Reflection Paper In English

When I entered into high school nearly four years ago, my motivations were purely academic. I was there to get the best education I could, and to maintain a standard of scholastic excellence. Of course, the only way I knew to measure my own “success” was through concrete and quantitative means; this led me to spend my Freshman and Sophomore years fawning over test scores, GPA points, and even fractions of percents in my grades. I know now that this strategy, while effective in getting me what I wanted (or at least thought I wanted), actually left me missing a huge part of what it means to be truly educated.

Learning as much as my brain capacity can endure is my ultimate goal in life. School is not just a chore, it is a necessity to further me into the future. English class, specifically the writing portion has evolved my understanding of persuasive literature and how to explain my thoughts on paper for an audience to understand. Throughout the first semester of KCC English I have improved my essays from small to large mistakes.

I have struggled spiritually in the sense that I questioned myself. If I am doing right or wrong and if making the right or wrong decision. Life is about choices as God created us and gave us free will. In Galatians 5:13-14 tells us “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command; “Love your neighbor as yourself” Therefore, as I see it, it’s harder to carry with a heavy conscious knowing that I did not act in righteous. Though sometimes I feel that I am acting in righteous. For some it may not be the same. What is right for me might not be right for others. However, as I look back what is right in the God’s eyes, I redirect to his laws. In Romans 13:8-9 “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandments there may be, are summed up in this rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Though Jesus Christ coming to clean our sins, he also came to teach us how to live with righteousness by his simple golden rule. Even though, there are several versions in Bible Galatians 5:14 could not be simpler “Love your neighbor as yourself”

My set of beliefs comes from my own experience as a student and in the classroom. As a student, my school was extremely poverty stricken which meant that it seemed as if no one wanted to be there nor did they care. However, there were a few teachers and even administrators sprinkled throughout the district who did care and when a student found those special educators, one latched on. We were all extremely eager to be fed academically and believed in. According to Ministry of Education, Guyana (2016), “Creating a positive learning environment is essential for success in the classroom. Teachers should create a welcoming atmosphere where student feel safe and willing to share” (para. 2). This kind of atmosphere was created for me as a student. For example, Mrs. Debbie Schlicht was the librarian for grades 4-12 and was also the yearbook and newspaper sponsor. In 2011, a young little eighth grade girl decided to tryout for the yearbook staff and despite how terrible the double-page spread she submitted was, that little girl made the yearbook staff for the following school year. Then, her ninth grade year she decided she wanted to be her school’s yearbook editor during her senior year. Three years later, she walked across the stage at the Gertrude Ford Center at the University of Mississippi where she was named ‘2015 High school Yearbook Editor of the Year’ for the state of Mississippi. She later went on to be a yearbook editor on the collegiate level. The little girl described

Prior to being introduced to Roger, I was familiar with distinguishing a language disorder, language difference, language delay, an articulation disorder, and a phonological disorder. A language disorder is present in all of the spoken and written languages the individual exhibits. The common misconception is that a language disorder may appear in one language and remain dormant in another language. A language delay is where the child presents the milestones of language at a later time from his/her peers. On the other hand, a language difference is where two or more individuals are not familiar with the form, content, and use of each other’s languages. Furthermore, speech disorders fall into two divisions known as phonological and articulation disorders. Phonological disorders are present when an individual is unable to produce the correct pronunciation of a phoneme despite placing their articulators in the correct placement. However, an articulation disorder is where the individual is unable to produce certain phonemes due to incorrect placement of their articulators, such as not being able to place their tongue on their alveolar ridge.

I believe I live up to the qualification of loyalty to the Jesuit ideals of higher education through my active participation in many of the classes, clubs, and jobs here on campus, as well as my continuous effort to participate in all the events the college has to offer. I believe that since many of the classes, clubs, and events are founded at the college, they are already rooted in the Jesuit ideals and values and thus, my active participation in them throughout my college career so far has allowed me to unconsciously live up to these standards.

