What+is+your+history+as+a+reader?+AP


 * When we start a new school year, everyone brings "baggage" with him/her. Maybe you had a horrible year in English last year and you're dreading the class this year even though it's completely new - new teacher and all. Or maybe you love English class because you love reading books and talking about them. Or maybe you're somewhere in between. I want you to write a journal entry here about your history as a reader and English student...Do you love reading, hate reading, or fall somewhere in the middle? Why do you feel the way you do about reading and/or English class? Has a book ever had a meaningful impact on your life? Or an English class? What baggage do you bring to this class as a student of English (without naming names of former teachers you dislike, please)? You may respond to what other people write, but you need to keep the focus on your own history. This is due by 8/25. **

English has always been one of my favorite classes because I can’t do math. I fell in love with English last year in Mrs. Sutton’s class. I enjoyed being able to make my own interpretations of the poems and stories we read. I learned to enjoy writing the most. Our first paper prompt of the year, “What does it mean to be human?”, made me excited about being able to write with my own thoughts—not just taking information from textbooks and re-writing the facts. Since then, I’ve enjoyed writing anything except for history essays. All of my life, people have been asking me the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My routine answer was “I don’t know” (with a slight hint of annoyance) until I recognized my passion for writing. So, I decided maybe I should be a writer—of what, I couldn’t and still cannot say. I proceeded to think about what I would need to do to become one. I decided that reading was a good place to start. I am a fairly slow reader who doesn’t like to miss any words, so I have always been a little discouraged from reading simply because it takes me so long to finish a book (contrary to my best friends who read a mile a minute). After all, my schedule is just as busy as everyone else’s. I truly do love to read, so I suppose I’ve pinpointed one of the reasons I love English; it’s a place for me to have a built-in reading outlet. Changing directions, I don’t think that I can attribute my excitement for English to my bare liking for reading and writing. Throughout my high school experience, I have had teachers who show passions for English that radiate. They have been an extreme encouragement and have, at the very least, made my encounters with English more enjoyable. -- rmduane

I was first introduced to reading by my mother, literally. Since I was home schooled until fourth grade, my mother taught me how to read. I hated, with a passion, learning how to read. My mother made me sit down for about an hour a few days a week with her and go through a few pages of some book that taught me whatever it took to become literate. However, once I got through those lessons and learned how to read, I have not stopped reading since. I love to read, which is probably why English class is one of my favorite classes. I really do not know why I began to love reading so much; I guess I like to forget myself in the imaginary world of other people, because the books I read usually have happy endings. The only book that has had an impact on my life is a series of books called the Elsie Dinsmore Series, about a girl growing up through the Civil War. She is a really strong Christian and makes me want to live like her for God.  None of my English teachers have really stood out from the others; they have all been good. As long as there is reading involved, I do not mind whatever the task may be. I do not like to write, but I love to read. I am rarely without a book that I am in the process of reading, whether it is a new book or one that I have already read. I have read many of my books three or more times. I will read any chance I get, and I read very quickly; I just cannot wait to learn what happens next in a story and I cannot put a book down very easily. There are few books that I have read that I do not like; in fact I do not think that I can name any. I like to read mysteries, historical fiction books, and romances, to name a few. I like to read novels mainly; poems are my least favorite. Interpreting what books mean has never been my favorite thing to do; I like to read books for a good story. But, through the past few years I have enjoyed hearing the interesting perspectives people have on books, and I am excited to hear from our class this year. Anne Elizabeth Goodgame

English has always been a class that interests me. I love reading different kinds of literature and getting to analyze the works in order to determine the author’s purpose for writing the book. My freshmen and sophomore English classes, since I was in regular, did not provide enough of a challenge to me in terms of forcing me to read critically. In 8th grade, my teacher refused to recommend me for honors English, and as a result, I took regular classes until I was able to take honors my junior year. In honors British Lit., junior year, I was finally forced to challenge myself and read critically in order to participate in the deep, analytical discussions we would have over certain pieces of literature. Thus, junior year English revived my love in reading different types of literature, and it also gave me a new love of writing. We were given multiple writing assignments that were very open-ended which allowed me to explore topics that I wanted to explore. Therefore, thanks for a wonderful year last year, I am looking forward to AP English and the new challenges it will bring. The only downside to classes like AP English is the amount of reading. While I love to read and discuss books and styles of writing, I am a very slow reader. Thus, it takes me a long time to complete reading assignments. However, I am glad that I will have to opportunity to work on this skill during this class so that when I go to college next year, I will be ready for the large amounts of reading. I believe that AP English will force me to read quicker while still absorbing the same amount of information I did when I would read slower. As my love of reading, writing, and the subject of English continues to grow each year, I am looking forward to my final year of high school English classes to instill in me a true appreciation for literature. -Ryan Smith

 I cannot honestly say that English has always been one of my favorite classes—in fact, there have been several times when I have dreaded walking through that door to take a test or write a paper—but there has always been something inside of me that kept me interested in the subject. I have always loved to read, but I’ve never read very much, and I’m not going to give the excuse that I have no time. I tend to say that whenever anybody asks me if I read a lot, but when I think about it, we all have time to read, we just come up with excuses why not to or why we’re so “busy.” For me, personally, like others have already mentioned, I am just a really slow reader; however, once I get deep into a book I really enjoy, I can finish it pretty quickly. This is going to sound ridiculous, but I HATE starting books—I just love the feeling of knowing that I’m in the middle of reading a story that I can just pick up at anytime and continue on this journey that I’ve started. I normally have to force myself to start a book, but as soon as I have, I’ll go back to it any spare minute I have just because I love get engrossed in the plot. When I was travelling through China over the summer, I would be sitting in the train passing through the Chinese countryside when my dad would turn to me and say, “Kathleen, look at this! Put down the book and take pictures, we’re in China!” I then proceeded to tell him to be quiet because Cassiopeia was being tortured by the evil Zovastina who was trying to imitate Alexander the Great’s ruthless murder techniques (those of you who read the Venetian Betrayal know what I’m talking about). When I was younger, I mainly stuck to reading those goofy little “teen” novels, but over the past year or two, probably due to Mr. Matherly and Mrs. Sutton, I’ve gotten this thirst to read all the classics—yes, I know, that’s pretty nerdy—but I’ve made it one of my life goals to read as many of them as I can (except for Moby Dick—I just don’t think I can really sit down and make myself read another book by Herman Melville, much thanks to Billy Budd). Sometimes I just a good story, and sometimes I love books that make me really think deeply about the subject matter and try to apply it to my own life and thoughts. As for writing, I can’t say I have very much enthusiasm for that. Of course I never enjoy writing essays on tests during a time crunch or trying to write a research paper on some topic that probably will never have that significant of an impact on my life. The only times that I really don’t mind, and actually enjoy, writing are when the topic is relevant to my life. I love philosophy, and I love to debate things and try to defend each side of contrasting opinions, so if an assignment takes that sort of spin, I will pour my heart and soul into it. Other than, to be completely honest, I really struggle through other kinds of assignments, so I think AP English will be good for me in that sense to overcome that and try to be a better writer overall. Wow I wrote entirely too much but I'm just one of those people--once I get started, I just ramble. --Kathleen Metz

  Why I love reading  I absolutely love stories: listening to them, telling them, and completely losing myself in them. But as much as I love reading, I am the slowest reader you will ever find. I remember always being jealous of my friends because they are the fastest readers in the world. I specifically remember in third grade someone asked me who my hero was and I answered, “Kate Kenwright because she reads a lot.” Well ever since third grade I have been slowly making my way up to the level of the “really-good-readers,” and for every book I have missed because I am a slow reader, I have made up for it how much I have learned from the books that I have read. They have inspired me to think deeply and to question everything around me. Freshman year I started a journal, and no, not a “Dear Diary” kind of journal, but a let-me-get-all-my-thoughts-out kind of journal. This is when I fell in love with writing. I discovered that I could really get what I wanted to say out on paper in a way that I couldn’t do verbally. I started writing everything from poems to streams of consciousness to really deep-down questions I had about life, love, and God. What I really loved was junior year English with Mrs. Sutton where she really challenged us to break all the laws of writing and create our own style. Sophomore year was when I fell in love with English class though. Mr. Matherly was unlike any teacher I had ever had, and he opened my eyes to all that English had to offer. I really want to learn how to completely break away and create my own style though, because I can still feel myself holding on. Every year it has been getting better and better, and I can’t wait to see what this year has to offer.  -Alyssa M-  English has always been my favorite subject because of one simple fact: I love to read. Ask my friends, classmates, and even people that I barely know; they will probably all tell you that I am passionate about reading. I believe that reading is an inherited trait, and I love to read because my parents taught me to be that way by example. When Kate and I were little, we would each pick one book a night and would sit together on our dad’s lap while he read both books out loud to us. He is still an avid reader, and now that I am old enough to read his and my mom’s books we like to share opinions about them. I have also truly enjoyed all my English classes in high school. Each one was so different, but I honestly believe they have each contributed to the way I see and understand my life and worldview. I have been fortunate to have awesome English teachers, and Mrs. Sutton’s class last year was a turning point in my ability to deeply read to understand instead of just reading the surface of things. I read some books (such as Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller) that actually impacted my life instead of just filling my free time. Last year, I also learned to enjoy books that are commonly defined as “literature” as much as I enjoy my other novels. -Beth Kenwright  I have loved to write ever since the second grade. That year, I had a teacher named Mrs. Clapham. I will never forget Mrs. Clapham because she instilled in me a passion for learning, especially writing. We would have “writing workshop” on a regular basis in Mrs. Clapham’s classroom. During this time, we were allowed to let our second-grade, curious minds conjure up whatever sort of stories or poems that we felt inspired to write. This sense of freedom was a rarity in elementary school where, most of the time, teachers just wanted to keep their children focused and walking in a straight line. But Mrs. Clapham did not treat us like the second graders that we were; she was constantly challenging our young minds, and by the end of the year, I was amazed at how well I could write. Ever since then, I have been writing. Last year I started writing for the school newspaper, and I learned that journalistic writing is completely different than writing for English class. It was a hard adjustment at first, but I have definitely improved as a writer because of it, and I have really come to love both creative writing and journalistic writing.  <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; BACKGROUND: rgb(170,255,170) 0% 50%; COLOR: rgb(0,136,0); LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial"> <span style="COLOR: rgb(0,128,128)"> I do enjoy reading, but my real passion is for writing. My favorite books are the ones that have characters and/or themes that I can relate to in my own life. Writing like this, writing that is timeless, is the most meaningful type of writing. It causes me to become engaged in the story and want to know more. Also, unlike many high school students, I enjoy reading poetry. I think that poetry is a style of writing that allows the author to really convey his/her emotions and thoughts in an abstract way. And in this day in age, poetry is almost like a lost art form. We never hear about great modern-day poets. I like that poetry is not always straightforward, and I really appreciate good poetry because I have found that it is one of the hardest things to write. As I said, my passion if for writing, but as I have studied many great writers throughout high school, I have also developed a love for reading excellent writing. <span style="BACKGROUND: rgb(170,255,170) 0% 50%; COLOR: rgb(0,136,0); -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,128,128)">     --Chelsea Michael <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">

Brittany Price - baprice25

I am a reader. It is one of the things that I am most passionate about in this life. I learned to read later than most students...I could not read a book by myself until the beginning of second grade. However, I like to think that now I am making up for lost time! Throughout middle school books were where I turned to escape from the world in which I was a "nerd" and I had few friends. My favorite books were historical fiction novels in which I was able to become Elizabeth I or Marie Antoinette. The poignant and tragic beauty of Marie Antoinette's life completely absorbed me and I was able to forget that I was a normal, awkward seventh grade girl that was taller than basically my whole grade. My parents were, without knowing it, a hugely significant literary influence in my life. Every night before I went to sleep, all throughout my childhood, I would make my mom or dad read me a book. When middle school came around I would stay up till all hours of the night, huddled under my covers, holding a flashlight so that I could finish that final chapter of a new book. There were weeks that went by when I probably read a book a day. I wish that I still had that kind of time to devote to literature. Sadly enough, sports and clubs and friends and school in general consumes a large portion of my daily life now. This has, most regrettably, cut into a large portion of my reading time. I have also become incredibly impatient regarding assigned school reading because I do not want to share my fantasy world with school. It makes me extraordinarily bitter. Yet I must press onwards I suppose. I believe that a good book can change a person's perspective on life in an instant...thus the more I read, the more I have the opportunity to grow as a person.

Alex Rawden- alex_rawden

My journey through English Literature is an odd one. I have always enjoyed reading, but I never read for a storyline. To me, the story was not what interests me in a book. When I began reading, I loved to collect facts and store them in my little noggin. My path to loving literature came through the loving of other arts. As Leo Tolstoy famously said, “The activity of art is... as important as the activity of language itself, and as universal.” I take this to hart and participate in as many arts as I can to this day. My path to loving non-novel forms of literature was a direct result of my love for various arts. My love for hip-hop has convinced me that poetry is the greatest form of expression that man can achieve whether it be set to a beat or printed on paper. My love for novels came at the midway point of my high school career when we began reading //The Great Gatsby// in class. I absolutely adored that book and began to realize that books have more than an interesting story that could be obtained by the “movie version”. Books contain the things that most students groan about when they hear about them: themes and styles. This may make me a complete nerd but I love getting to the roots of a book and what makes it tick. I love to see backround stories and seeing that even a children’s book such as The Chronicles of Narnia can include so many important things that adults need to learn. It is for these reasons I look forward to discussing the cornucopia of books that we have been assigned this year.