Reflection

Okay: IB Junior English

First off, I slept less in this class compared to Freshman and Sophomore English. Congratulations, I'd say that's a huge achievement on your part considering the primary reason I did in the past was was complete boredom (It's more due to a lack of sleep now). Hooray! An English class that was consistently fun!

Now, as to what I learned this semester:
For one, I am going to enjoy watching the next 'batch' of juniors that have to go through this class. I will enjoy it very much.

But on a more serious note, I am now quite worried about the state of the English curriculum freshman and sophomores are going through. Coming into this class was a huge shock. Ask just about anyone else who went through the advanced tract and took this class, and I believe you will hear the same thing. A lot of us came into this class with a mindset similar to this:

Okay, it's going to be hard. I can guess that much, but I did great in previous English classes, probably just have to put in a little more work.

To extent, that is true. We did have to do more work, but we weren't prepared for the level of analysis necessary to survive the class. It's a shame that so much material needs to be covered in one semester, as a bunch of us could really have used more time in the beginning of the class to really understand what was expected of our essays and IOPs.

If it makes any sense, we were all trying to figure out the 'formula for a good essay'. I mean, we had the what, how and effect lesson, but we just didn't get it. We needed more practice figuring that kind of stuff out.

Not counting the IOP, I've gradually gotten better at essays throughout the course of the year. The feedback you give is critical, as it is part of the clues and evidence we need to crack that formula. For me at least, a lack of feedback is what really killed me near the beginning. I needed someone to tell me either 'yes' you're doing this right, or 'no' you've got it all wrong.

That's pretty much all there is to it. Once you see what's right and what's wrong a few times, you start to piece it all together.

In fact, it wasn't until I received my graded Anouilh essay earlier this week that I honestly felt confidence in my ability to write essays for this class. It's the 'this is proof you can write'. I would have felt much less stressed out this year if I went into the World Lit and IOPs with even a smidgen of confidence.

So overall, great job Mrs. Townzen. I'm hoping IB Senior English isn't as much of a shock to the system. Also hoping I don't regress on the sleeping issue upon arrival.

Oh yes, consider hiring a babysitter. And bring Dash into class more often; we could have all used stress alleviating moments like that more often