English has always been one of my favorite courses because it’s more focused around developing personal style than uniformity in knowledge. Because everyone learns and develops their English and analyzation skills differently, learning from each other becomes so much more exciting and helpful. I am looking forward to doing group activities and to learning about how others interpret works and write. As always with English courses, I am looking forward to reading about all kinds of things and improving my vocabulary.
The biggest obstacle I will have to face are time management for readings and essays since they are not small tasks and need to be time managed well. I think I will do fine with time management because I like organizing things and creating schedules. Usually, I will do schoolwork early in the morning to have time for myself later on in the day. I also love writing and being creative with my sentences, so I foresee myself doing well with writing essays and other writing assignments.
One of the best things an instructor can do for their students and for me is encourage us to always do our best. It also helps me to know that my instructor is excited about what they do and shows it through their feedback on my work and balances positive and negative commentary. Motivating their students should always be the most fundamental job of an instructor in my opinion.
From this course, I want to improve my vocabulary and my reading and analyzation skills. Reading is something I struggled with in high school, and I really want to be able to absorb more while I read. I also want to become more familiar with different authors and explore all kinds of genres of writing. Finally, I hope to gain new friends and connect with people throughout this course.
Sam I enjoyed reading your blog post. It’s funny to see someone who says they love English for all the reasons that I dislike English. Just goes to show that there are different strokes for different folks. I’m also excited to be able to improve my reading and writing skills throughout the course if the class. I also fear that my time management skills will be an issue, but not for the same reasons you do. I fear that learning from home will cause me to think that I have more time than I actually do. I’m excited to get to know you and the rest of our class!
I personally feel like English isn’t one of my favorite courses, but based on your perspective on how it helps people develop their own personal style, I can see how it can be very rewarding. Your point about time management also resonates with me and I have so much respect for the fact that you are able to finish your work earlier in the day, as I usually leave my work for the end of the day. I also struggle with absorbing information while I read so hopefully we can grow together. I look forward to connecting with you and the rest of the class as well as group activities!
I, too, appreciate English for being a class more focused on one’s personal style. Unlike most classes, writing does not include memorizing a ton of information, rather it involves practicing and becoming better, which is what I look forward to doing in this class. I respect your determination to do work earlier in the day, and that is something I would like to emulate. I think the best way to be productive is to fit time to do work early so that you have time later in the day to rely on if you need it.
Hi Sam,
I think you are right, that learning to write well is really about finding your own unique voice and expressing your ideas clearly and effectively. It isn’t about copying another person’s style or sounding like someone from a book you once read. The pinnacle, in my opinion, is reached when you feel confident that you have control over the language by understanding how it works, on a vocabularly level, a grammar level, a narrative (storytelling) level, and an argumentative level and you can use all of these tools to achieve what you want to say.
I will endeavor to give thoughtful and constructive feedback on your assignments that can help you grow as a writer.
Your time management sounds like it’s pretty well under control for now, but I would suggest adding in rest times and exercise times directly onto the calendar to avoid burnout.