Help - Meagan Hale

As classes go, english is one of my favorite. I'm certainly not strong in all aspects of the subject but I love to learn it. This year was different than previous years because rather than reading books I was taught and prepared for an AP test. I thought I was prepared quite well for the essay portion of the test. Writing and breaking down each type of essay was very helpful in that when I took the test there were know surprises. I actually enjoyed reviewing our personal essays in class and hearing what my teacher and peers thought of my writing. Not only that, but I was offered advice on how to improve and critiqued on areas I needed to work on, all of which was helpful and I believed taught me to write better. When I was taking my AP test, I realized that I felt much more prepared for the essays and felt a little stressed throughout the multiple choice portion. We took a few practice multiple choice sections in class but I think we could have spent more time with it. I think most people, including myself, made the assumption that the multiple choice section would be a breeze and then were somewhat surprised when it was a little more challenging than anticipated. Essays take much longer to complete and review which I understand but I would have liked to have gone more in depth with our multiple choice reviews. Breaking down each section and explaining why answers were correct would have been very helpful. We did this some but not nearly as much time was spent on this section as were the essays. Other than that, I felt that every other aspect of the class was beneficial to my overall understanding of the subject and enjoyed the way it was executed.

Stress - Meagan Hale

High school is very stressful as is life. Tests and assignments are constant in high school and those turn into college work and careers later on in life. We will always be stressed about something so having a way to deal with it is important. Music helps me a lot when I'm stressed. It relaxes my mind and allows my brain to be overridden with lyrics, instruments, and beats rather than the stress. While I'm doing homework or some other activity that may be stressing me, I've found that if I play music while doing it then I'm much more relaxed and can finish easier. If the stress becomes overwhelming I will just take a step back and do something else then return to the task later. I will go for a drive or watch a movie or read a book. This helps me to calm down and clear my mind for a little bit. Stress is a powerful force and too much of it will cloud your mind and make anything you are working on that much harder. I learned very quickly that if I'm too stressed the work I produce will not be as good as it could be so there is no point in continuing when I'm in that mindset. Listening to music has been scientifically proven to reduce stress and I can confirm this because it helps me constantly. There are so many songs that are upbeat and those songs put me in a better, more positive mood which in turn alleviates stress and allows me to work more productively.

Help!- Max Kaufman

Overall I think your class was very effective in preparing me for the AP test as well as the ACT. I'm positive that I would have in no way passed the test if it weren't for the help that you provided. I thought that the multiple choice prep was extremely effective. One thing that I still however feel not so great about is my essay writing. That being said I went from writing 3's to 6's, but I think it would have helped me more if we spent the last month or two weeks reviewing all the types of prompts because I think my retention of the literary analysis essay for example was lacking. On a similar note, I think that the Socratic seminars were good, but I think they would be put to better use if they occurred during that period of time spent on the literary analysis essays. I think that they really helped me be able to effectively analyze a passage, and in retrospect those skills could have really helped me more towards the beginning of the year rather than the end. Other than this I really cant think of any other suggestions.

Stress!- Max Kaufman

Stress is a reoccurring theme in my life, so naturally I have found a couple ways to cope with this stress. My go to for stress relief would definitely have to be slipping my shoes off and playing piano or bass. I have found that for me, the best way to alleviate stress is to be very loud. This is a fairly effective method, however I generally end up getting sucked into playing for an hour plus, so as far as my stress level in the bigger picture going down this is not a terribly effective method seeing as playing piano doesn't do my Spanish work. Another thing that helps me is if I do all my enjoyable work first to make it a little easier to get that Spanish work done, versus just plunging into the work work can be counterproductive in my case. So I guess it is fair to say that I would much rather walk into a pool than jump straight in.

The Future- Max Kaufman

It might sound cliche when I say that junior year flew by, but I couldn't have though of a better way to put it if I tried. Something about school or perhaps just life in general that I have always found interesting is the perception of time. But I gained the most appreciation for this concept just this year. It is very funny to think that in about a years time I will be no longer living at home. Another significant event this year was me becoming a band member. I think that I need to be much more open with my interests and pursue them much more than I currently do. I began to realize that it is really stupid for me to only play by myself if I like music as much as I do. As far as goals for senior year go, I would have to say that I want to gain some life skills. I plan to do this by holding down a job and being able to experience that. But as for now I don't really have plans for summer I would like to fund a small trip to New York if I can with some odd jobs.

