Hantzis1

EvasofiaHantzis
Ms.Woelke
Reflection
6May2016
Reflection

FromthebeginningofmyfreshmanyeartheEnglishteachersthatIhavehad,whileat
GreatOak,werealwaysworkingtopreparemeforthenextstep.Althoughmywritinghas
tremendouslyimprovedfromfreshmanyearwhere,quotationintegration,rhetoricalanalysis,and
elevatedlanguagewereforeignconceptstome,Iwillbethefirsttoadmitthatqualityofmy
essaysdidfluctuatebasedonmyinterestintheunitornovelwewerelearningabout.Thepiece
ofwritingthatIammostproudofwouldhavetobemyARespectableWomanessay,based
onKateChopinsshortstories.ThiswasoneofthefirsttimesthatIhadusedlanguageandstyle
todrawattentiontospecificaspectsofmyessay,whetherthroughquotationsorboldedphrases.I
strategicallypresentedmyargumentsandanalysisinamannerthatwasbothrespectableyetstill
conveyedChopinsunderlyingpurpose,andIwasabletodevelopacleartonethroughthe
constructionofmysentencesandorganizationofmyessay.
LookingovermyscoresheetsfromthepastfouryearsInoticedthatmygraderangewere
generallythesame,onthePreIBEnglishandERWCscaleitvariedfromthreesandfours,and
ontheAPandIBscaletheytendedtobebetweensevensandeights.However,Ididnoticethat
towardstheendoftheschoolyearorsemestertherewasagreaterpercentoffoursandeightsas
opposedtothreesandsevens,whichwouldindicatedthatmyabilitytodeveloplanguage,


Hantzis2

knowledge,andliteraryresponsedidimprovewithmorepractice.Thisismostclearlyseenin
myfreshmanEnglishscoresheetsintheknowledgeandwritingcategory,andinIByearone
Englishscoresheetinthewrittenuseoflanguagecategory.WhilelookingovermyIByearone
scoresheetIcanclearlyidentifywhichunitsIwaymoreinterestedinasthescoresinallfive
categoriestendtobehigher,theunitwhereweread
NiccolMachiavellis
ThePrince

isaprime
exampleofthis.Mygradesvariedbaseduponmyinterests,whichwerepeakedwhenIgrasped
themessageoftheauthororunit,allowingmetoformulatemyownopinionwhichresultedin
improvedessaysandsocratics,alongwiththedesiretofurthermyknowledgeandsetmyself
higherexpectations.
Maintainingmyportfoliothroughoutmyfouryearsinhighschoolhasallowedmeto
reflectuponwhichareasIimproveduponthemost,andwhichIneedtocontinuetoworkonin
ordertogranteethatmycollegewritingassignmentswill,toanextent,fulfilltheexpectationsof
mycollegeprofessors.BeingsomeonewhofallsintothetypeApersonalitycategory,Imade
suretokeepanorganizedportfolioallfouryearstoensurethatassignmentsdidnotgomissing,
sothatwhenthetimecameIwasbeabletotrackmyprogress.Aspreviouslymentioned,being
abletoreviewmyportfoliohasallowedmetorecognizedthatwhilemygradesdidtendtofallin
thelowAtoBrange,themajorityofAsIaccumulatedwerefromassignmentsinwhichIwas
genuinelyinterestedinandnotforcedtocomplete.Iamabletoseenotableimprovementfrom
myfirsttomostrecentpieceofwork,yetasastudentIamawareofthefactthatIneedtofocus
onmaintainingamoreconsistentlevelofwritingevenifIamnotinterestedinthetopicsIam
askedtoreporton.


Hantzis3

ThroughoutthedurationofmyfouryearattendanceatGreatOakIhavelearnedagreat
dealnotonlyinregardstomyeducation,butalsoastowhoIamasapersonandwhatIwant
fromlife.IhavedecidedthatIwouldliketofurthermyknowledgebyattendingcollegeatCal
StateMontereyBay,aswellasgainknowledgeinthefieldofinternationalbusinessestothefull
extent.DuetothebroadamountofclassesthatwereofferedatGreatOak,Iwasabletofind
whichsubjectsandtopicsIwaspassionateaboutaswellastheonesIwasntquiteasinterested
in.Beingabletoexperienceawidevarietyofclasseshasallowedmetofeelmoreconfidentand
secureinmyplansforthefuture.However,theclassesandunitswithinthemwerenotsolely
responsibleinpreparingmeforthenextstep,thelargearrayofclubsthatIwasabletojoin
andbeapartduringmytimeatGreatOakalsolargelyinfluencedmyplansforthefuture.Asa
freshmanIhadoriginallyplannedonbecomingaprofessionalequestrianintheshowjumping
sector,butafterthreeyearsandbeingapartoftheequestrianteamatGreatOakIfoundthatI
prefertoridehorseasmoreofahobbythananaprofessionandmytruepassionlieswith
internationalbusiness.GreatOakhastaughtmethatthegoalsIsetformyselfareachievable,but
willnotcomeeasy,andonlythroughhardworkandS.P.I.R.I.T.willIbeabletoobtainmyfull
potential.