Reflection

During my high school career, I had around eight language arts teachers. They ranged in age from early to mid 20s and aged to late 60s. Each teacher has their own beliefs about grammar and the way passages should be read and perceived. The younger teachers believed that it is what you believe and make it out to be, while the older teacher believed there was a concrete way of reading a piece of work and understanding it. They all had different teaching techniques and stressed different departments of grammar. The one thing I did not have a full understand of and felt a little worried about graduating from high school was my ability to write a good paper. Even to this day I am still worried that I can not write a paper that meets college level expectations, but I do think I have made improvements. The last semester of my senior year I had a teacher fresh out of college, who taught us a little more detailed view of writing a good paper. This is when it started to sink in for me, I was just worried that it was too late! I have been a little surprised, in a good way, at the papers I have written while attending YHC. They may not have all be A material, and actually very few have, but over this course I have had a better feeling about the process. Having Dr. Hughes walk us through, step by step, and always there for support has helped tremendously. One thing I have learned is not to use fillers. I have always been worried about meeting the word or page requirements, but I was taught by Dr. Hughes that even some of her papers didn't meet requirements, yet she still made impressive grades because she did not throw in any unecessary wording or sentences. In the area of argumentation, I have been taught over this semester to be more aware of it. Even on this paper we are in the process of writing, I was advised to use a stronger argument. This is one thing I am still working on, but it has been brought up to my attention that I need to work on it. I have enjoyed the group discussions in class a lot. I like it most of the time when teachers try to get their students involved and active with each other. It has helped us not only be more vocal and outspoken about our beliefs, but we have also learned about each other in the process. Who knows, we may have even learned a little something about ourselves along the way too. Looking back, there is a not a single other class or professor I would have rather had than you Dr. Hughes. You have been a great professor for us incoming freshmen and your teaching techniques are effective and helpful. This class was a great introduction into the life of a new college student not knowing what to expect. I have become more comfortable with writing and have learned to seek and ask for help if needed.