Literature:
First and foremost I learned that one can read a book in two ways: One can read the book for pleasure overlooking all of its subtle hints at the meaning of life and the social implications behind the messages or one can read a book to try to interpret these enigmas through literature. Neither way is wrong, but each way has its benefits. This year we read for the latter purpose of the two within class, which is expectable seeing as we are in English class and not on the couch reading. When looking at content though, I read four great books that really stick out in my mind as remarkable literature this year. The first novella which I remember has to be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as we analyzed within it elements of Marxism, Psychoanalysis, or Social Darwinism. I eventually chose to write mine on the elements of psychoanalysis as they related to characters and settings within the book. It gave me a whole different perspective on how pervasive these ideas (Psychoanalysis, Marxism, and Social Darwinism) were within my own life. We then went on to read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein where I analyzed language acquisition within the monster. Then we proceeded onto 1984 with Marxism and Hamlet with Psychoanalysis yet again. Throughout all of these novels I learned that the author's true intentions in writing these novels are much more deep than just providing a good story, for these authors meant to get at the very nuances of what it means to be human. As Ms. Anderson always explains, "Literature is a reflection of the human experience," I truly believe that it is after this year of thorough analysis a reflection of our experiences as humans.
What I wish I had learned:
I can't ask for much more than what we have gone through this year as it seems like we have learned so much as a class, but if I had to narrow it down to one thing I think I would have cut down on the Reader Response Theory at the beginning of the year so as to give more time to analyze Archetypes within fairy-tales as I found that we were not able to achieve the same depth with Archetypes as the other units. I would have liked to have delved into the archetypes within these fairy-tales a bit more deeply within the class so that I could reach a greater understanding of them in the stories we were given, and since I found Reader Response theory the most dull, I feel that shorting that unit would be permissible in the scope of a year worth of learning and a greater understanding of Archetypes.
How I could have learned the material better:
One of the only improvements I believe could actually help the students, including myself in the midst of the trials of this year would have just been more explanation as to how the novels apply to our lives within the classroom as sometimes I would try to interpret the books on my own and found myself at a loss as to what their nuances really meant.
Writing:
What I learned:
I learned that everything I had been taught about formal academic writing up to this year was a joke. Nothing compares to MLA format and nothing compares to the overall structure of an essay written in Mrs. Anderson's class. The intricacy required in order to purvey one's thoughts is astounding, and this year I know I certainly haven't come close to having mastered my own writing style, and yet, I can say that I have certainly improved, which isn't much of a surprise seeing as I went from having minimal knowledge of the correct format to now "knowing the ropes," if you will, of how to write a true formal academic piece. I especially learned this year that emphatic statements are like a social taboo in which you can't break the chains of unless if you fully submit to the rules of The Great Essay Challenges and the rules of the great MLA. I learned that in order to win it is necessary to play by the rules, and I guess I had to take the hard route on this one because I certainly had my fair share of redos, extra essays, and terrible grades this year. I can honestly say I learned a lot about writing, the purpose of such stringent formatting, and the necessity of formality within Formal Academic Writing this year.
What I wish I had learned:
Much of what we covered in the realm of Formal Academic Writing was practical and scrupulous, yet I wish that we exited out of the realm of formal academic writing more than we actually did in our class. The regimented personality of writing in MLA format was a great thing to learn, but eventually its monotony plagued me as I tried to endure writing countless essays. I wish that we explored the realm of non-academic writing for the purposes of leisure through poetry, or short stories and things of that nature because I felt often in the classroom that we excluded the pleasure from learning that can be re-acheived through the informality of prose and poetry.
How I could have learned the material better:
The only complaint that I could have for this year would be more strait-forward directions. The ambiguity of some of our assignments created much frustration in the teacher and students alike as the teacher ridiculed us for being too needy, but the dependancy was necessary for us, as students, to perform our assignments up to the teacher's standard. Basically, more direction would have been nice, that's all.
Grammar and Punctuation:
What I learned:
Honestly, this year was the first time I have ever been forced to tackle the field of grammar and punctuation. I learned all about parts of speech, their forms and functions, and all about the functions of punctuation. Mostly credit is due to the classroom and definitely the teacher, but much of the credit for punctuation goes to Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynn Truss. I learned that through the syntax of sentences one can interpret the true meaning of the sentence, and one can bolster the impact of his sentences through his own knowledge of syntax. I traversed the confusing landscape of punctuation this year as well as we tackled what the true intended purpose for much of the poorly-used punctuation in existence today.
What I wish I had learned:
I do not think I could have wished to learn much more than what we already have learned about punctuation and grammar. I only wish that we could have seen examples of the ways punctuation was used in novels and essays, otherwise I am content with what we have learned.
How I could have learned the material better:
More repetition would be the only suggestion I have as a student because some of the grammar rules can be a bit confusing when trying to apply them at first, especially when outside of the classroom, so I would just suggest that there is more time in class for students to become acclimated with the intricacies of grammar and punctuation.