a way yeah it does. We all go through the same homework and problems so it gives us all common ground. Lang has really brought me closer to people I would have never though I'd be talking to today.
DeleteI entered AP Lang blindly; I thought it was just another English class. I thought there would be a plethora of essay writing, narratives, things of that nature. After being in the class for approximately two months, I realized that it was not at all what I expected. AP English Language and Composition was far more rigorous than I thought. Once I reached this realization, I panicked; I did not believe that I was capable of anything more than participating in creative writing. As it turns out, I am able to do much more than bang out pedestrian essays. Perhaps the most important thing that I have learned since being in this class is that reading logs are not personal interpretations of the text. Reading logs force me to look beyond the ink on the page and understand the contextual meaning of what the author is saying.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of becoming more edified on how to properly execute reading logs, I still struggle with arduous TSTDs. I understand what to do with the TS portion of the assignment, but I always seem to summarize the paragraph when it comes to the TD portion of the work. For some reason, I just don't understand how to NOT summarize the remainder of the literature. Even though I struggle with TSTDs, moving forward I would like to focus on how to write a proper conclusion to essays and personal writings. If anyone has ever read any conclusion that I have ever written, they will notice that it is just me talking in six sentences worth of circles. In fact, I'm more than sure that this blog response will be a perfect example of how I cannot end a paper without sounding awkward.
As the school year progresses (or winds down, however you chose to look at it), I would like to see less BB work. I have nothing against BB work however, I have struggled with some of the more recent BB assignments. Conversely, I would enjoy seeing more reading response logs because they are fun to do and I actually understand what I'm doing (or at least I think I do). We all have our strengths; we might as well play toward them! No matter what kind of grades I am getting in this class (or any type of English class for that matter), I will always feel like I am getting the most out of the class. I've always had a passion for English and this passion was born from the fact that English is not math.
Finally, from being in AP Lang for approximately 90 days, I have learned that there is so much more to the world of writing than meets the eye. I have learned that authors use asyndeton in order to slow down their reader. I have learned that people use anaphora and epistrophe in order to stress the importance of a topic. I have learned that syllogistic reasoning is not proper reasoning at all! I'll admit, back in September I was wary about taking this class, but now, I love it! There is one final thing I would like to vent about (it's nothing serious, just sheer curiosity). Why are vocabulary tests on Wednesdays and not Fridays? Is it to get us over the hump of the week? I just feel like Wednesdays are random, but I'm not complaining; a test is a test is a test. In order for up and coming juniors to succeed in this class, I only have a few pieces of advice for them. Do not take AP chemistry, AP statistics, and AP Lang. at the same time (you will be setting yourself up for destruction) and learn to balance your time. If they are able to keep these things in mind, then they shall survive AP English Language and Composition.
I feel your pain on conclusions. I didn't even make a conclusion for this blog. I know that you are supposed to sum up all of your main points, but my organization on this blog was just nonexistent. So, I couldn't really make a conclusion. One idea just kind of merged into another idea. I'm really bad at segwaying into things.
DeleteI'll be honest, I came into the class thinking that I'd hate it and want to just give up every day. Well, I was right and wrong. Sometimes I hate this class and do just want to give up. Although usually that's my own fault for putting off my work. At the same time this class has helped me grow as a writer, I've never had an English class teach me as much as this one has. One thing that I will always remember is Anaphora, I don't know why. I just really like that specific literary device, it's enjoyable to use. I was always told by upperclassmen that this class would be hard but worth it in the end. I have to agree with them. This class has been worth it so far and I couldn't have asked for better classmates. I honestly enjoy going to Lang 12th period, it's a great way to end my day of school. Plus I can buy candy when I need to before after school activities so that's an advantage. This is exactly what I expected from the class, nothing more, nothing less. Except for one thing, I was told I'd find myself in this class. Honestly, I think I'll do that on my own time. I somewhat know who I am, but then again, I'm a high school kid, what do I know? I can say that this class has helped me to find my style of writing and that is something I will always remembered. Now for things I would like to see more, personally I would like to spend more time on multiple choices strategies. I was really looking forward to those multiple choice review days that got moved by snow, I felt like that would really help me. Also, grammar days feel like a good idea to me. I know general grammar rules but not all the specifics that the SAT expects of me. I know we have that covered already so I guess that was pointless to say but hey I felt the need to share. Finally, I'm still a little shaky on the different types if essays we are expected to write on the AP exam, if we could just do a quick review on that it'd help me greatly. Besides that I'm completely content with the class. Most importantly, I am certainly learning. That is not a question at all, this was a good class to take and I don't regret it at all. That is all I have to say, peace out homies.
