Austin Y
English 2
Ms. W
Throughout my English class this year, I’ve learned many vital tasks that I can use in my daily life. Through speeches, reading books and writing papers, I can safely say that I’ve learned many things.
In English, we did 3 speeches. After each one, I learned more and more which helped me out a ton. The first speech we had I was ultra nervous. I didn’t know what I was getting into or if I would mess up. After the first speech, I realized that they aren’t as hard as you think. I learned to be confident in my research and to not worry about the speaking part. I learned to talk slow, because in reality, the only person truly listening is the teacher. I noticed how if I talked slower and acted like I was talking to a friend, it was much easier.
We also read many books during our class time. We read books such as Of Mice and Men, Death of a Salesman, two other books and a free read book. For all of the books we read, we dug deeper into them and found out more about them. We learned more about the characters and even found hidden messages in them. For example, Of mice and men and Death of a Salesman showed how the American Dream isn’t equal for everyone. I found out a lot more about how digging deeper into the book can be beneficial for me too. This also made me more aware when I read to watch out for alternate endings or ideas because it helps my brain focus more on what I read versus just reading to read.
Also during English, I wrote so many papers it might be considered unhealthy. I wrote many papers about any and everything. I wrote papers on books, non-fiction and many many more. The difference is that I’ve learned many vital tasks that I can use later in my life. I learned how to use grammar and conventions better than ever. I learned how to not make my sentences short and choppy but instead long and flowing; but not too long because then it will turn into a run on. I learned how using bigger words instead of overused words helps change the mood of the story drastically.
English has taught me so many things that are still so important to me. When I go off to college and have to write a paper, I won’t be the one stressing because i know what I’m doing. I’m confident in my skills and in what Mrs. Jank taught me is correct so I do not have to worry. English to me was just another class, but now when I get to thinking about it, it is not just ‘another class’. It is probably the most important classes because it not only taught me how to write better, but it taught me how to speak in front of people better. I know this because I have been to a job interview and most people want to see someone who knows what they are doing instead of someone who stutters or something like that.