Dear Mr. Weinstein,
My senior year has been the best! I entered the year as an average English student that was not interested in reading books at all. Even though I had you as a teacher in my junior year, I was still afraid to “bleed on paper’’. I have transformed this year by becoming a better reader and writer. When I found out that I was going to have you as a teacher again, I knew I was going to have a lot of fun. Last year, you introduced me to a different type of English class which used mind-maps and poems as a learning method. Themes in Lit was fun because we got to choose the books we were going to read. Even the books that we read as a class were very interesting. I always made sure that I was organized a when keeping all my mind maps. Even after learning how to “bleed on paper” the past two years, I still managed not to use any of it. I plan on changing that by the time I get to college. As a reader, I can say that I have definitely developed since the beginning of the year. I now find it much easier to experiment with different types of books and themes. I have gained a new taste for reading books and I hope that I continue to read in the future.
I was surprised at how many books I read this year. I think I enjoyed this class a lot because of the freedom to choose books we wanted to read. As a reader, I think my weakness would be choosing books that were on my level. I feel like I should have challenged myself a little more this year. Kevin and I collaborated on two pieces this year: Games of Thrones and Serial (Podcast). I was introduced to different types of books like manga and graphic novels. I learned that I am very interested in books about war and military. I read American Sniper, No Easy Days, and Seal Team Six, which all had to do with some type of military. I have enjoyed reading every work of literature this year. It was probably because of the chill environment of the class and how open-minded the class was. A few examples that influenced me as a reader: American Sniper, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, The Four Agreements, and Maus. I have learned many different themes this year from reading these books. Like last year, whips around the room has helped me become comfortable speaking in class and gaining more knowledge about the books we read. That led to me collaborating with classmates and sharing ideas with each other. Just spending the whole period reading was surprisingly very fun. I always looked forward to this class just so I can read. This year I chose to do mind maps and calligrams only. Mind maps are something I really enjoy doing even though they can be very tedious and time-consuming. The amount of hours I have put into my creative writing have been totally worth it. I am thankful for all the new things I have learned this year from this class.
Since there weren't any tests or quizzes, I did pretty well in this class. Next year I will be in college and hope to read a lot more. College will be a lot harder than high school and I know that I will be prepared for it. Having you as a teacher for two years has prepared me for college level writing. Thank you for making English one of my favorite classes.
Thank you,
Rohith Nair
My senior year has been the best! I entered the year as an average English student that was not interested in reading books at all. Even though I had you as a teacher in my junior year, I was still afraid to “bleed on paper’’. I have transformed this year by becoming a better reader and writer. When I found out that I was going to have you as a teacher again, I knew I was going to have a lot of fun. Last year, you introduced me to a different type of English class which used mind-maps and poems as a learning method. Themes in Lit was fun because we got to choose the books we were going to read. Even the books that we read as a class were very interesting. I always made sure that I was organized a when keeping all my mind maps. Even after learning how to “bleed on paper” the past two years, I still managed not to use any of it. I plan on changing that by the time I get to college. As a reader, I can say that I have definitely developed since the beginning of the year. I now find it much easier to experiment with different types of books and themes. I have gained a new taste for reading books and I hope that I continue to read in the future.
I was surprised at how many books I read this year. I think I enjoyed this class a lot because of the freedom to choose books we wanted to read. As a reader, I think my weakness would be choosing books that were on my level. I feel like I should have challenged myself a little more this year. Kevin and I collaborated on two pieces this year: Games of Thrones and Serial (Podcast). I was introduced to different types of books like manga and graphic novels. I learned that I am very interested in books about war and military. I read American Sniper, No Easy Days, and Seal Team Six, which all had to do with some type of military. I have enjoyed reading every work of literature this year. It was probably because of the chill environment of the class and how open-minded the class was. A few examples that influenced me as a reader: American Sniper, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, The Four Agreements, and Maus. I have learned many different themes this year from reading these books. Like last year, whips around the room has helped me become comfortable speaking in class and gaining more knowledge about the books we read. That led to me collaborating with classmates and sharing ideas with each other. Just spending the whole period reading was surprisingly very fun. I always looked forward to this class just so I can read. This year I chose to do mind maps and calligrams only. Mind maps are something I really enjoy doing even though they can be very tedious and time-consuming. The amount of hours I have put into my creative writing have been totally worth it. I am thankful for all the new things I have learned this year from this class.
Since there weren't any tests or quizzes, I did pretty well in this class. Next year I will be in college and hope to read a lot more. College will be a lot harder than high school and I know that I will be prepared for it. Having you as a teacher for two years has prepared me for college level writing. Thank you for making English one of my favorite classes.
Thank you,
Rohith Nair