Help!- Silvia Todorova

Your class this year has really helped me improve as a writer. It really helped me prepare for the AP test. At the very beginning when we did the first AP test I got a really bad score but then because we did so many though out the year it really helped me improve my score. I also improved a lot on the essays thought out the year. I like how we got a lot of feedback but I did think that it was a little too time consuming at times especially because a lot of the students wouldn't take it seriously, and the comments they would give weren't very helpful. But other students, especially those who were really good writers would give really helpful feedback. I liked it when we would do the essays in the small groups because it was less time consuming but also helpful. As for the Socratic seminars I would suggest to split up the class in half or small groups and do the Socratic seminar within the groups. Whenever we would do the Socratic seminars in class a handful of people would dominate the conversation and it was hard to find time to talk. I think if the groups were smaller more people would engage in the conversation. Overall I liked the class and I feel like it prepared me well for the AP test.

(assignment 25) Beatles Reference - Kevin LaZur

Freedom is the main theme I got from this class. This can be seen in the "2 feet/2 legs" (I don't remember) rule where we could use a hall pass whenever we wanted, the leniency on cell phone usage in class, and assignments such as blog posts where the content has very broad boundaries. I really like these parts of class because it's comforting to have a course where I have most of the control over what I'm doing for the assignment. I also believe that this is your way of getting us prepared for our futures, where these liberties turn into responsibilities that we must face to have control over our lives. The funny thing is that I can't tell if I'm on the right track about this, or just over thinking your laid-back style.

Whatever the reason for your teaching method, it created an enjoyable class. I also found the timed writings to be an effective way to prepare for the AP test. At first I felt uncomfortable about facing the firing squad of my peers. Then we eventually finished doing them, and I was happy. I get embarrassed at the idea that someone may tear my essay down remorselessly, then I got critical of myself for being embarrassed at something constructed to protect me from the spotlight.

I feel like high school is the worst setting for the blind scoring procedure. I, for one, feel like it creates a hostile environment because I'm not mature enough to handle criticism that will never backlash on the speaker. As with a firing squad, each shooter doesn't know if he is shooting a blank or a real bullet. But I am also past the point where I can naively laugh off this discomfort. All this being said, It's a very effective exercise in getting perspective when thinking about the AP essays.

Assignment 25 - Help! - Gates Sweeney

Not going to lie, English has never really been something I was good at nor usually been one of my favorite classes. I've always been bad at spelling and never understood grammar or been extremely talented at writing yet this was a class that I actually liked this year. I don't know if it's because I enjoyed the small class size, the people in the class or the things we did but sixth period was always something I could look forward to as a way to end my day. Although I can say that one of my favorite things that we did class was the Socratic Seminar, I enjoyed being able to talk about essays in class and discuss things with other people. It’s one of the few things I really wanted to contribute to this year. I also thought that writing all the essays in class was helpful for the AP test. Although spending more time on all the individual types would have been more helpful as well as reviewing the types before the test.

Assignment 24 - Gates Sweeney "STRESS"

Many of my friends would agree that I deal with stress quite well. This is a blessing and a curse. There are times when stress is good for your work ethic, and there are times when it is so overflowing that you cannot think straight. Stress is the human body's way of keeping you alert of the things you have to do. For me, dealing with stress is very simple. If you can't do anything about it, don't worry about it. The curse there is that sometimes that threshold gets shifted and the things that I could do something about never get taken care of. I throw things in the "stress free" category that belong in the stress category. Finals matter, and occasionally I'll convince myself that I'm prepared when I might not be, resulting in a stress free environment with a bad grade. Other times I am prepared, and that's a great feeling. Strive to be stress free with true confidence in your preparation, and that's how you deal with finals.

Assignment 24 - Gates Sweeney

Junior year has been an amazing year. I have learned what feels like my whole life's worth of information in 9ish months. Some of this was academically, but most of it was really the real world lessons and experiences that I have gained. With mentors that I have picked up throughout the year, I have learned about how other people think, outside of my family. I have learned the realities of a business. Music has seriously entered my life, and taken from my wallet, but that's okay because I was able to learn how to make more money than just mowing a couple yards. The only thing that remains are the new friends that I have met. Socially my life was accelerated thanks to the little plastic card called the drivers license. I met more people and got to be better friends with many people throughout the year. Junior year has been great.