ReplyDeleteDan, thank you so much for mentioning grammar days! I hardly know how or what a proper sentence should sound and look like. Although we had a crash course in grammar last year, I feel as though that was not enough. I want to learn about the proper ways of using an apostrophe. When I answer the phone, am I supposed to say "This is she" or "This is her"? These things genuinely bother me. The sooner I learn about these grammatical rules, the better!
DeleteYeah Dan I agree with you about grammar day because that is something I really don’t understand. Grammar is something I have trouble identifying because I never learned. My teacher went over it but I could never remember it. I also mentioned that we could have review not just for the midterm but also for things in general. Like AP essay, multiple choices, or even just writing tips. Overall Dan great job on the blog.
DeleteUnfortunately some grammar days sounds like a good idea. Reviewing that would be helpful considering I've I forgot a lot of what we learned last year. And I also agree with you that going over multiple choice strategies more often would also be helpful.
DeleteYes, the year is half way over and though it might be scary I’m intrigued by what is to come in the next few months. How we will change and grow as people and finally leave the nest we called come for so many years of our lives. Since I know that change is imminent in the future I know that it is one thing that has occurred in all of our lives already, since September I have changed a great deal. I know that I think about situations much more thoroughly because I have a much more introspective mind. I know that there are things that I thought I could never accomplish and I have and it has only shown me that I’m stronger than I believe myself to be. But there are still things I need work on personally and academically, I believe I need more work on multiple choice tests and essays. These are my weaknesses because I usually have trouble deciphering the real answer for the tests and depending on the writing topic given I don’t know what to write then I end up repeating myself. Since these two things are my weakness this is what I would like to focus on in the future in hopes of making myself into someone who can weed out all the wrong answers even if they seem right and choose the correct one or making myself a much better writer not only for the test in May but for a career in the future. Usually I’m a person who can learn both visually and by instruction and maybe that is what I’d like to see more of in class, a detailed discussion with some examples. Since I pointed out my weakness it’s time to show my strength I have a much better memory thanks to this class I think when I first walked through the door I had no idea what to expect, I was walking into the situation blind. Now I have heard the rumors about the class but I didn’t know what to believe because my opinions of things usually differ from those around me. But after it all I’m glad I took the class sure it’s challenging the most challenging class I’ve ever had so far but I like it, it has made be a better student and person for the hardships its putting me through but I know I will get through it, now I might not pass with flying colors but I will not give up. That is one thing I have learned about myself is that I do not give up and I try my best in everything I do, granted most things are easy for me and I do well in most areas but this class has dropped me from that generalization which has shown me that I still have a lot to learn, in every aspect and that is one thing I fully intend to do.
ReplyDeleteI feel like we have a lot in common with the struggles we have in this class and also the things we do well in!
DeleteMultiple choice and essays are also my problematic areas. I agree that we need more examples and detailed discussions on it. And I also agree how the class has taught us more than things about simple writing and reading. We learn important things for life to help make us better students and people in the future.
DeleteGirl you got it right on target! I have had a tremendously difficult time with multiple choice tests and I completely feel your pain. I think your suggestion is effective in practicing more with them in class in order to become stronger at them. I also found your point interesting that you have become stronger because of the class even though you went in blindly. We didn’t know what to expect despite the rumors because we hadn’t experienced it firsthand. Now we are halfway through the year and have persevered through a tremendous amount of work and have made the most of our time in the class. That I consider to be quite the accomplishment and I think it’s a lesson everyone needs to learn, Langers or not. Great post!
DeleteSometimes I question the purpose of doing school work and the meaning of it and its relationship to other things, and I can’t always seem to make the connection. I occasionally feel like I have learned nothing, but I mean I guess that isn’t necessarily true because I have learned some literary terms and stuff about rhetoric, but I don’t usually see the purpose of big book work. When we had to do the grammar assignment about simple sentences, I was thinking about why this might have been assigned, and I figured it was because of that conversation we had in class about not knowing simple grammar things. It just seemed kind of unnecessary to me because I already knew that stuff, but then, I realized that it wasn’t for some people. So, I don’t want to have them as much, but at the same time, I feel like we occasionally benefit from them. There are some BB assignments that I just don’t see the purpose of (the Hip Hop assignment). I kind of saw the purpose, but I wasn’t really sure mainly because I had no idea what I was doing.
