This semester, I've been subjected to near-constant exhaustion, pressure, distractions and the cringe-inducing w-word (work), forcing me to change how I think, and sequentially how I learn. With the increase in the workload outside of school over the course of the semester, I've come to view my time in school differently. School has changed from a place where I learn to 8 hours a day that I sit and try to survive class, knowing that the real learning will come when I get home, and tackle the worksheets, papers and other assignments frantically shouted out by teachers in the after-bell lull. I’ve transitioned from doing most of my learning inside of school to most of my learning outside of school. For awhile, it didn’t matter – learning is learning is learning, why does it matter where it happens, but began to think this it wasn’t a good thing. I thought it was becoming very detrimental because I love the experience of class and discussions but now I find myself, for some of my classes, barely utilizing my teachers - simply taking their tests after teaching myself the material.
Oddly, I’ve found English to be the one exception to this idea, possibly because of a longer class time and the Academy atmosphere, but definitely because the class is unique; it’s much harder to understand Shakespeare by yourself than to learn graphing trig functions. During the King Lear unit, while focusing in class I found I was absorbing more than ever before, because we were going in depth and spending quality time on confusing parts and to achieve a strong grasp all different aspects of the play. I would read the steps the night before, but there would always be a slight joke or plot maneuver that I missed. To ensure the greatest level of knowledge, I took steps to make sure I was plugged into class at all times during discussions, acting out the scenes, etc. Once I caught onto everything that was happening in class, it made working on Lear University and studying for English tests a breeze because I felt like class had prepared me. Taking the step to try and reverse my in-school monotony, one class at a time, was one of the best decisions I made in the last 18 weeks and will be something I will continue try and change.
Another habit that has been brought to my attention is attention to detail. I’m very sentimental, and I love describing the world with flowery language. This semester, I’ve been introduced to another writing style, something I’ll call the ‘word punch.’ Instead of spending filling dwindling paragraphs with description, authors like Virginia Woolf and William Shakespeare who do that in a single sentence or phrase, by utilizing superb vocabulary and how writing should work. I’ve spent the past nine years studying vocabulary, it’s an ongoing process but being exposed to the mechanics of language is something totally new. Studying conciseness and other writing tips has not only increased the quality of my writing, but decreased the quantity. When writing my poem, I began with an idea and have spent two months conflicted with word choice, but the night before our final versions were do, it clicked that it wasn’t the vocabulary it was the rigid way I was writing my supposedly-flexible poem.
I proceeded to spend an hour viciously changing things, adding new ideas and cutting the old, something I hadn’t done before. That final draft wasn’t going to be perfect, or even good, but clearing the hurdle in my learning and writing was worth it. Next time, I will try to be less apprehensive about trying radical ideas, because I’ve discovered just what can be accomplished with an open mind, and I like it.
