Reflective Letter(End of Semester) # 2
Ashley Mandes
English 121
End of Semester Reflective Letter
Dear Dr. Harrison,
When this course first started, we started to look at Mahmoud Amer’s syllabus and I thought to myself wow this will be a very easy A. As the course started to progress I started to think it wouldn’t be bad if you were our permanent teacher because you were very interesting. Then a week later it was announced you were our permanent teacher. I was excited at first, until the syllabus was put up on the projector. My mouth dropped open and I was so nervous for this class to start. After a while it kept getting easier and now I realize that this class has only made me stronger.
After the syllabus was projected I never thought I would make it through this class. Once I saw all the reading we had to do within a month or two, I thought instantly about dropping it. Then I thought to myself, I am not a quitter and I never will be. So I stuck with it. I hated reading at first and complained a lot to my friends. Eventually the reading got easier and easier. After a while into the books I didn’t even think anything of it.
I thought I would never learn anything from this class and it would be a waste of my time. Little did I know that I would learn a lot more than just about literature. I have learned so many things about literature, poetry, the monomyth, heroic journeys, and skills to help me through life. I never once thought this one class could have taught me so much, but it really did. I have learned how to compare my life with what journey I am currently on, and what journeys I might take in the future. I have learned many things about all the archetypes that become present during ones heroic journey. Most of all I have learned never to skip out on a journey in life because that one journey could make your life.
My favorite part about this class is the idea of archetypes. For my final project we had to pick what we learned most about this class and I picked archetypes. I think the part about this class that helped me learn the most about this was the book Awakening the Hero’s from Within. It was a long book but it was put very easy to read and explained everything very well. Before we started reading this book, we had to take the archetype test which helped me really connect to what archetype was present at that time in my life. I know that there is totally different one present now, but it still gives you a surreal perspective on this topic.
I have learned so much from this class I never thought I would learn. This class was very structured and helped give the class a inside view on the topics. When we started poetry in this class I thought right away I was going to fail. I had never liked poetry and didn’t know how to write a poem to save my life. Once we learned the definition of a poem and had to write some for ourselves things got a lot easier. The poetry book was a great idea because we had a chance to write poems, pick out our favorite ones then be creative and form it into a book. So overall the topics of the class were very well constructed.
Overall, I liked the class very much, though there were some things I did not like. First off, the readings were very helpful but there were just so many. Sometimes I thought I was racing the clock to finish all the readings in time for class. I think that you should try to narrow down the selection of reading to two or three books. I think that would be better because then people could focus more on the reading than just racing to get them done.
I think my overall progress of the class was good. I was a little nervous at first to start all the readings and work, but eventually it got easier. I was always so nervous to come into class to see if we had a test. So even if I was sick I still drug myself out of bed just in case we had a test. The tests were a good idea to test the knowledge of people to see if they read the material but I didn’t like the idea that we couldn’t see the grades on our exams. This worried me because I didn’t know if I should concentrate harder or if I was doing fine.
Overall, I was very pleased with this class. I liked the outline of the class and the assignments were very creative. I think that my knowledge of English and life has greatly increased since I joined this class. I was disappointed at first that our teacher changed but in the end I’m glad it did. It was a pleasure to be in your class and good luck to you in the future!
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