Matt Kambic

Mr. Maite

Honors English 9

Thursday, May 31, 2001

The End of the Year

            The first of my four-year high school career is over.  To me, it has been a speedy start to the long journey that my fellow classmates and myself have embarked on.  Throughout the course of this year, I have done a lot of work in each of my classes and, in doing so, obtained many skills and learned many things about myself.  In Mr. Maite’s Honors English Nine class, I have learned a lot about my work and a lot about myself.  As the year has blown by,  I have learned important grammar techniques which have helped to make my papers sound more articulate, I have learned about the military readiness crisis this country is facing, and I have learned to read and comprehend the writings of William Shakespeare.

            The first skill that I picked up from Mr. Maite’s Honors English class was the ability to eliminate run-on sentences and the ability to use commas currectly.  An example of an assignment that helped me master this skill was the run-on worksheet that we did for homework on November 7^th.  It taught the class how to properly use commas and semi-colons to eliminate a run-on sentence.  I write longer and more grammatically correct sentences now because I have mastered this skill.  The online PowerPoint presentation on using commas was also very helpful.

            The next detail I learned this year was the status of our nation’s military forces.  In doing my research for my persuasive essay paper, I discovered that the level of our nation’s military readiness is shockingly below its standards.  We had to write a persuasive essay, write a speech to give at our debate, and we had to carry on a debate about an issue of our choosing.  My group and I choose to do our project on our nation’s military readiness.  In doing this research, my eyes were opened to the serious dilemma this country is facing at this moment in time.

            Lastly, the most fun thing to me that I learned about this year was how to read Shakespeare’s writing and to read Romeo and Juliet.  I actually started out reading Romeo and Juliet hating the book and hating Shakespeare because I couldn’t understand a single thing that he was writing.  However, the more that we reread things in class and the more I learned about it, the more fun and interesting it became for me.  Now, I am anxious to pick up my next William Shakespeare play and commence reading.

            I am looking forward to getting  out of school and having summer vacation.  Already, in my first year of high school, in just one class, I learned how to improve my writing, I learned about our nation’s military, and had my eyes opened to the world of Shakespeare.  I feel I can call this year a very productive year.  I am excited to have a break and then come back next year fresh to continue my learning as a Sophomore.