Help!!- James Jones

          Overall I would say this has been one of the better English classes I have ever had, it was definitely enjoyable and I feel that I, as well as my classmates, have benefited in the long run. However there are a few things that need some fine tuning, most of all essays. Trying to do small group grading was a great idea however it seemed that we more or less just went through and agreed on the grade to get the job done opposed to having much specific commentary on each essay. But I still think that future students may benefit more from small group grading than as a whole class because having the entire class grade your essay at the whole time is embarrassing, whether the essays are anonymous or not. And that embarrassment leads some people to zone out or even leave the room to avoid hearing their classmates critique their work (even though the commentary is helpful.) Everything else was pretty good and I feel that most of us were definitely prepared for the AP test.

Help!- Olivia McCrary

I think I was mostly well prepared for the AP test. The timed writings we did in class were incredibly helpful. (I preferred when we graded them as a small group instead of as an entire class.) Though, I think we should have done more multiple choice practice or at least an in-depth discussion of the specific questions and answers. Overall, the biggest issue I had with the AP test was not having enough time on both the multiple choice and writing sections. But, I think this is probably just a personal issue.
I really like these blog post entries. Though not all them were interesting to me, I found that quite a few of them really allowed me to express myself in writing.
I honestly don't have too many complaints. My least favorite thing overall would have to be the Socratic seminars. The reading was fine, but the writing and discussion didn't really help me.

The Future- Olivia McCrary

Junior year was definitely the most stressful year of my life. Honestly, it was mostly my fault because I decided to take 5 AP classes. I don't know why I thought this was good idea. But, in the end, I made it. I survived. Hopefully, I'll score well on those AP tests and it will be worth it. Despite the chaos of junior year (AP, ACT, seminar), it went by pretty quickly. I can't really believe that I will be senior this August. I'm not willing to accept the fact that I will be going to college in a little over a year. The main lesson I learned this school year is to not get stressed over everything. Stress always makes things worse. I hope senior year will be less tedious than this year and that I will have more free time. I hope that I will also be able to relax over the summer and possibly travel.

Help!- Isabelle Rinker

I feel as if this class has prepared me well for the AP English Language and Composition exam. It has been evident in my improvement with the timed writings and practice tests that I have learned a lot in your class this year. I felt especially confident with the essays on the AP exam, as I was receiving scores of sevens and eights in class, and felt as if I could use the "organic approach" to develop my essays. My writing has gotten much stronger throughout the year due to the timed-writing exercise, and I really have appreciated receiving feedback from both you and my classmates. As far as preparation for the AP exam is concerned, I feel as if you have done a fantastic job in preparing me to get the best score possible. One thing that could be helpful for future classes would be discussing test-taking strategies. I managed to keep my focus throughout the exam, however, the first passage seemed a bit tedious to me, so I skipped it and came back to it at the end, which I feel really helped me as far as time management was concerned, Discussing test-taking strategies in class, even if it is just for one day, could be helpful to students in the future. Overall, I have enjoyed English class with you and look forward to working with you next year in Advanced TV/Radio. :)

Help! - Jeb Brumley

Overall, I have enjoyed english class this year. I feel like we avoided spending time on busy work and had a real reason behind everything we have done. I thought that reading the essays in class was helpful, as I got input from many people on my essays. I also thought it was helpful to hear the feedback given on the other essays, but I think that sometimes we spent too much time in class reading them. I felt like I would lose focus easily after we had read my essay or had read fifteen or twenty. Although I thought that when we got into groups of about four or five and discussed several different essays, we had the same effectiveness but with  slightly more productiveness. I also liked how we talked about the types of essays separately and also thought the vocab we did during first semester helped some for standardized tests.

The Future - Jeb Brumley

The junior year has been a pretty tough year. Although there were some rough times, they came with their share of good things. The recent testing that I and many others went through, was a way for us to show how much we have achieved in our many AP classes. Near the beginning of the year I worked on fixing my procrastination problems, and although it started out well, I have failed to continue with those good habits in the recent weeks. This summer I will try to relax as much as I can between working and playing golf. The golf season starts in the late summer so I will be spending a lot of my time preparing for my senior season. Overall, junior year was pretty good and definitely better than sophomore year. Once senior year of high school begins, I will try my best to do well but also enjoy it as best as I can before I move on to college.