ReplyDeleteOften times, I don’t know what I’m doing on our assignments (usually RRls and TS/TDs) because I’m not really sure what I’m doing right or wrong, and I try to compare my work to the examples, but I don’t really know how to because every passage is different. I was able to gather some general points that need to be discussed, but I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I like that big book work is graded for completion, but I don’t know if I’m doing it correctly or what I’m supposed to get out of it. I don’t know if that is just me or if other people feel that way, too. I guess that is where the idea that I’m not learning anything comes from (that along with vocab). I don’t retain any of the vocab words even if I try. I just memorize them for the quizzes, and then, I forget them immediately. I remember some of the words usually because I made up funny things to help me remember them like Neopets for neophytes which means novice...but that is basically it.
I think that we got as much work as I expected, but I don’t really know what I’ve gotten out of it. I’m still really bad at multiple choice tests. I guess I’ve improved a bit since the beginning of the year, but I definitely think I could benefit from more time going over multiple choice strategies. It’s not something that I want to do, but I know I should do. They give me anxiety just thinking about them. Maybe if I feel like I understand how to do them, I won’t get anxious. I definitely think my writing has improved but not in the ap essays. I don’t really care about them very much, and I can’t really develop thoughts on topics that are completely irrelevant to me. I enjoy blogs though because I like discussing those topics. I find them to be very stimulating compared to actual AP exam essays and such. My mind just processes all of the other work as busy work even though you tell us that it’s not. Maybe I just have to start looking for the purpose in assignments and attempt to develop relationships between them and things on the AP exam.
I also have trouble finding the purpose in some assignments until one assignment helps you with tests in the class then you know it is all worth it.
DeleteGabby I totally agree with you on the big book assignment and I am also sure that everyone else will agree. About the bb assignment I was just like you I couldn’t understand the purpose of doing it. I never understand the purpose because we never go over it in class so that why I feel that it is pointless. I am just like you in the rrl and tstd because I also don’t know what I am doing wrong and for the vocab I just memorized it for one week and then I forget it. I have the same problem as you do and that are things I mention in my blog and from that I feel that we will become better if she just lessen the work on the bb and hand back our rrl and tstd. Great job on the blog Gabby.
DeleteTruthfully I completely forgot all about big book assignments. It would be to see those back as well and review that together to understand its purpose and how to relate to what were learning about.
DeleteI have issues complaining about things, because 98% of the time I'm the kind of person that just doesn't remember anything. Which is maybe why I neglected to mention BB assignments. But I don't know.. Maybe I'm the only one that doesn't hate them? I just like having different things to do I guess. They're just assignments to me and I like the readings. Sometimes. I think. But at the same time I'm probably not really learning a whole lot either, though I'm not the most knowledgeable on grammar, and everything I do know is from Latin. Most of which doesn't actually translate to being useful in English, but there it is.
DeleteSometimes I dont really realize what i've learned either but then i think back to last years mentality and holy cow have we learned how to analyze things haha.
