Two Completely Different Teaching Methods (Revised)
Walking into that first day of school, just at the age of 13. I didn't really know anyone because I attended a different junior high than everyone else. I was just this scared little freshman. The campus seemed enormous compared to my other previous schools. I was roaming around the school trying to find all of my classes. Of course I wouldn't ask any of the older students for help because they intimidated me. I ended up being late to my first class because I had trouble finding it. I walked into the classroom and all of the seats were taken except the first row. I grabbed my seat and waited for the teacher to introduce herself. Since it was the first day of school, a lot of students were having trouble finding the class. After a couple of minutes of waiting, she stood up and introduced herself “Welcome ladies and gentlemen, this is Honors English with Ms. P, hopefully all of you are in the right place.” She first went through all the names on the class roster to see if everyone had found their acceptable class. After that, she collected a summer assignment that was a requirement to get into the class. We had to read the assigned novel and then write journal entries about each chapter. I remember stressing all of summer to make these journals perfect.
A week went by, and the teacher finally graded all of the assignments. I was confident that I followed all the directions and wrote the journals exactly the way she wanted them; well, I was wrong. The whole class ended up doing the assignment wrong. She told the class that she has noticed over the years, the teachers in junior high do not spend the time in teaching their students how to write. Ms. P took a couple of weeks to teach us the tools we needed to write an acceptable essay for high school. She went over the structure of an essay and what teachers expect from their students. She then gave us essay projects to practice the new writing skills we learned. She was one of my favorite teachers because she actually cared if we learned. She would go over every essay and for the students that were struggling and would take time to go over their essay with them individually. I definitely learned the most from Ms. P. I took the concepts she taught with me throughout the rest of my high school career, until I got into my senior year of high school.
Senior year is known as the “easiest year” in high school. You barely have to take any curricular classes and you get out at lunch. My first semester was exactly like this. I actually had Ms. P again for my Shakespeare class. This class interested me a lot. I loved reading Shakespeare’s plays and his sonnets. Ms. P had a way of making Shakespeare interesting and fun. I did pretty well in the class because I knew exactly what she was looking for when she assigned essays. It was definitely considered a “senior class”. Ms. P made it feel like more of an elective class than an actual English class. I looked forward to attending that class every day. I actually started being a student service for one of her grade 9 honors English classes. I got to help grade a bunch of her students papers and tests.
My second semester changed drastically. I got put into a completely different English class with Mr. S. The first day we go into the class, and he assigns us our first essay and he tells us it is due in the next two weeks. I wrote the essay just the way I was previously taught, expecting to at least get a B on it. So the day I got my essay back, I was in shock. Everyone in the class was given a C or lower. Our teacher wasn’t exactly thrilled either. He told us that apparently the way we have been writing is wrong and that he has a specific way that you need to write your papers or you will not do well in his class.
He then handed all of us a packet, I kid you not, 20 pages…front and back. He then explained to us that the methods we used to write essays will not let you pass this class. He changed the whole process everyone was used to, to “his method”. He claimed that his method was better, and to be honest, it was just a lot of writing the same thing over and over again. There were students in my class that took AP classes previously and perfected their writing techniques, but this teacher wasn’t happy with them either. He wanted everyone in the class to disregard everything we have previously learned and write all our essays to his standards.
The next essay was assigned and I followed every one of his rules. I dropped everything that I was previously taught and did it his way. I got a B on that assignment. A lot of the other student were a little more stubborn and refused to change their writing habits. They were still getting C’s or D’s. Eventually, by the end of the year, everyone had to convert their writing to support his method so they could graduate. He wanted to convert all of his students’ writing to not have their own type of writing, their own voice. It had to be his way or no way. We did make it though that class, I wouldn’t say with flying colors, but we passed.
Graduation day finally came. I have definitely transformed from being a little freshman, to a graduating senior. My literacy techniques have also changed from the beginning of high school to the end. My friends and I felt accomplished that we made it the whole semester through that class. I now feel that Mr. S’ writing techniques were not a complete waste of time. He has influenced my writing just as much as Ms. P, my first high school teacher. I later found out that all of his teaching methods were not useless. They could be applied to help my essays, it helps add length to my essays, and they help to add quotes into my essays. I have tried to combine all of the writing techniques that I have learned from over the years into what works best for me. I feel like every writer is different and has their own different skills and techniques they use to write with. I don’t feel like there is just one specific way to write.
