Help! Mckenna Elliott

I think that this year you have done your job very well. At times it didn't seem like the stuff we were doing was learning, but in the end it all makes sense why we did everything. I feel well-prepared for the AP test, and also I've picked up a few things from your class that I could use in my future writing for college essays, applications, letters for jobs, etc. 

I am so grateful for all of the practice timed writings we have been doing in class all year, although at the beginning of the year I feel as though we may have spent too much time grading essays together as a class rather than doing some at home and then in groups. I liked grading in groups much better, mostly because I felt uncomfortable giving my input on things because I felt judged every time I said something, and that certain people would always try to contradict me or in some way tell me I was wrong. If you did more active group work, then it would bring the students closer and engage them more, since I know it always irritates you that our class never talks. 

Some of the Ted Talks were irrelevant and very boring, and I personally saw them as ineffective. I enjoyed the Socratic seminars (although it was a hassle to do the writing aspect of it) because they kept everyone engaged and I feel as though they helped me analyze a writer's tools and purposes, which is a skill I will need on the AP test. These blogs are also a creative way to get to know everyone, and I like how every week was just a random prompt that we had to respond to, much like the AP essays. I feel very well prepared, but I think that it would be helpful to many students if at the beginning of the year you discussed clauses, syntax, and grammar-type things to improve their essays. I wish that we had random vocabulary review quizzes all year long so that the words could be engrained into my existence, because I only recall a certain amount of them, but I wish I had been forced to continuously review them. 

Overall, your teaching was a success! Thanks for your hard work.