Fictional Character, Fictional Life- Josh Strange

If I could be any fictional character I would be Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.  I would want to be Luke because I could use the force- which is awesome.  Also having the coolest weapon ever, the lightsaber, by my side would be pretty cool too.  I would be able to win any fight, and playing sports with other people would be pretty funny when I use the force to make a basket or shoot a soccer ball and it goes in the corner of the goal-even though I'd be the goalie.  I'd also like to be Luke because he gets to travel through space a lot. I think space is pretty cool and it'd be awesome if I went to space one day.  Luke Skywalker is a pretty cool dude and a lot of people respect him, which is another reason why I'd like to be him.  Overall Luke Skywalker is just about the coolest character ever made, and that's why I'd like to be Luke Skywalker

Perfect Playlist- Josh Strange

My playlist is the perfect playlist to listen to when you're by yourself and you have nothing better to do.  I chose this playlist because whenever I need some alone time or I'm really bored, music allows my thoughts to wonder and allows me to relax by myself.

My first song is "Let it Be" by the Beatles. This song is not only excellent, but the lyrics promote a positive message as well.  It's easy to get caught up in this song and forget about the problems and frustrations around you. It's easy to sing along to as well.

My second song is "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke.  This song is extremely catchy and can also by sung (with a little bit of work) fairly easily.  It's also very fun to dance to, so you'll probably find some lame chore to do, and - with a little bit of time - will be dancing while vacuuming the stairs or doing laundry or something, only because this song makes you want to move. (I may speak from experience.)

My third song is "Come With Me Now" by Kongos. This is a good pump up song too, and if you want to get excited over nothing, this is a great song. I chose this song because it is constantly loud and doesn't really allow the listener to think about anything else other than the song.

Help! - Amelia Caldwell

Overall I feel like you did a good job preparing us for the AP tests. I really benefited from reading everyone's essays in class because I could see what worked and what didn't work. I was able to improve my writing by looking at other's. I also found that taking the number of practice AP tests we did was extremely helpful because when I got to the test I was not stressed about time because I had practiced a multitude of times. I do feel as though the analytical essay was my weakest. Maybe if we had done more socratic seminars I would have felt more comfortable. I say this because I know socratic seminars involve analyzing the piece and I feel like I would have benefited from more practice. Also, instead of practicing one type of essay, then the next, then the next, I feel as though switching out which one we practiced each time would have been helpful, that way we wouldn't have forgetten any details about the first type of essay we practiced when we got to the AP test.

The Future- Josh Strange

One success that I had was that I was consistently part of the soccer team in all competitions. I played in important games and in important moments. I was able to have success on the field and make good contributions to the team while I was on and off the field.  One failure that I had was making it to state competition in soccer.  Our goal this season was to win state, and that was extremely possible.  Unfortunately, we lost in a big game and failed to reach expectations.  This summer I plan to work at a summer camp for 6 weeks and then return to play soccer.  We will go on a few trips to the lake as well, a great place to be able to relax and get my mind off of things. Next year I plan to raise my GPA so that I am able to seriously compete for top scholarships, and I plan to not only get accepted to, but also be offered many scholarships to my top schools- which are Clemson, Purdue,  and Auburn at the moment.  I am not really sure where I want to go to college yet, as I have been invited to the Army Military Academy, a serious opportunity because it doesn't cost any money.  I plan to become an engineer, and I want to work hard senior year so that I am able to go to the college that allows me to excel in what I want to do.

Stress! - Josh Strange

Usually when it comes down to crunch time, I am already prepared in most of my classes, and I simply need to touch up on a couple topics before I take a test or a final.  If I find myself unprepared, I will usually use a study guide or previous notes to study for an upcoming test- only for an hour or so.  If I have too much work or have too much to study for, I usually just procrastinate a night and don't worry about it.  This isn't very effective, but this is usually what I end up doing even if I know it's ineffective. Majority of my grades are in check so I usually am  able to rely on previous knowledge if I ever find myself completely unprepared.  If  I need to relax I will usually go for a run, shoot basketball, or sit inside and play video games.  Occasionally I try to find some time with friends so it becomes easier to be distracted, but usually I try to find some alone time so I can focus on the topics I need to focus on.

