Portfolio Reflection Letter Draft

In my pioneering learning community which intricately combined English 111 and Student Development 100 into one, flawless mega-course, I’ve learned more than I could have even possibly dreamt of learning in a regular class in high school. I’ve also learned that the 16 Habits of Mind are excellent habits to live by. They cover everything that you need to know (besides what you learned in kindergarten) to live a happy, healthy, successful life to the fullest.

As it is always important to remember your roots, and occasionally go back to them, I remember the first day of each class in the Learning Community. The first day of English was inspiring. Dr. Brandon commanded our attention by boldly speaking and announcing that he was a “very good” teacher. He attracted our attention by setting up a sort of bet with me and the rest of the students, that he would be a good teacher. Weather secretly or not, every student in the room that day, probably thought something along the lines of: “Yeah right. What makes you so much better than any other teacher I’ve had before?” I knew though, in the back of my head, that Dr. Brandon was what he claimed. And indeed he was. Four weeks later, he had successfully stood out from the crowed of educators that had stood before me for the earlier parts of my school career. He has been a very good teacher, despite his absence for a week of recovery after a seemingly rigorous garage cleaning.

Dr. Morrison has also been a one of a kind professor. The first day in her class was also memorable. I remember in particular the vast amount of information that was thrown at us that day. The syllabus, 3 different, on-going assignments, blogs, Facebook, the portfolio… It seemed like just a tad too much. Again though, four weeks later, I see that amount of information was just a warm up for the rest of college. As I furthered through the weeks and various other courses, I used information that had been presented to me in that class. How to take notes, how to schedule my time, how to keep up with class work, even how to blog… It was all covered. I think had I not taken that class (not that I had much of a choice anyways, it was required…) I would be in a lot worse shape in terms of grades, and knowing what to do in college.

The Learning Community idea is a great one, and as all ideas, has room for improvement during its first uses. The combination of learning how to be a good student coupled with the necessary structure of English and writing creates a style of material that students easily learn because they see a use for the information every day in real life. What’s more is they use the information they gain the right way, and not just once to pass a test and then forget about it. Not like crazy hard math or chemistry. What you learn sticks with you. Isn’t that what school was all about in the first place? I’m glad I took this Learning Community course. Without it, I don’t know where I’d be, but I’m sure I wouldn’t want to be there.