DeleteWalking into AP Lang was like walking into a wall. The utter force and tremendous impact it bestowed upon me was astonishing. I expected the class to be hard but I thought I would be able to handle it. Boy was I wrong. I hadn’t considered the fact that I was juggling five other AP classes. I now know that I really need an organized plan just to handle my hectic schedule. I know that Lang isn’t the real root of my problem except it just the fact of all of work I have to do for all my classes. I was dealing with only two hours of sleep each night, tons of homework, and four tests every week. From that daily horrendous activity I know that I had to change and so I became a better student. I still have problem with doing my homework late at night but I am starting to work early. Now I am getting five hours of sleep and that makes a difference. Overall the couples of months we have done many rrl, tstd, and multiple choice. I have improved by so margin but I still feel that I need a lot more help. I just feel that I have no clue what I need help with. I tried to look at other examples you gave us for rrl and tstd but I just can find what I need help with. I just struggle all night until I have something and I just don’t know what I am doing wrong. I know that you have trouble grading and handing back our work but I just feel that to really improve on the rrl and tstd I need to see my mistakes. For my multiple choices I still needs some help with it but overall it is the reading logs and tstd. So in the future I would like to see go over an actually official AP exam and just go over strategies and eliminating choices because I feel that this will be a great help. I would also like to have a lesson on how to write an AP exam for like a week and nothing else except writing an AP exam because on the midterm I had no clue what I was doing. What I would have less of would be the bb assignment. I really feel as though I am learning nothing and doing it blindly because you don’t go over it. I have trouble with vocab but I think that a problem I can handle on my own. So I would like to see more multiple-choice review, AP essay lessons, and less bb assignment. I am getting the most out of this class because I felt like my writing skills have improved and I became a better student. Also I am learning new things everyday. But I do feel like we get off topic sometimes but that is in the past and I hope in the future we can get more focused. There is no doubt I learning, this is great class and I could be getting easy A’s in a college prep class but I choose to be here and I am happy. I sometimes regret my decision but I don’t mean because even though I feel down this class will have a greater result in the end.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what i had to say but you said it way better !
DeleteJust keep powering through Mike. It is definitely worth it. I frequently question, especially when I'm halfway into an all-nighter why I subject myself to so much work, but I guess the real answer is because I wouldn't have it any other way! And I think you are that same way! Anyway, I disagree with your BB assignment clause. I like those assignments, but agree with the premise that we need more feedback on assignments. I am surprised no one has brought up essays. Are we all just ambivalent to that?
DeleteOh Lang, I love Lang honestly. Yeah the work is hard sometimes and overwhelming but I love the class and I feel as though I have learned so much more than I expected. I know everything compared to September 3rd. Out of all things I learned since then it was how to eliminate answers when doing multiple choice tests. I feel like I have finally grasped the point of figuring out the best answer choice. I am starting to finally succeed in my vocabulary battle and want to focus on that more moving forward to end this year strong. I would love to see more of that paper you gave us to work in pairs where we had 9 lit terms and defined the differences between the similar ones. That helped me truly remember some lit terms. I truly do feel like I am getting everything I set out to get in the class and it is completely what I expected which was work, and most of all confidence in your own work. I have learned so much and I know for sure I’ll learn way more by the end of my junior year.
ReplyDeleteI think that paper she gave us differentiating the lit terms was really useful! I wish we spent more time learning the nuances and effects of lit terms rather than just pounding definitions in our heads (though I suppose that is a necessary evil) Glad to know I am not alone.
DeleteDom, I like your point that it is a crucial part of the class to have confidence in our own work. I know that has been a challenging endeavor for many of us since several years before we even had Lang. Therefore, I think you are absolutely right in doubting ourselves and do the work to the best of our ability knowing that it is good work. I also found the paper differentiating between the lit terms to be a helpful tool and am now able to see mistakes I made prior because of it. Good thinking!
DeletePart I:
ReplyDeleteTo recount all the things I learned in Lang in a list would depreciate the real value of what I learned. It seems a far more daunting challenge than I suspected, perhaps because Lang teaches a set of skills that are the hardest to describe. They are almost intangible. In Calculus, this year I can say I learned how to evaluate improper integrals, evaluate product functions by manipulating and integrating differentials, blah, blah, blah. Yet, that same list of “skills” in Lang just seem far more abstract. But that’s not to undermine them! Being able to identify the elements of successful rhetoric and synthesize them into an effective argument seems to be a far more useful skill than knowing exactly what concentration of HCl is needed to titrate a 0.4 M solution of NaOH.
So in terms of tangible skills, discounting all personal and moral growth achieved in this class (because that doesn’t show up in an AP score), I have learned several terminology for rhetorical techniques (per usual in any AP course) and a far more precise eye for perusing literature that I could claim to have had before this class. However, I wish we spent more time actually looking at specific rhetorical devices so I can differentiate the specific effects of chiasmus versus, say, zeugma. If we never get to do that specifically, I’ll probably just have to look through the RDH and figure it out. I’m just lazy.
