I walked into class thinking we once again would have a long, stressful, graded discussion. Well I can definitely say that “It’s not what I thought it would be” (Lahiri 252). I walked into not a semi circle but a full, closed, circle of desks. Ms. Serensky had us take a seat, and then she had a seat among us. She passed out lollipops! Ms. Serensky giving us suckers? This was all so crazy, we didn’t have to get an A on some crazy assignment, no favorites, just candy for all! She slowly and delicately approached the topic of herself, or more specifically why she is the way she is. She started off by explaining how “This world…belongs to the strong”, and how for the longest time she wasn’t a strong student or writer (Kesey 32). Various teachers influenced her writing skills, but one college professor in particular pushed her to a sense of accomplishment. As I sat there listening, I imagined the whole situation, I couldn’t help but compare it to me in her class. Every day she pushes me creatively, technically, and personally. She described her frustration, determination, and the hundreds of papers it took to even get a glimpse of recognition. Ms. Serensky admitted “I am very sorry for all the trouble I have given you”, but that it all had an eventual that we would someday learn to appreciate (Wilde 28)! What an idea, up until then I cannot say I thought I believed Miss Serensky to care too much about us as individuals. But hearing that she cannot watch us get papers back because she can see the disappointment, or how she genuinely enjoys reading our blogs because it gives us insight into our actual lives and personalities. I hate all of the different relationships I have in life. There’s family, friends, teachers, coaches, youth groups, camp buddies, etc, and sometimes I can feel like I am living multiple lives. But during this one English class, I didn’t sense any competition or anxiety; we were all just people sitting in a circle with other people. So thank you so much to Ms. Serensky for timing that day out so perfectly and really bringing yourself down to our level. It has gone down as my most impacting and favorite day of A.P. English 12 thus far!
Carly, I also really enjoyed this day. Any time that we can catch a break and relax in English definitely brightens my day. Learning how and why Ms. Serensky does what she does really helped me understand the method to her madness, and although I get a little frustrated by the amount of work we do I know that in the end I will be thanking her.
ReplyDeleteCarly, I wrote about this same day and felt it really impacted my view of the class. Ms. Serensky truly has prepared us as well as possible for college and has created a group of skilled writers. I felt relief after realizing that she too had to work for her greatness. Hard work definitely does pay off in the end.
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