Help! - Joshua Strange

This year I believe that my reading and writing skills have really improved. Some of the things that have led to my improvement were the critical analysis completed by the class.  By completing the criticisms and reading those in and out of class, I was able to see what my strengths were and what my weaknesses were as a writer.  Not only was I able to figure out what they were but I was also able to figure out how to fix my mistakes, and because of that I think that I did well on the AP exam.  Reading and analysis wasn't my biggest strength this year, and I wish that we would've worked more on that part of the English exam.  But I think learning how to write essays really improved my score on the AP exam and I realize that part of the test had more weight on it than did the multiple choice.  The Socratic Seminars I found a little ineffective, but I did enjoy the discussions we had and realized the depth on analysis that was needed for an effective piece of writing. Overall I think that a large majority of what we did in class was effective and that there is not much change needed.

Help!-Maya Creamer

       Overall, I have enjoyed your class this year, and I feel that I was well prepared for the AP test; however, I do have a few suggestions for the future.
       First, although I appreciate that we focused on how to write each type of essay individually, I would have liked if we had written at least one more example of each type closer to test day. The rhetorical analysis essay, which is arguably the most difficult, was the first type we went over, which meant that we really didn't write one within two or three months of the test. This left me feeling a little nervous about this essay in particular when it came time to take the AP test.
       Second, I do not think grading the essays in small groups was as effective as grading them as a whole class. When we graded in small groups, we often ended up just writing down our scores as quickly as possible and chit-chating rather than really discussing why we gave an essay a particular score. The large group discussions of the essays were very helpful, and allowed us to come to a consensus as to what constitutes a 2, 4, 7, etc. So, although it does take more time, I think if at all possible you should grade all the essays as a class in the future.
       Finally, since junior year is the year when most of us take the ACT and SAT seriously, I think that you should definitely go over practice multiple choice questions for both tests, as well as strategies for writing the SAT essay in only 20(?) minutes. Although these tests are a sort of necessary evil and not nearly as difficult or rigorous as the AP test, I think you should spend a little more time on them, since what we score does affect our admission to colleges.
       I hope you have a good summer!

Help! - Sam Flomenhoft

Overall the class was extremely well geared towards helping prepare us for the AP exam. One thing I saw as a little too time consuming was the essay grading we did in class. I do think it was good for us to see other writing and understand other ways to go about the topic, but I think the small groups of five worked best for that. It took less time, and kept me more engaged because I was expected to contribute within a small group where someone else couldn't speak instead of me. I think you need to grade the full-class way on one or two of the essays, but the group work would be the best way to go on the rest. In addition I think there could be a little more of a focus on public speaking in class. The speech was a great way to learn about that but one or two more days specifically talking about just public speaking in general in class would've been nice. Also, just take a day maybe to discuss footnotes at the end of articles and bibliographical annotation because that's the one small part of the AP test I felt uncomfortable on. In the end the improvements you can make are small, and I felt extremely well prepared for the AP test and had a lot of fun, especially during Socratic Seminars. Thank you for a great year.

The Future - Sam Flomenhoft

Junior year is the infamous grade of school, known for its overload of work, and plethora of standardized tests. And I've got to say, this year, it lived up to "the hype." It was every bit as hard as it was supposed to be and more. Yes, times existed throughout the year when we experienced a lull in work and it didn't seem so bad; it seemed easy in fact. But then BAM!, three different teachers would hit you with a paper, a lab report, and a project all due within three days of each other and at those times, it seemed impossible. I made it through though, we made it through, with our GPAs mostly intact, and our hopes higher than ever, our brains eagerly anticipating the relief expected to be brought by senior year. Looking back on it, the school year was good for me. It pushed me at times, challenging my weak time management skills and helping improve them all the while. At others it forced me to adapt to new ways, such as changing from a rigid structured rhetorical analysis to a new, organic writing style approach. The failures were many: plummeting test scores, missed assignments, unsatisfactory performance on standardized exams; but the successes were greater: decent test scores, good time management, and surprising results on the ACT; and helped keep me afloat. In the end I appreciate junior year, I enjoy all of my teachers, and am grateful for the lessons in responsibility it has taught me. As I look forward to senior year and college applications, I know I will be more on top of deadlines, in part due to the experience gained at this grade level. Yes, junior year was difficult and stressful, but it was my favorite year of school yet.

