Semester Reflection

In regards to my education this semester, I have seen changes in how I read and interpret novels or articles. I have further learned how to find what is important to the character, and apply to it my life, and the world around me. After reading stories such as Into the Wild by Jon Krakaur, and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, as well as excerpts the book of Walden, I have learned that more goes on in a story than what is just on the page. I have learned to read deeper into the story, and because of that, I have learned to go deeper into the character as well. I think that that these skills will help me in the future in different English classes, but that it will also be applied into when I read on my own. The other day I was reading a book that I had gotten from the library for free reading. I noticed that when I read now, I begin to think while I read, and ask questions about the context where as before; I would simply read the story.
I have also seen changes regarding writing. After this semester, I feel that my writing has been changed from just slapping something down on paper to get it done, into actually expressing my, and others opinions. By having a rubric to follow for each and every assignment, I motivate myself to make it “A” quality each time. I have learned how to start, express, and end a PLN, and to make my writing interesting for readers. My skills have been changed because I start to express how I personally feel about a matter, and not just re-explaining what I read in the article. I have learned to see both sides of the story, and to show how I fell about the matter. I have found that I actually somewhat enjoy writing now, certainly more than I did at the beginning of the semester. I now enjoy writing PLNs that have to do with worldly matters or things about the government. I have learned to write about an article that I can really relate to, and not the first one that pops up onto the screen I think that this skill is very useful in life because it can be used in any career.
Technology played a big part into the changes in my learning. By using a laptop every day, I learned to rely more on the computer for all of my assignments. I thought it was really neat how I could turn in projects online, and not by hand. Technology has changed me because now I know how to create more and more assignments on the computer, making them easier, but also because we can connect with other things with technology. I could email my projects home every night and not have to start over each time. I could also talk with the people I was working with by email or by the phone. Technology changed the way I learned because it showed me that I could do things over and over again simply by pushing the erase button, and not have to start over each time. I enjoyed being in a laptop class because it gave me the freedom to search anything in an instant and not have to do it manually. I was able to do a much better job on my work by using the computer, and I think that that work standard will stay with me because of that.
I feel more motivated to learn because I have so much more options in how I learn. Because we set up an “A”, “B”, and “C” quality standard, I can basically choose what grade I want to get, and I know all that I have to do to accomplish that. I have a checklist that I know if I follow that I can achieve anything. This motivates me because it provides no excuse for anything below the best. With the rubric, all excuses are taken away that due with “I didn’t know that I had to do such-and-such to get an “A”,” because I have a list of what needs to be on every assignment. I think that I was motivated because I knew that I wanted an “A”, and I was determined to get it, so I did what it took to keep it.
Now that we are just a few days away from the end of the semester, it comes as a shock that now is going to be the time to get all my grades to where I want them, and to get all the help that I need to make sure that my report card looks acceptable at the end of the semester. In English, I feel that at the end of the semester, I will keep the “A” that I started out with at the beginning of the semester. I remember writing about what I was going to do to keep my “A” all semester long, and I feel that I have been able to accomplish those things that I said I would do. I have kept up on my work, and have not fallen behind pr procrastinated due to the option of multiple re-dos. If I keep up what I have been doing for the past eighteen weeks, I think that I have nothing to worry about with my English grade. Now that we are just a few weeks away from the end of the semester, it comes as a shock that now is going to be the time to get all my grades to where I want them, and to get all the help that I need to make sure that my report card looks acceptable at the end of the semester. In English, I feel that at the end of the semester, I will keep the “A” that I started out with at the beginning of the semester. I remember writing about what I was going to do to keep my “A” all semester long, and I feel that I have been able to accomplish those things that I said I would do. I have kept up on my work, and have not fallen behind pr procrastinated due to the option of multiple re-dos. If I keep up what I have been doing for the past eighteen weeks, I think that I have nothing to worry about with my English grade.
I think that student philosophy helped us learn because it made us think for ourselves. When we would do projects at the end of a couple chapters, we had to think on higher level thinking standards about what mattered to each character. When we had different characters we were independent in our own groups and couldn’t share ideas with other groups. I know that this helped me and will help me in the future because I developed the skill of higher level thinking, and I can go deeper into a story now then I could before.
Some things that could be done different next year is that the students should start higher level thinking from the very start. I think that quizzes should involve the creativity that they did at the end of the semester, but right from the start of Chris McCandless. I know that the types of quizzes that we did in the last six weeks really helped me to understand the book and what was going on more so than it did when we just took normal quizzes.
I think that the “No D” policy motivated me not to fail. Without the option to get a “D”, it was either an “F” or a “C”, so I chose to take the better option of a “C”, and work it up to an “A”. Without the option of a “D” I pushed myself not to get an “F”, so I did my best work, and it helped me. I think that you should keep the policy because it really helped me, and it can really help others.
I really liked how you started off with what matters to us because it gave me a perspective of what the rest of the year will be like, and how we figure out what matters. By starting with that I learned how to figure out what matters, but it was a creative way to get to know everyone as well. By looking through the collages and reading the blogs we got to know each other which made our class more fun throughout the semester. I liked how you made some of the quizzes projects because then they weren’t just normal quizzes like in every class, they were something that made you really think.
I am satisfied with my grade at the end of the semester. I think that it reflects my learning, and shows how I changed my skills. Compared to previous English classes, this one have by far provided the most education in the most creative ways. I have developed skills that will be with me forever, and it has changed the way that I think about things.