I also “learned” a great deal of SAT vocabulary, but perhaps not to the degree I wanted to. In terms of numbers and quality of words, we’re fine! 300 words is great and great deal of them I am unfamiliar with, so it’s altogether a nice list. But I feel as though I spend too much time associating my vocabulary words with vaguely related words (i.e. synonyms) and specific numbered series that I neglect actually committing them to long-term memory. Last year, Mr. Costal’s vocabulary words were unapologetically easy. I say the definition; you give me the word. The catch was every test was cumulative. Yet, despite their simplicity, I know every single Costal word like the back of my hand. I will literally never forget them. And luckily, they do show up on standardized tests. I just can’t claim to have the same mastery of our words this year. Perhaps we just need more cumulative review?
In great contrast to my classmates, I am an ardent big book proponent! Honestly, I really love our big book – it is the best English textbook I have ever had. Granted, all the English textbooks I have had sucked, but still, I really like it. I just wish when I was doing BB assignments that I had some sort of answer key (like math and science textbooks) to see if I was on the right track. It does not have to be a complete answer key, but a little reassurance goes a long way. In general, more feedback on assignments would be wonderful. I mean, I totally understand how tedious that must be (to give meaningful feedback on all the work we do I’d imagine is near impossible). Perhaps we could just make comments on each other’s work every once in awhile. Like, instead of assigning new assignments, we could peer review each other’s reading logs and what not. Not everyday, but if we tried that everyone once in a while, it could prove very useful.
Well most kids are usually shocked to see me in their AP classes the first day of school, but I can be book smart too. And it's always the same every year, I start out not knowing anything but then just accumulating so much information, and quite frankly, I love when that happens. I started off in the beginning of the year so overwhelmed and scared, but I knew I could do it. The only thing that really scares me is how well everybody else is doing. As if I can't even come close- but I try my best. My one favorite thing in the class is vocab. Which is weird because everybody else says that they hate it but I love it.Even when I get a 40 or a 60 or 70 on a test here and there, It just pushes me to learn the words more. I have always loved vocab, its my weakest area, but I think I love it so much because when I actually learn the word it makes me feel so good. And I always remember the definition I was given for good. It's kinda funny. I would say my hardest area to learn is reading logs, no matter how much I practice at them I just can't get the hang of them, and that's just my fault because it takes me so much just to comprehend something and make it stick in my head for good so within minutes I could forget something important that I had to mention in a log or include, and it's horrible. When I'm taught something I have to have it beaten in my brain or else it won't stay. Another thing I'm horrible at is AP multiple choice tests/ap essays and I'm sure that's why I'm horrible at the SAT's as well. The questions are just so extensive it's too much to take in at once, and by the time I actually understand what they are saying or asking, I've already wasted too much time on one question. So, usually I end up just rushing through. It's not that I don't get them, it just takes too much time for to get them, if that makes sense at all. My absolute WORST area is the why and how of things, which is basically all of lang. I know what an author does, but I usually am horrible at figuring out how or why the author uses that device, or why he says something instead of another. Something I would like more of is probably BB assignments. I feel like they really help me learn the basics of sentences because I was never correctly taught that in middle school. I am excited for the rest of the year though!
ReplyDeleteGrrrrrrr, you broke up the continuity of my post. Hahaha jk. I don't think APers are that surprised at your presence in AP classes... at least I wasn't. Though I am very surprised you like vocab! Guess that just shows that we are all into different things. I think your problem with AP multiple choice questions is just timing, which can be completely remedied with practice. So you're actually not in that bad shape overall. And YES! love BB assignments.
DeleteAubree, I totally understand. Even though I fail a majority of my vocab quizzes, I still like vocab. I also think that we should get so much more practice on those MC tests because they're pretty difficult and I am so amazed that there are people who do so well and I do so bad. I really hope we can have a some days where we all come together as a class and take a MC test.
DeleteI have a lot of trouble on AP multiple choice tests/essays and SAT stuff, too. When I have a lot of things that I need to comprehend all at once in a short amount of time, I go into panic mode, and I just can't process things as well as I would have if I had more time to just break everything down to make it seem simpler.
