Summer work required for difficult classes
While some students enjoyed an homework free summer, Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors English participants had assignments to complete. They were assigned one to two novels to critically read and complete an essay on. Although these students sacrificed some free will this summer they received a valuable resource.
One of the newest members of the campus staff and now AP English, senior English and sophomore English teacher, Amy Deffenbacher believes that the purpose of summer work is to sharpen student?s minds and further prepare them for the challenges they will encounter throughout the school year.
“The summer assignments give them a head start,” Deffenbacher said. “Less time is spent at the beginning of the year introducing texts and the classes are able to jump right into discussions and activities that line up with the depth and complexity required for AP and honors course of study.”
The assignments not only prepare students for their future classes but may trigger some deeper thought processes. The novels, although mostly fiction, posses some very real and applicable life lessons such as courage, forgiveness and how to act under pressure. These concepts may challenge student?s views and even encourage them to adopt some of their favorite character?s attributes
As required for the summer reading assignment, freshmen Poojan Gopaul read The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien this past summer. He says that the main character Bilbo Baggains taught him to be bolder in life.
“I liked how as the journey went on Bilbo became more heroic and saved everyone,” Gopaul said. “I think a lesson to be learned from Bilbo is how to be brave.”
The sophomore class this past year was assigned two novels to read and report on. The novels were All Quiet on the Western Front by Enrich Maria Remarque and The Hiding Place by John and Elizabeth Sherrill.
Sophomore Nicole Hudecek enjoyed The Hiding Place most because of its more positive nature. She said that seeing how a Christian handled the Holocaust was both interesting and refreshing.
“From The Hiding Place I learned that God can get us through the toughest things as long as we believe in him,” Hudecek said. “The Hiding place was less depressing then the other book, and it was interesting reading about a Christian who lived through the Holocaust.”
Although these summer novels have some useful lessons within their pages, Honors and AP classes take countless hours of homework throughout the school year. They also mean sacrificing some hours of summer sun to become a bookworm for a while. Some wonder if an extra Grade Point Average (GPA) point is worth the trouble and what type of benefits they will receive from the class.
Sophomore honors student Timothy Nyberg says that the summer work took some time but was worth it in the end.
“The summer work wasn?t too hard,” Nyberg said. “I really enjoyed The Hiding Place, it was very interesting. Overall it wasn?t extremely hard and helped me get back into the routine. I think a little summer work makes it easier to get back to school.”
AP students generally are some of the hardest workers on campus. It takes a lot of determination and time to take a college level class in high school. However, there are many reasons to take an AP class. Some students might want the extra edge a AP class may provide in applying to a college. Others want to train themselves to function in an environment similar to college. Perhaps some just want a higher GPA. Regardless of the reason, the first step to becoming a dedicated AP English student is to complete the novels A Room with a View by E.M. Forster and Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
Junior AP English student Chris Grossman says that he hopes to better develop his literature skills through the course
“I?m taking AP English because I feel like it?s a good idea to prepare for the subject at a college level,” Grossman said. “I want to advance my English skills as far as I can while in high school. The summer reading assignment was a great way for me to get started on what is sure to be a busy year.”
For more features, read the Aug. 13 article, Day 1: First day brings excitement, rule changes.
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