This
year has been a challenging one for me. It became the year that I
wish I could start all over again. I began to slack and procrastinate
on almost all of my assignments. Had I maintained the work ethic I
possessed in the beginning of the year, I would have done so much
better. As the year went on I began to procrastinate more and there
came a point where my assignments were no longer being handed in on
time. Instead of developing better habits throughout the course, I
began doing the exact opposite. Throughout the year I have improved
in my reading and writing skills, but I have displayed the
improvements due to laziness.
Although
I did begin to not put as much effort as I should have into the
class, I did obtain an abundant amount of knowledge. From the
beginning of the school year, I have seen an improvement in my
writing. My writing has become somewhat more analytical as well as
better structured. During the in-class essays, I started to
increasingly understand what the prompts were asking for. I would
usually run out of time during the essays because I would lose focus
on my writing for a few minutes. If I had maintained my focus
throughout the entire time for the in-class
essays I would have received higher scores. During the first quarter
my writing was vague and did not contain much detail. Later on I knew
what was required in as essay to achieve a high score. My regular
essays were changing into AP essays.
As
a reader, I have also seen an improvement. As the year started off I
read with less analysis. But being in this course, I have learned to
read carefully and analyze what the author is attempting to say.
Paying more attention to the various writing styles among authors
as well as trying to relate to what the author is saying. I am glad
that we read various amounts of genres throughout the course. It was
helpful to read an assortment because each one was different and
required a different form of analysis. As my writing and reading
improved I began to think more critically throughout the year.
Critical thinking played a major role during this course. In order to
correctly analyze the material I was reading and organize it into an
essay I had to think differently.
I
am glad that I had Ms. Fogarty as a teacher this year. She was always
willing to help with improving essays, but I did not take advantage
of this opportunity. Taking advantage of this opportunity would have
greatly benefited my work. In class we were able to work within
groups, which was helpful. Not being able to choose who is in your
group was a good thing because in the future we will not always have
the option to choose who we want to work with. Working within a group
caused us to be dependent on each other because if one person did not
do their task the whole group would be influenced by it.
Once
this school year is over, I believe I am prepared to take another
college course. Although I did not do as well as I should have, I now
know what is expected of a student who enrolls in a college course. I
know it is too late to realize this now, but procrastination is never
a good thing. Procrastination led me to not reach my full potential.
I can only learn from the mistakes I have made and try to make next
year a better year for me. I also learned that asking for help is
something a student should do if they are confused or just want to
improve in a certain area. The next college course that I enter, I
know I will do better in because of all the skills and knowledge that
I acquired during this year.
Jessie You could not have put I any better. Procrastination serves as a powerful motivator, however an inefficient motivator. Quickly trying to finish assignments before their due dates have a tendency to not take in account the content of your work. Ultimately, hindering you, as a student and your academic progress. But fear not, let this year be a learning experience, if your work ethic is what you say, then the logical thing to do is fix it. Next year, try doing your work as soon as it is assigned. I believe your work will be better than you will expect it to be. Fortunately, I as well as many of the students in you the class have been in your shoes and can relate. But our actions speak louder than words and sadly many will not do as they say. On better note, I am glad to see you did learn from the class. Although hindered by procrastination, the quality did improve from before the school year and after the school year. I also completely agree with your entire blog. And I hope you have wonderful summer and a fabulous senior year. Just study and do not procrastinate. See you in DCC English 101 next year!
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ReplyDeleteJessica, the points you stated in your reflection are very similar to many of our peers that have also taken this AP English class. One of the biggest points made in a multiple of these reflection essays was the idea that procrastination is a great setback, but also something we find ourselves committed to. I totally agree with the fact that though we may have set ourselves back this year, this was a new and great experience we should not forget and better yet use to our advantage in future AP classes and in life period. Another point you made is that even though we did not do the best we could have done, a lot of knowledge was still obtained. I stated in my own essay that even though at times I felt like I wasn’t learning anything I really was and this showed true as my essays claimed better grades. I can also agree on the fact that Mrs. Fogarty was a great help in improving my writing style, but much like you, I did not take advantage of the opportunity. I should have asked more questions and kicked the hesitant habit I developed over the year. The good thing about all of the errors we’ve made this year though is that we recognized what they were and figured out how to avoid them. I hope we can both use this to our advantage in the future. Good job on your reflection and good luck next year!
DeleteJessica, I have read a couple other essays and this by far was the best that related exactly to me! I slacked off so much and did not take advantage of the opportunities I had to ask for help and as well as doing my work. In the beginning of the year I would hand in my work on time and always get it done. Then couple weeks went by and I noticed my self slowly falling behind in my work. It gotten so bad where I would hand in my work late and now to the point where some of my work I do not even hand in. A good point that you made was that this is AP course and we did not take advantage of that. Although we did not take advantage of that. But we still learned something even though most of us slacked off. And I also very much agree that Ms. Fogarty is a great teacher and is always there to help. I just wish I took advantage of that opportunity as well. Asked more questions when I needed help or didn't fully understand something. But my problem with that was I was too embarrassed to ask for help and also did not want her to bring up the fact that I have not been doing my work as much as I used to be. I like that now we are all noticing what we have done wrong and are trying to capitalize on that and improve for next year and in the future with any class, weather it be an AP course or a regular class
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