Help Eliza Jane Schaeffer

I liked how we went over the essays in front of everybody so people could see what mistakes they should avoid. I thought we should have done more grading at home and less at school so everything could go faster. I also wish that we had done more review over rhetorical devices and fallacy. It would have been fun to do more (smaller) projects like the speech and the public service announcement. I wish we had done a little more practice with the analysis essay- not writing it, but analyzing the pieces like we did right before the AP test. I liked how relaxed the class was and how we had no busy work. And I appreciate that you are asking for our feedback. 

Help! Madye Moore

Overall, I have found this class to be very effective as well as engaging at most points. You kept the topics we went over relevant, and I felt that the activities we were given enforced the topics well. However, I did find some of the activities we did over the course of the year repetitive, which caused them to lose their effectiveness to a point. One of these activities is grading the essays. Sure, it was nice to have other essays to compare ours to as well as for us to see what a higher or lower grade looks like, but I felt that reading 20+ essays out loud began to lose their effectiveness after 5 or so essays. Once we read a couple out loud, you could sense that many people began to lose interest in what we were reading, which then influences the grade that was given to the essays, and once we had done that once or twice I feel like a bunch of students dreaded the whole grading process we went through. On the other hand, I did find the smaller group grading to be effective, simply because it was a smaller group which not only gave people that tend to be more reserved when speaking in front of the class, like myself, a chance to actually voice their opinion, but it also reduced the amount of class time spent grading the essays, which was beneficial as well. All in all, I enjoyed the class this year and I found the work we did over the course of the year very beneficial when it came to taking the AP test!

Brandon Castillo- Help!

I thought that the majority of the things that we did in class were beneficial and effective, but I also think they could be improved upon and made more efficient. For example, I thought writing all the essay was worth our time and should happen. The grading of the essay was miserable though. Reading more than twenty essay every two weeks was awful and I thought that more of the group discussions would have been more helpful because you get to talk more and you can see the range of essays without having to see the bulk of the whole packet. When we were in group discussions, most people, including myself, would somewhat zone out of the conversations and just go through the motions, which didn't really help us as much as it could have. The Socratic seminars were good but there needs to be a better system for answering questions, the kids that spoke up the most would dominate the conversation and I couldn't get a talk in after three or four attempts each day. I think to help remedy this, you could raise hands and when someone has something to say they put their hand down and then the person that put there hand up next can talk, you don't have to call on them but just have their hand up when talking or wanting to talk in order to get everyone in. Overall, I enjoyed the class.

Hooray for Hollywood - Gates Sweeney

After seeing the incredible reviews for this movie, I decided to give it a shot.

First of all, this is now my favorite movie of all time. This movie is astonishingly good. Each scene is woven perfectly together and there is no unneeded information. There also isn't a score, or soundtrack. Being a tense movie with action, not having any sound effects or music makes the movie feel natural and even more intense. In a movie with a score, you are able to tell when some good or bad is about to happen, the music builds to it. Without a score, you are unable to tell what is coming next, allowing the viewer to be surprised with a rush of fear or whatever emotion the Coen brothers intended you to feel.

The actors in this movie are really, really good. Javier, who plays the psychotic serial killer, does an impeccable job acting as if he is psycho. Each scene that involves him is very serious and takes a lot of composure to act. There are no slight movements or jerky eye looks with Chigurh (the psycho). He stays very smooth and calm through each scene as if he was actually psychotic and didn't care about all of the people he just killed.

Overall, this movie deserves 5 stars for its incredible acting and its ability to play with your heart rate.

I'm not sure how to link my actual review but here's a link to the movie on Rotten Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/no_country_for_old_men/

The Perfect Playlist - Gates Sweeney

My perfect playlist comes from a much larger Spotify playlist of mine titled "Stuff Our Parents Listened To." Inside you will find almost all of the great classics of my parents' and my peer's parents' generation. Here's that playlist: https://goo.gl/BhKnhv

The following are the 5 songs that I chose:

This song is one of those songs that you never pick to listen to, but when it comes on shuffle it's quite the blessing. It is relaxing yet upbeat song that is a narrative. He sings about how he doesn't need much to be pleased, but he will provide her with the best there is.



This song was the first song I ever heard on vinyl. I immediately fell in love with vinyl and I am now addicted to it and it has made me pretty fiscally irresponsible. Down on the Corner is a song that you can't help but rock and tap your foot to.



Mary Jane's Last Dance plays at around the same tempo as the other two, but the guitar riff, the "woo's," and the harmonica make the song very appealing.



Good ol' Brown Eyed Girl. This song can get anyone to sing and/or move to. It's a classic we all know.



I struggled with this last song, but it is actually impossible to not sing this song, so I think this deserves to be on the list.

This playlist is designed for your average middle aged adult or classic rock music lover. Each song will get you to sing, move, and remember all the fun from the second half of the 1900s.

Help- Tapan Darji

The class is great, but you do need to change several things. I feel that you shouldn't give the PSA as the final. You should give the PSA as a project in during the beginning of second semester, a few weeks before we get schedules. More students will take your class if you show them how fun video making is before they have to turn in schedules. This way they will be more likely take your class because they are looking for a class to finish off their schedule and they know how fun your class will be next year. For the final you could give us the reflection piece to write.

Another thing is the Socratic Seminars. I find no purpose in doing them. I didn't feel that they helped me in any way.

I feel that we needed to do more multiple choice practice. 

You need to give one of the second essays like two weeks before the AP exam, so people will be refreshed on that type of essay. It helps to review it.

I like how the class is geared towards the test and I like that we practice on old exam questions.

Help!! - Emily Salamanca

    I understand that you, as a teacher, probably are a little set in your ways - and I understand that. Generally, I have found you to be quite a wonderful teacher, partially because this was the first class where we just wrote and developed on our own. That being said, I do think there are few suggestions I might advise you to look over.
    I understand that it is boring, but we need to go over the multiple choice more stringently. I don't feel as ready for the multiple choice tomorrow as I perhaps should be and I don't understand how to study to get better. Thus, I do believe we should spend more class time doing that (because let's be honest, none of us are willing to do it at home...)
    Next, I think it would be cool if you could class us up personally with you, at some point in the year, to go over our writing. That way, you wouldn't have to write so many comments on our essays and we could get a more personal touch from you. For example, you could call some of us up during a period where we would relax in class to go over some of our essays and get a few personalized tips.
    Other than those small suggestions, I think the class has been effective. Thank you so much and I hope you have a good summer!!

The Future-Silvia Todorova

Junior year, with out a doubt, has defiantly been the hardest year yet. It has been at times very overwhelming and stressful. I've had a lot of successes, but I've also taken quite a bit of risks, some of which I should have done. I won't go into details but I have definitely learned a lot important life lessons this year.  I believe I've really grown as a person and I've discovered a few things about myself along the way. I've realized that everyone makes mistakes but life goes one and you can't live with regret. Despite everything this has been one exciting unforgettable year, so many happy memories that I will never forget. As far as academics go I have really tried to study more and procrastinate less, I really worked on procrastination this year and it's improved my grades. This summer apart for studying for the act and think about colleges, I'll be visiting my family in Bulgaria for a few weeks and then traveling around Europe with my parents. I'm also planning on working with an orphanage down in Bulgaria as well as be a summer mentor at common good here in Lexington. I'm super excited about summer and the future but I'm also not ready for this year to end.

STRESS!!- Silvia Todorova

I'm typically not a very stressed person. I'm usually more laid back and just take things as they come, but these couple of months have been very different for me. With junior year coming to and all the AP tests I find my self worrying a lot about the future. I have a friend who is constantly stressed, over school and her personal life. She has too many things going on and is always overwhelmed. I usually try to help her by taking her mind off it and reminded her that her grades aren't everything and as long as she tries her best everything work out. So when I'm stressed I try to take the same advice I give to her. I just take some time to myself and relax for a little. That may be taking a nap, going for coffee, or hanging out with my friends. If it's really bad and I'm really stressed I'll usually call my best friend and talk to her or go to her house. She always knows what to say and how to calm me down. We talk to each other about our problems and it's really nice to know someone's in the same situation that you're in. That usually helps me and then I go back to whatever I was doing, but this time, stress free.

Assignment 25: Help! I need somebody. Help!

I wanna be better in all things.  It's easy for teachers to get stuck and comfortable in patterns and activities that are completely legitimate but perhaps have become stale and even ineffective.  Throughout the semester I've asked that you work hard to prepare for the AP Language and Composition test.  I taught to the test.  I'm sorta fine with that.  As I've said, I believe that the skills the test assesses are important and some of the most important skills you will develop in your lifetime - the ability to think, process, synthesize, and argue.

To that end I've tried to develop every assignment to focus on one element of the test and hone those skills required for success.  Now that you've taken the test - multiple tests (ACT, PSAT, AP) what suggestions do you have?

I'm not asking for what you "liked" or what was "fun" but rather what was effective.  I know not everything connected with everyone and with 97 students I will get a plethora of responses.  Though I am asking for honesty I'm not asking for a tongue-lashing nor do I expect "all sunshines and rainbows." I know I'm flawed but I also know that I am effective.  I want to minimize my flaws and increase my effectiveness.  I need your help to do that.

 


Minimum of 150 words - due on Sunday, May 25th at 11:59 pm

(Last day to turn in make up assignments 24-25)

STRESS!! Madye Moore

I can say that, without a doubt, junior year has been the most stressful year of high school so far. Now, whether senior year will exceed the stress level present this year, I'm not sure, but I surely hope not! From trying to keep up with school work to trying to improve your ACT score to trying to visit as many colleges as you can, junior year has taken my stress level to the max. And I guess you could say that I've attempted multiple things to help relieve my stress level this past year. I have to admit, there is that occasional day where I just have so much to do and not enough time to do any of it to my full potential, so I just push everything aside for the night and watch Netflix (which does tend to work pretty well, until the next day when I have to rush to get everything finished before school). I do have some other methods though! Another stress-relieving activity of mine is to just go for a drive. I don't care where i drive to, I normally just need a little while to clear my head and take a break away from everyone else. Usually after about 30 minutes, I come back to whatever I was working on and get it done a lot faster than I would have if I were to have just sat there, so that definitely proves to be an effective strategy of mine! A third strategy of mine is just to sit and listen to music while I'm working. Sure, it may be a little distracting to some people, but for me it's just a strategy to help me calm down and focus better.  

Stress!!- Isabelle Rinker

Stress is a common theme among Academy students-- especially around A.P. exams. Like many of my peers, I have a tendency to procrastinate studying and try to cram a year's worth of information in the few weeks leading up to A.P. exams. This year, I have been taking four A.P. classes and trying my best to juggle the workload from those classes with the rest of my responsibilities. This has been extremely difficult, and I am more than ecstatic that junior year is coming to a close. To decrease stress during times like these, I like to work out. I am a fitness geek: it all started in middle school when I ran on the Morton track team, and ever since, I have tried my best to either run or hit the gym on a daily basis. It is a major stress reliever for me, and keeps me in shape!

Stress!!- James Jones

          Well the week of AP tests is finally upon us, nothing to say now, we can't shrug it off and say oh we have a couple weeks left, or oh they don't start until next week, nope. They start tomorrow, well Wednesday for me considering that's when my first test actually is. In order to avoid imploding from too much stress in times like this I just sit and think, meh, I've been here before, can't be that bad to be here again. When it comes down to it, AP tests aren't as scary as they feel, at least that's what I tell myself so I don't get stressed out. But in reality, when you spend the whole year learning the material, and a fair amount of time studying in the weeks/days leading up to the tests it'll be okay, you just have to breath and try to relax. In times like these I go to sleep early every day so I'm not exhausted by the time my tests happen, and I study to reassure myself that I'll be prepared. I usually don't freak out when I have a lot of tests so my tactics have been fairly successful. Overall if you tell yourself everything will be okay and make sure you prepare yourself for what's coming it's all good.

The future- James Jones

          Junior year has definitely been my favorite year of high school, it's been better in just about every way. I've branched out and made friends from different groups, I've kept a pretty good GPA even with all of the stress and AP's. Although the course work has been harder it's just been an easier year to enjoy, except when I realize next year is senior year, then I get a little worried. But all in all I've done well this year and had a good time doing so. My biggest failure has been not fixing my procrastination problem, I'll just fix it later... (Get it, I'm procrastinating about fixing my procrastination.) I think I'll try to do as little as possible over the summer, probably prepare myself for college applications and maybe work on my car, maybe do an auto to manual conversion because driving an automatic is boring. Next year I do want to be better about procrastination, and get my applications done without stressing out too much. I don't really know what I want to do besides that next year, I'll just to my best to enjoy the final year of high-school, without freaking out about it being the final year of high-school.