DeleteJoy! A person other than me that doesn't completely hate BBs! But maybe I don't like them as much as you do. Hahah. But I'm a little surprised you love vocab. I used to love it, but now I just forget the words constantly. And I think we all kind of need help with the AP essays and such. I don't have a problem with Bunje essays really, but my AP essays are really, incredibly, heart-shatteringly terrible, so I feel you there. I'm sure you'll get better with everything though. It'll be good. And if you're doing all that learning I don't really know how anyone could be surprised by you being there. Soooo.. woo! It'll all be good. :D
DeleteI really admire your determination with vocab and the class in general; it's something I wish I had. I totally agree with the essay's. It's hard to just put it all into words, it's hard to explain. I kind of wish we did more essay's but i dont want to speak too soon lol
DeleteAubree, you totally nailed the problems with AP multiple choice test questions. There's just way two many different bullets that you have to hit in one answer, and even before you get to that, you have to be able to actually understand what each point is asking. I really relate to everything you said. Hopefully, with these last few months before the test, these issues will be helped in the coming months of preparation.
DeletePart II:
ReplyDeleteI know I have addressed this before, but if we could have a quick mini-course in Philosophy, that would be amazing! I just feel as though English passages on morality and philosophy are just the densest and the hardest to read (because they are so ridiculously abstract), so I imagine we could benefit from a quick course through that, seeing that no class covers it and so many authors (i.e. C.S. Lewis) and notable pieces discuss it. And philosophy and morality pieces are littered through the SAT and most likely the AP test and really any serious humanities course.
In general, I feel as though the things that my classmates are weak in I have a pretty solid foundation in. For example, multiple choice tests that everyone seems to be lamenting about. I’m not even quite sure how someone would go about “teaching” how to do them anyway. I also have a solid foundation in grammar, syntax, and mechanics. It is not nearly as thorough as I would like it, but my fear is if we review it in class, we will just end up reviewing very basic things and not the more advanced concepts that would prove more useful from a composition standpoint.
The point to take away from this post is simple: I just wish we’d spend more time reviewing what we’ve done. I know our horrendous AP schedule doesn’t quite allow for much leniency to be made for review, but it can’t be impossible, right? Problems aside, I am learning! I am sure of it. I am getting the concepts and applying it to the best of my ability. But hey, if I am wrong, feel free to correct me.
Before the beginning of junior year my thoughts of AP Lang were fearful and anxious. I didn't know what to expect due to all the mixed opinions about the class. On my first walking into 204 I was given the chance to either leave or to learn and understand reading and writing at an almost intense level. And I was positive I could handle the challenge set out in front of me. I was forced to teach myself newer ways in learning the different work given to me such as vocabulary and reading logs. But although I've learned to handle myself good so far I still feel some things are missing. Its been a bumpy ride with reading logs and TS/TD's. I've checked in a lot of time for them but the pace in which they were given back to me was too slow. It was difficult to understand my strengths and weaknesses. Then there's the writing part of lang where I feel usually blind. My understanding of how to write well is still unclear. Directions are confusing and tend to lack the in depth information I need. More examples of what is being asked for would be helpful too. Reviewing examples gives me a great visual to understand the task. But overall AP lang was a little more than I expected. It's nothing like a bone-chilling dungeon, but a warm and comforting room where I learn something. I'll gladly do all the work required, but it's hard when I constantly find myself stuck. And then there's the multiple choice tests. Even after completing a handful of them I still struggle with applying whatever we learn to help me do better on it. But the issues aside I've found myself getting the most out of this class. I'm learning more about my writing and reading skills more than ever. I even find myself using what I learn in class in other places. For instance when I'm talking with my family I slip in some vocabulary words or expressing my opinions in unique ways. And most recently after taking the SAT's I remember while taking the test I thought of something the most. I repeatedly referred back to what Bunje said about specific things in order to help through the test. With a few changes here and there AP Lang in 204 will be even better than ever before.
ReplyDeleteSoti, I’m glad you have left your fears for the class and are seeing it as an enjoyable experience! It is always difficult to adjust but it’s great that you have been successful. I also had similar experiences involving the SATs and found our vocabulary to be extremely helpful. They are one thing I know has been a large portion of stress for us Langers, especially because it’s the peak of our junior year. I think we all have been so stressed because of our work it’s crucial that we allow ourselves to relax. Great suggestions!
