In all honesty, I am very surprised
at how much we have learned in AP Lit in just under a month. I really enjoy the
way the class is taught. We don’t have units from a textbook and tests after
each chapter, which is exactly how all my other classes are structured.
Instead, the class is student-run and student-oriented. For example, right now
we are working on reading and analyzing The
American Dream. We still receive instruction from the teacher, but we lead
our own discussions and come to our own conclusions. We have read formal essays
on the play, and afterwards we analyze those analyses; we talk about how those
authors use valid logic, how they compliment one another, or how we disagree
with them. We add to the authors’ explorations of the play, digging even deeper
than they did. I have never had a literature class before where the students
are the ones who break down a story in such depth. Normally it is the teacher
who leads a discussion, giving strong hints about how the literature should be
interpreted, inserting his/her own opinion everywhere, and explaining various
themes and motifs. In this class, the students are able to think for
themselves, which is a vital skill for success in college as well as in future
careers.
Aside from
just talking about The American Dream,
we have learned the basics of close reading and annotations, which is extremely
important when trying to analyze literature. Again, these are more skills I
have never been formally taught at school: I have had to annotate and analyze
various pieces of literature before, but I have never had a teacher actually
tell me how. They have said that we
should mark important passages that might portray the meaning of the piece, or
simply to note different literary devices throughout, but this is my first time
formally learning about close reading and annotations.
So far, I
have really enjoyed this class. I feel as though I have already learned a lot
more about how to analyze literature and, if I make this much progress every
month, I will be thoroughly prepared for the AP Lit exam in May.
I think you make a really good point in saying that learning how to think about the meaning of literature ourselves is a skill we will need in college. I actually hadn't thought of that, but it's very true. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who has never had to think for myself in a lit class before now. It's good that you're feeling confident about the exam, I'm still a little nervous. I know both of us have taken AP exams before but for some reason the open-endedness of Lit frightens me a little! You mention the analyses we read in class... Did you like those? I thought they had a few good points but were kind of annoying to read. Especially 6th hour when we're so tired! But all in all, I like the class, too. The work load is actually manageable as well, an unexpected plus.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me like everyone is in different places regarding how prepared they think they'll be for the AP Exam. It's awesome that you feel like the class is preparing you well! I think that all of the different ways we analyze the literature we read will help prepare us for both the AP exam and what comes after it. Mary, what you said about the open-endedness of literature has definitely been on my mind as well. However, I think that all of the discussions we've been having will help us in being able to analyze and draw conclusions about literature on our own.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your whole first paragraph. I feel the very same way, I went to a Montessori school for elementary so how Mrs.Holmes teaches is exactly how I grew up and I am as well very happy to be in a class that is student run. I also like how you said "strong hints" because I have noticed that too. I think that the teachers give to many answers and Socratic discussions are a much better way to go.
ReplyDeleteI definitely like your post overall! I can tell that you spent time reflecting on the first month of class. I do wish however that you went into detail about some of the specific subjects we touched on or some of the things we found in the American Dream. Do you have any goals on where you want to be with literature? Are you excited about any of the books we are going to read and discuss?