I walked into second period on August seventh and was greeted by my teacher, Mrs Key. She was straight to the point, telling me, “This class will make you work; if you cannot handle it, get out.” I began to question my decision to take her class, doubts seeping into my mind as I knew myself too well as an awful writer. I thought, “Should I really take this class?” Ultimately, I determined that I could manage the work in the class and make it to the final paper. As a student with a four grade-point average, I expected the class to be effortless. However, the weekly papers combined with such a challenging class resulted in a constant bombardment of low grades, making me realize that I was very wrong. I started to put forth more effort in the class, and although I started the year writing atrocious pieces, I can proudly say that my work has improved significantly. I had a tough start to the year, struggling in the areas of my theses, introductions, transitions, and conclusions; however, my effort has been rewarded by their obvious improvement to further emphasize that even the most terrible of writers can experience success.

This semester was excellent! Recently I found myself taking English 1301 for the first time. At first, I felt overpowered, the assignments assort in topics and at times, I felt unknowing of the subjects. Often papers ranged from primitive to intricate. Before long we started off with a simple essay, then progressed from there. Luckily, power points were provided throughout the course.

This year, my English class felt like a major transition from last year’s Civilization and Literature class, as one concept that was put into emphasis this year was having your work not entirely based on effort. Middle school English seemed to favor writing with effort and length, despite putting attention to grammar, advanced thinking, and quality content. Consequently, my goal in partaking in the English honors option was to make the transition from “quality over quantity,” and I think I have made an improvement on that goal. My writing isn’t perfect, but it’s improving at a good pace. I believe the extra effort I put into the class, ranging from extra credit opportunities to long-term essays, is making a difference in the quality of my work. Over time, small things I check for in my writing, from being precise in explaining to elaborating on ideas, will benefit me in the long run as I continue my education here at BHS and college. My strengths in English are my inventive and resourceful thinking process, and my diligent work ethic to complete assignments to the best of my ability. Yet, not everything in my work for the class is perfect, similar to my writing. I can put in plenty of time to write a paper, but still, miss the mark when it comes to a certain area of writing. My struggles in English are my confidence in my work and trying to maintain clear and precise writing. Looking at my portfolio, not every assignment received an A or A+, and that's not necessarily a bad

The efforts of a group always seem to outshine the work of an individual due to the varying talents and contribution of each person. And while I have met and worked with some excellent people at Liberty I have never seen the level of interest and thoughtful argumentation that seems present over a cup of coffee and in person.

Over the first semester of my college career, I have written four papers in my General Studies Writing Class. The class started out with a Literacy Narrative, where I wrote about my past writing, and how I have improved throughout high school. The next paper was a book evaluation. It was over Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D. Vance. It was the common read for the incoming freshman this year at Bowling Green State University, so it was a book everyone in our class had been exposed to before hand. The next two dealt with education, both public and higher. We analyzed what the “point” of education is, and also whether liberal arts education was better than job training schools. These four papers are unlike most that I had written in high school, so it challenged me to think more critically and challenge many of my own opinions. It has given me a new perspective of many ideas, and even writing in general.

From the first day of this class I was so scared when Mrs. Carter said “This is going to be one of the hardest writing classes you will take.” I would agree with her on that. I’ve wrote so much about things I have never told anyone and I’ve learned so much from this class and with how important writing actually is. Looking back from this journey I would say everything has changed my writing for the better.

A colleague informs you that she has completed her science lesson plans for the following week. She agrees to share her lessons with you and leaves them in your mailbox. As you look through the materials, you quickly realize that most of the content does not coincide with your teaching style because the lessons consist primarily of lectures, tests, and worksheets.

Everyone at some point in their life has had the dream where they are falling, but they never actually hit the ground. This dream is symbolic of life. Regardless of how far you fall you never hit the ground. A friend of mine, currently in pharmacy school, confides in me about how he wishes that he had done things my way, the right way as he calls it. Nevertheless, I did not grasp what he meant so one day, I implored him to explain. According to him, the “right,” way is by not failing classes the first time, finishing college in 4 years, and be smart about taking the MCAT. Essentially, not screwing up the first time, so you can continue with your goals the first time around instead of getting older and wasting time. While my friend may have been right in some aspects, my personal experiences have taught me that there really is no right way. However, life does not ultimately work out the way one imagines. You do fail, you do break down, you are frightened and you learn to get up regardless of the circumstances.

Concurrent with improvement and enhancements to the Region 16 written curriculum, I will work collaboratively with building leaders to ensure that teachers implement the written curriculum with fidelity through the application of high-quality instruction. If appointed the next Region 16 Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, I will prioritize direct observations of instruction districtwide. As part of my observations, I will investigate the following: