Allyn and Bacon Bits of Interesting Info

I feel like I've never had any motivation to read an english text of any kind, because they were usually just grammar booklets or vocab handbooks that were typically very boring. The essays and short stories, with the exception of Poe and some other poetry were also pretty dull, and the books (think Fahrenheit 451) definitely did not appeal to me whatsoever. Lots of books we had to read would have been decent, if not truly enjoyable, had it not been for english class, which forced us students to dissect and tear apart some works of art that probably were not even meant to prove more more purpose than be an enjoyable story. However, this year I noticed Andrew's taste in supplicating reading material was based on current topics that are of interest to everyone today. Facebook is extremely appealing to students today, as well as political issues such as the bail-out. The summer reading was also pretty interesting, and I noticed no problems in finishing the book with lots of time to read it again. I really love reading, and I always felt that english class ruined that for me - when I was forced to read something, it wasn't something that appealed to me, and when it did, I was forced to analyze and critique and summarize and reflect and ask "what did the author mean by this?" Maybe he didn't mean anything by it - maybe that's just the way it all came together. I don't know, but I definitely feel that this year is off to a much better start than all of the previous ones.

Another thing I like about this class is the required textbook readings. The AB book is funny and engaging, even though it deals with some pretty dull topics. I think it basically says what all teachers have been trying to say in neat little packaged charts and diagrams that makes it easy to see what a teacher would be looking for in any assignment. And as for "wallowing in complexity:" I always felt that afraid to do that, feeling that I was probably taking my ideas in the wrong direction. I think this class will help me out some with that issue I have. That gives me a goal to achieve, and when I have a goal to meet, I work for it. No other english class ever gave me a goal to strive for, which in turn makes me care about the course more than I did for any other past class. 

Project 1 was great because it forced a student to look inside his own experience to find something interesting and compelling to argue. At the beginning, most students had no idea how they were going to pull something out of their asses, but once the project was finished, everyone obviously succeeded, proving the point that the project was originally intended to make.

Now like I said before, I love reading, and I like to write on occasion if the topic pertains to something I feel passionate about. I'm no more motivated to write a paper on a business topic than before, but I am starting to think about reading it critically and reviewing an article not on terms of its content, but on its argument. It's kind of like a new "science" to learn. That interests me a lot more than I have ever been interested before, and that fact points out how much I think I will enjoy my english class this year.

And also, this blogging makes it so much easier to do work than wake up, go to class, submit paper after paper, etc. Good class!