Two Completely Different Teaching Methods (Not Revised)
Walking into that first day of school, just at the age of 13. I didn't really know anyone because I attended a different junior high than everyone else. I was just this scared little freshman. The campus seemed enormous compared to my other previous schools. I was roaming around the school trying to find all of my classes. Of course I wouldn't ask any of the older students for help because they intimidated me. I ended up being late to my first class because I had trouble finding it. I walked into the classroom and all of the seats were taken except the first row. I grabbed my seat and waited for the teacher to introduce herself. Since it was the first day of school, a lot of students were having trouble finding the class. After a couple of minutes of waiting, she stood up and introduced herself “Welcome ladies and gentlemen, this is Honors English with Ms. P, hopefully all of you are in the right place.” She first went through all the names on the class roster to see if everyone had found their acceptable class. After, she collected a summer assignment that was a requirement to get into the class. We had to read the assigned novel and then write journal entries about each chapter. I remember stressing all of summer to make these journals perfect.
A week went by, and the teacher finally graded all of the assignments. I was confident that I followed all the directions and wrote the journals exactly the way she wanted them; well, I was wrong. The whole class ended up doing the assignment wrong. She told the class that she has noticed over the years, the teachers in junior high do not spend the time in teaching their students how to write. Ms. P took a couple of weeks in teaching us the tools we needed to write an acceptable essay for high school. She went over the structure of an essay and what teachers expect from their students. She then gave us essay projects to practice the new writing skills we learned. She was one of my favorite teachers because she actually cared if we learned. She would go over every essay and for the students that were struggling and would take time to go over their essay with them individually. I definitely learned the most from Ms. P. I took the concepts she taught with me throughout the rest of my high school career, until I got into my senior year of high school.
Senior year is known as the “easiest year” in high school. You barely have to take any curricular classes and you get out at lunch. My first semester was exactly like this. I actually had Ms. P again for my Shakespeare class. This class interested me a lot. I loved reading Shakespeare’s plays and his sonnets. Ms. P had a way of making Shakespeare interesting and fun. I did pretty well in the class because I knew exactly what she was looking for when she assigned essays. It was definitely considered a “senior class”. Ms. P made it feel like more of an elective class than an actual English class. I looked forward to attending that class everyday. I actually started being a student service for one of her grade 9 honors English classes. I got to help grade a bunch of her students papers and tests.
My second semester changed drastically. I got put into a completely different English class with Mr. S. The first day we get into the class, and he assigned us our first essay and he tells us it is due in the next two weeks. I wrote the essay just the way I was previously taught, expecting to at least get a B on it. So the day I got my essay back, I was in shock. Everyone in the class was given a C or lower. Our teacher wasn’t exactly thrilled either. He told us that apparently the way we have been writing is wrong and that he has a specific way that you need to write your papers or you will not do well in his class.
He then handed all of us a packet, I kid you not, 20 pages…front and back. He then explained to us that the methods we used to write essays will not let you pass this class. He changed the whole process everyone was used to, to “his method”. He claimed that his method was better, and to be honest, it was just a lot of writing the same thing over and over again. There were students in my class that took AP classes previously and perfected their writing techniques, but this teacher wasn’t happy with them either. He wanted everyone in the class to disregard everything we have previously learned and write all our essays to his standards.
The next essay was assigned and I followed every one of his rules. I dropped everything that I was previously taught and did it his way. I got a B on that assignment. A lot of the other student were a little more stubborn and refused to change their writing habits. They were still getting C’s or D’s. Eventually, by the end of the year, everyone had to convert their writing to support his method so they could graduate. He wanted to convert all of his student’s writing to not have their own type of writing, their own voice. It had to be his way or no way. We did make it though that class, I wouldn’t say with flying colors, but we passed.
Graduation day finally came. I have definitely transformed from being a little freshman, to a graduating senior. My literacy techniques have also changed from the beginning of high school to the end. My friend’s and I felt accomplished that we made it the whole semester through that class. I now feel that Mr. S’ writing techniques were not a complete waste of time. He has influenced my writing just as much as Ms. P, my first high school teacher. I have tried to combine all of the writing techniques that I have learned from over the years into what works best for me. I feel like every writer is different and has their own different skills and techniques they use to write with. I don’t feel like there is just one specific way to write.
Walking into that first day of school, just at the age of 13. I didn't really know anyone because I attended a different junior high than everyone else. I was just this scared little freshman. The campus seemed enormous compared to my other previous schools. I was roaming around the school trying to find all of my classes. Of course I wouldn't ask any of the older students for help because they intimidated me. I ended up being late to my first class because I had trouble finding it. I walked into the classroom and all of the seats were taken except the first row. I grabbed my seat and waited for the teacher to introduce herself. Since it was the first day of school, a lot of students were having trouble finding the class. After a couple of minutes of waiting, she stood up and introduced herself “Welcome ladies and gentlemen, this is Honors English with Ms. P, hopefully all of you are in the right place.” She first went through all the names on the class roster to see if everyone had found their acceptable class. After that, she collected a summer assignment that was a requirement to get into the class. We had to read the assigned novel and then write journal entries about each chapter. I remember stressing all of summer to make these journals perfect.
A week went by, and the teacher finally graded all of the assignments. I was confident that I followed all the directions and wrote the journals exactly the way she wanted them; well, I was wrong. The whole class ended up doing the assignment wrong. She told the class that she has noticed over the years, the teachers in junior high do not spend the time in teaching their students how to write. Ms. P took a couple of weeks to teach us the tools we needed to write an acceptable essay for high school. She went over the structure of an essay and what teachers expect from their students. She then gave us essay projects to practice the new writing skills we learned. She was one of my favorite teachers because she actually cared if we learned. She would go over every essay and for the students that were struggling and would take time to go over their essay with them individually. I definitely learned the most from Ms. P. I took the concepts she taught with me throughout the rest of my high school career, until I got into my senior year of high school.
Senior year is known as the “easiest year” in high school. You barely have to take any curricular classes and you get out at lunch. My first semester was exactly like this. I actually had Ms. P again for my Shakespeare class. This class interested me a lot. I loved reading Shakespeare’s plays and his sonnets. Ms. P had a way of making Shakespeare interesting and fun. I did pretty well in the class because I knew exactly what she was looking for when she assigned essays. It was definitely considered a “senior class”. Ms. P made it feel like more of an elective class than an actual English class. I looked forward to attending that class every day. I actually started being a student service for one of her grade 9 honors English classes. I got to help grade a bunch of her students papers and tests.
My second semester changed drastically. I got put into a completely different English class with Mr. S. The first day we go into the class, and he assigns us our first essay and he tells us it is due in the next two weeks. I wrote the essay just the way I was previously taught, expecting to at least get a B on it. So the day I got my essay back, I was in shock. Everyone in the class was given a C or lower. Our teacher wasn’t exactly thrilled either. He told us that apparently the way we have been writing is wrong and that he has a specific way that you need to write your papers or you will not do well in his class.
He then handed all of us a packet, I kid you not, 20 pages…front and back. He then explained to us that the methods we used to write essays will not let you pass this class. He changed the whole process everyone was used to, to “his method”. He claimed that his method was better, and to be honest, it was just a lot of writing the same thing over and over again. There were students in my class that took AP classes previously and perfected their writing techniques, but this teacher wasn’t happy with them either. He wanted everyone in the class to disregard everything we have previously learned and write all our essays to his standards.
The next essay was assigned and I followed every one of his rules. I dropped everything that I was previously taught and did it his way. I got a B on that assignment. A lot of the other student were a little more stubborn and refused to change their writing habits. They were still getting C’s or D’s. Eventually, by the end of the year, everyone had to convert their writing to support his method so they could graduate. He wanted to convert all of his students’ writing to not have their own type of writing, their own voice. It had to be his way or no way. We did make it though that class, I wouldn’t say with flying colors, but we passed.
Graduation day finally came. I have definitely transformed from being a little freshman, to a graduating senior. My literacy techniques have also changed from the beginning of high school to the end. My friends and I felt accomplished that we made it the whole semester through that class. I now feel that Mr. S’ writing techniques were not a complete waste of time. He has influenced my writing just as much as Ms. P, my first high school teacher. I later found out that all of his teaching methods were not useless. They could be applied to help my essays, it helps add length to my essays, and they help to add quotes into my essays. I have tried to combine all of the writing techniques that I have learned from over the years into what works best for me. I feel like every writer is different and has their own different skills and techniques they use to write with. I don’t feel like there is just one specific way to write.