DeleteWell I can definitely say I learned a lot of vocab words between September 3rd and now! I've also learned better ways to break down and analyze different types of writing and I hope that I've learned to write better. Everything that I didn't say I've learned or gotten better at is what I’m still unsure about. I feel like this class is giving me a lot of what I want and expected and that I am getting as much as I’m willing to take out of the class. You are a good teacher I’m just not always the best student. (But I’m a better student in your class than most so that’s good) As for what I would want more of I would just like to have more time in class dedicated to explaining the rights and wrongs in some of our work. I for one learn a lot better in a discussion environment than I do when I am just reading what is bad and what is good so it would be awesome if we could do that more! That’s really my only gripe. The class is giving me a lot and I am getting a lot from it but sometimes I feel like I am still unsure about what exactly makes some of my work good or bad and it would be great to have that explained and discussed in class so I can hear other opinions on the work and just other perspectives that could open everyone up to new ideas and better work habits all together.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThank you all for your comments. I learned a lot from them, and knowledge is power and if it is within my power to impart more knowledge in ways that make sense to all of you, then I consider that a good day. :)
ReplyDeleteSo, first, thank you.
I hear you all loud and clear about getting your work back to you in a more timely fashion. Please note, however, that if you don't get something back, it is also not in the grade book--which means that, basically, if you're getting backlogged work with a lot of comments about what you did wrong, you didn't receive a bad grade for it--in fact, I don't really grade some of the RRLs, TS/TDs and BB assignments for correctness--merely completion. But, you are quite right--I need to get on that and I will.
I think I have a plan for BB assignments--I know that many of you don't see the point--there is one, though, and it is up to me to show you what it is. Therefore, we will be doing more BB work in class rather than as HW. That way, you will see for yourself how some of the stuff in there is really helpful, and that is really the best way--me just telling you is virtually meaningless if you can't see it. So, onward and upward.
Multiple choice tests--I feel your pain. In February, we will be spending at least 3 class periods per week doing something related to MC tests. Unfortunately, I can't really help you become a better a test-taker--I can merely make it so that these abominations are less stress-inducing. A few of you recognize this unequivocal and annoying truth--getting better at MC tests means you have to take more of them. And while I understand the frustration of that absurd duality, I do try to keep them from becoming a grade-murderer--which is why I have only counted 2-3 of them all year. But then--is that really helpful? I have this pedagogically-philosophical discussion (sometimes with myself, sometimes with other teachers...) often: does assigning a weight to a test increase or decrease its value to the kids who take it? One philosophy would suggest that the grade is what makes you try harder, go faster etc etc etc. Alternately, I see some holes there...the struggle. Sometimes, it's a husk. ;) In any case, I have some plans for this, but it's better talked about in person.
The miscommunication issue: that's my fault entirely. Sometimes I have what I think is a great idea and I talk about it with 2nd period--and then, upon further reflection, realize it's not as awesome as I think and change my mind by 12th. These are the times when I wish the 2 periods were closer in time frame--or that I had a photographic memory. I'll work on it. Might involve tape recording myself--[shudder]--but there is a way and I will find it.
Again, thank you for being honest, for being respectful and just generally for being the people you are. It helps--all of that--it helps a lot.
Good luck with the rest of your exams!
The first month opened a door to a whole new language for me. Lit terms? Those were those words I have been avoiding since freshman year! Within the first month I had overcome the weight of regret that had been a consequence of my apathy 2 years ago and moved onto conquer and comprehend the definition and application of these words. Thus far, I think I have succeeded. The RRL’s have helped me identify the language of Lang and TS/TD’s have made me bilingual; I really love the system. Also, as I always have been, I’m a fan of vocab. It just brings you back to the basics of Lang. BB assignments are cool too, I like learning the different techniques we read and practice in there. It’d be cool to discuss them more so I could see the connection between the assignment and its application. I went into Lang expecting somewhat Lit. To me it was similar to going into geometry and getting algebra. Geometry comes easier to me but algebra is a fundamental. I’m grateful lang is what it is, so when I take Lit next year I can really understand it. I like the rigor of the class because it keeps me in line. Altogether, I’m happy with the chance I took at lang, it’s been delightful.
ReplyDeleteThe only way I can explain the time that has elapsed since the beginning of school is that each month feels like one incredibly long day. I have gotten into such a solid and hectic routine that it seems like all the days run together. Though it feels dilatory, in the grand scheme of things time is passing quickly. I can’t believe that in four months we’re going to be seniors when I feel like yesterday I was a freshman. There are countless things I could say I’ve learned since then. However, for the sake of this post the most important thing I have learned since September is that I need to be flexible and manage my time. I knew going in that this year is a crucial one but I didn’t understand the extent of that statement. The lack of sleep, the rigorous assignments, and the extracurricular activities have kept me moving. I’ve learned that if there are multiple things that I wish to be a part of I have to sacrifice the more trivial things, including sleep. I don’t count this a significant loss and have enjoyed this year immensely, even through all of the stress. Pertaining to class specifically, I have found the multiple choice tests specifically challenging. I think it’s most likely because I can’t really study the content but the strategies do help. Also, I find them difficult because I over think my choices or don’t understand what the passage is asking. That being said, I would like to see more practice multiple choice tests that don’t count because they severely affect my grade. I would like to see less textbook work because even though I do see on occasion how it pertains to a lesson from class I don’t see how it is necessarily important or beneficial. That being said, in moving forward I’d like to see more of a balance between the assignments that we do. Rather than having weeks that are rigorous and others that have a lighter load, I’d like to space the work out so that it is more easily managed and doesn’t seem as though it’s so much and overwhelming. Throughout the course of the class I feel as though I’ve been benefited most in determining the motives of authors which in turn helps me to become a more avid reader. Every time I have read since the beginning of the class I have found myself picking apart what the author is saying and what their true purpose was in writing the piece. It’s always interesting to me to think about what the author could have been thinking while writing the piece and what inspired them to write in the first place. This interest has come from always seeking out the information in class or for homework. This doesn’t mean that I enjoy reading logs or text says text does at all. However, I do enjoy dissecting passages mentally and to myself. This is one of the few components I have considered to be a component of the class that was more than expected. This entire course I expected to be hard but not as challenging and rigorous as it indeed is. Despite the work, the class has been better than I first thought and much of what we learn is applicable. Though there are more assignments, I finally have been able to manage them and find time for other activities. I have learned a great deal about dissecting passages, writing and what language and Composition actually entails and I look forward to learning the next few months we have of junior year.
ReplyDeleteBefore I begin this, I want to apologize for the lateness of this blog post. There was a miscommunication, and I didn't know that this wasn't an optional blog. But anyway, here it goes.
ReplyDeleteThis year to me, I feel like has been the strangest school year yet.But with the whole year in general, I feel as though I wasn't present. I went to school, completed work, completed work at home, slept, and did it all over again. So I guess that's why for all of my midterms, I panicked because I realized that even though I managed for the most part to get good grades, I didn't take in everything I was supposed to learn. However, despite this blur, I feel like the only class I really have is Lang. Regarding Lang, I learned many new SAT words, how to actually read something and not stop and think "wait...what did those last two paragraphs say?", and I also learned how to think from different angles in order to grasp what the author intended to say through written word. Taking Lang, despite my grades, I think was a really great decision on my part. The work makes me want to cry, and a lot of the time, to be honest, I feel really really stupid. But I don't think I made a bad choice in sticking with this class. I learned many new things, like I had previously mentioned. However, much of what I have so far absorbed does not necessarily apply to just Lang. It has to do with being successful in school (and life) in general. With the many assignments, I learned how to space out my time. In the same token, I realized how much I am capable of getting done. In addition, after reading many passages and listening to the O.P.'s of my classmates with unique backgrounds, I learned how to explore the mindsets of others. But most importantly, this class, from the stories that Bunje tells us, and just by taking Lang in general, I learned that the saying "Life goes on" really is true. I really do try my best in this class. But I fail pretty much every test and exam given. In the past, I would have thrown in the towel. However, I've come to realize that all numbers aside, as long as I know that I'm putting in effort and learning something, it's okay. Life goes on, and if I keep putting in effort, things will click and by the time I take the big AP test, it will all be worth it.
So for changes, I think I covered the whole "Lang is a lot of work" point. However, I wouldn't necessarily change things. If I were to say one thing that would help me, and probably a lot of others, is if we had more personal writing conferences. I know we have all access to you to ask you questions, but not to sound lame, but it's hard to ask questions on how to write a certain assignment, especially if you don't know exactly what you're doing wrong. I think having a greater number of class periods that entail times when we are pulled aside and shown what we need to improve on in our writing and what we need to change completely will not only help the cause of the quality of our writing altogether, but will make this workload seem lighter because of the confidence in ourselves.