Two Completely Different Teaching Methods (Not Revised)
Walking into that first day of school, just at the age of 13. I didn't really know anyone because I attended a different junior high than everyone else. I was just this scared little freshman. The campus seemed enormous compared to my other previous schools. I was roaming around the school trying to find all of my classes. Of course I wouldn't ask any of the older students for help because they intimidated me. I ended up being late to my first class because I had trouble finding it. I walked into the classroom and all of the seats were taken except the first row. I grabbed my seat and waited for the teacher to introduce herself. Since it was the first day of school, a lot of students were having trouble finding the class. After a couple of minutes of waiting, she stood up and introduced herself “Welcome ladies and gentlemen, this is Honors English with Ms. P, hopefully all of you are in the right place.” She first went through all the names on the class roster to see if everyone had found their acceptable class. After, she collected a summer assignment that was a requirement to get into the class. We had to read the assigned novel and then write journal entries about each chapter. I remember stressing all of summer to make these journals perfect.
A week went by, and the teacher finally graded all of the assignments. I was confident that I followed all the directions and wrote the journals exactly the way she wanted them; well, I was wrong. The whole class ended up doing the assignment wrong. She told the class that she has noticed over the years, the teachers in junior high do not spend the time in teaching their students how to write. Ms. P took a couple of weeks in teaching us the tools we needed to write an acceptable essay for high school. She went over the structure of an essay and what teachers expect from their students. She then gave us essay projects to practice the new writing skills we learned. She was one of my favorite teachers because she actually cared if we learned. She would go over every essay and for the students that were struggling and would take time to go over their essay with them individually. I definitely learned the most from Ms. P. I took the concepts she taught with me throughout the rest of my high school career, until I got into my senior year of high school.
Senior year is known as the “easiest year” in high school. You barely have to take any curricular classes and you get out at lunch. My first semester was exactly like this. I actually had Ms. P again for my Shakespeare class. This class interested me a lot. I loved reading Shakespeare’s plays and his sonnets. Ms. P had a way of making Shakespeare interesting and fun. I did pretty well in the class because I knew exactly what she was looking for when she assigned essays. It was definitely considered a “senior class”. Ms. P made it feel like more of an elective class than an actual English class. I looked forward to attending that class everyday. I actually started being a student service for one of her grade 9 honors English classes. I got to help grade a bunch of her students papers and tests.
My second semester changed drastically. I got put into a completely different English class with Mr. S. The first day we get into the class, and he assigned us our first essay and he tells us it is due in the next two weeks. I wrote the essay just the way I was previously taught, expecting to at least get a B on it. So the day I got my essay back, I was in shock. Everyone in the class was given a C or lower. Our teacher wasn’t exactly thrilled either. He told us that apparently the way we have been writing is wrong and that he has a specific way that you need to write your papers or you will not do well in his class.
He then handed all of us a packet, I kid you not, 20 pages…front and back. He then explained to us that the methods we used to write essays will not let you pass this class. He changed the whole process everyone was used to, to “his method”. He claimed that his method was better, and to be honest, it was just a lot of writing the same thing over and over again. There were students in my class that took AP classes previously and perfected their writing techniques, but this teacher wasn’t happy with them either. He wanted everyone in the class to disregard everything we have previously learned and write all our essays to his standards.
The next essay was assigned and I followed every one of his rules. I dropped everything that I was previously taught and did it his way. I got a B on that assignment. A lot of the other student were a little more stubborn and refused to change their writing habits. They were still getting C’s or D’s. Eventually, by the end of the year, everyone had to convert their writing to support his method so they could graduate. He wanted to convert all of his student’s writing to not have their own type of writing, their own voice. It had to be his way or no way. We did make it though that class, I wouldn’t say with flying colors, but we passed.
Graduation day finally came. I have definitely transformed from being a little freshman, to a graduating senior. My literacy techniques have also changed from the beginning of high school to the end. My friend’s and I felt accomplished that we made it the whole semester through that class. I now feel that Mr. S’ writing techniques were not a complete waste of time. He has influenced my writing just as much as Ms. P, my first high school teacher. I have tried to combine all of the writing techniques that I have learned from over the years into what works best for me. I feel like every writer is different and has their own different skills and techniques they use to write with. I don’t feel like there is just one specific way to write.