My Response to TEDtalks "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"

After watching the video entitled "Do Schools Kill Creativity?", I have to say that I agree with a great deal of points made by Sir Ken Robinson, especially his points about the educational system being "a protracted process for university entrance" and the existence of an "academic hierarchy" where the arts are placed below the sciences in importance.

  I can remember being told by my family from very early on that you can't make a living by being a drummer or a ballerina, but boy, did I want to!  I used to yearn for Wednesdays at school, the day in which our grade would make the rounds between Art, French, Music, and Gym class.  They crammed these subjects into an hour each, but, for most students, those were the best hours at school.  We got a break from the drudgery of math and language arts and got to have fun learning to express ourselves, usually with cheap plastic recorders or ancient records playing tribal dances.  At some point after I moved on to middle school, I remember my mom telling me that the County was going to have to cut these classes in order to fund the creation of new computer labs, and I thought it was a bad idea.  Sir Ken is right--even then schools were putting the arts below language, math and technology in the "academic hierarchy", and they didn't seem to be bothered if the arts were eliminated completely!  In this, I'm not sure that schools are completely responsible for killing creativity, but they are definitely a part of it.  Parents can take pains to foster creativity in their children too--it's not just the schools' responsibility--but not all parents will have the ability.  I knew my parents would provide music or dance lessons for me if I showed an interest, but what about those kids in families living hand-to-mouth wearing last year's clothes and getting free lunch?  Where would they get art supplies, if not in school? 

As a student, you're also told from such an early age now that everything you do could affect where you go to college.  I didn't really even know what college was in kindergarten, but I knew I should be quiet and listen to the teacher so I could make good grades because it all mattered for college.  Nowadays parents fill out long applications to get their kids into elite preschools so they might get into the right prep school and later the right Ivy League college, but why? Is that all we know to be success?  I asked my second cousin, age 6, what she wanted to be when she grew up and she looked at her father, then at me and said, "Financial analyst, isn't that right, Daddy?"  Good Lord, I just wanted to be a princess at that age!  Earlier and earlier, kids are being put on job trajectories, and they're being made to determine their careers so early  that I don't know where kids have the time to even play make-believe anymore.  What happens when my cousin realizes she has a singing talent? Will she be told that she can't go to the School of the Arts because she has to take accounting classes? It makes me happy to know that my parents let me go in pretty much any direction I chose, though they were always telling me that I was going to college no matter what.  I guess I had freedom of choice in a way, but I never really thought about how much that must have affected me until now.

 I guess that if school is turning out any kinds of people, it is workers.  Workers who have been on a track from the womb, workers who may not ever indulge their creative side because they've understood there to be no time for such things if one is going to get somewhere and make a real living.  Yes, workers--and a great many of them dissatisfied and prone to fits of anxiety and burnout.  And that's if they ever even reach their goals.  A great many will attempt to reach for the stars but find that their career isn't as fulfilling as the paycheck might suggest.  There's a reason why fields like music therapy exist and why people are going to culinary school at night--most people need to have some kind of creative outlet so that they can exercise that other atrophied side of their brains.   For some it may be sports that call to them, others a garage band, but I think it's important to recognize that for most Americans, we define ourselves primarily by our professions, and we really need to consider the impact schools may have had on the formation of that truly limited identity.  That's why I'm glad to see that a lot of professional schools (i.e. medical schools) now give more credence to extracurricular activities than they ever did when considering applicants for admission.  I think this is huge, because I don't think that I would be comfortable with a physician who eats, sleeps, and breathes his work.  I'd much rather have one who is fulfilled outside the workplace, whose creative mind can fathom a more dynamic approach to the healing process than some textbook case in a medical journal.

For me school has always been the site of my creative development, not just as a writer, but as a student in general.  I made sure not to limit myself to science courses just because I was good at them; I really wanted to learn it all.  Instead of the basic Brit Lit, I took an English course in my junior year about 20th Century novels, wherein we read A Clockwork Orange as opposed to the usual Crime and Punishment. I think having this class available to me to take really exposed me to a different group of literary voices, and it challenged me to think about how a writer might tell the same story in a new and different way.  I was glad to try something new and this was so refreshing after my sophomore year, when we were trained like soldiers to respond to essay prompts for the dreaded State Writing test.  I had gotten really burned out with writing in general after that, and rediscovered my creative side in the Novels class.The fact that the teacher was allowed to teach such a different kind of class with non-traditional texts while adhering to the basic curriculum led to incredible results. All the students in my class did very well because we were reading modern works and writing about modern voices, something I really hadn't done in any other English class.  I think maybe if schools were to allow their teachers to teach something different and new, instead of what they might see as strictly college-prep, students may get more out of it and be able to learn something more than just the basics.

I think Sir Ken's solution of raising arts classes up in the academic hierarchy has merit, but I worry that most schools will not be able to manage it.  I believe this will be mainly due to the fact that school budgets are tight because the economy is poor, and because of the long-held belief that arts are not as important as sciences, math and language. Arts and sports programs are the first to get the axe when cuts have to be made.  Still, there is a possibility that programs could be saved, but it will not be easy. Schools that have need would have to start reaching out to their community to provide support for these at-risk programs, and whether through grantwriting or oldfashioned fundraising, parents and teachers could make the effort and work together to provide the funding for their children's enrichment.  Doing so would help all students at a certain school take advantage of such programs regardless of their financial status, and serve to get parents more involved in their child's overall education.  Communities might also elect to support the formation of community charter schools. This type of progressive school is bound by state curriculum only to a certain extent and its mission is to synthesize all types of subjects into the students' body of knowledge by placing the arts at the forefront of education alongside mathematics and English.

For me, intelligence is the mixture of all my strengths and weaknesses and my ability to use me to approach and solve problems. Having succeded and failed both in spectacular fashion, I'd say I have a fair amount of intelligence, though not all easily gained.  I think my intelligence has been shaped a great deal more by that which I have failed to learn quickly and easily--failing forces me to repeat processes and be more creative in order to try a different method that may be the solution to my problem.  Because of this, I think of intelligence as something alive and constantly changing...whether for the better or the worse, I couldn't say.  I've never enjoyed screwing up, but (most of the time) I have learned my lesson and grown from it.

In a way, I think Sir Ken's message about creativity relates to some of what Stanley Kaplan talks about regarding standardized testing.  I feel Kaplan is right when he says that critical thinking skills are essential to mastering the SAT, and it's my opinion that to be a good critical thinker, you sometimes have to be creative in order to "think out" the less obvious answer.  Schools may be placing too much emphasis on teaching students to memorize facts and should consider taking more time to teach kids how to make sense of it all.  These kinds of skills can be further improved by placing emphasis on creative expression as well as logic--if students can create something new, they may be more apt to see a novel solution to a problem than those students focused on just the given information.

Calvin and Hobbes and BS

I really enjoyed the "Writing into the Day" on January 23, where we responded to the Calvin and Hobbes comic.  The way Calvin uses jargon to effect seems to me to be the point and punchline here, albeit a sad one.  The reality is that a lot of really bad writers are never identified as such because they camouflage bad ideas and theories beneath the cover of advanced vocabulary and stuffy academic concepts.  Fancy words can only go so far to cover up a poorly supported argument, yet it isn't always easy to distinguish the academic treasure from the trash.  I think it's better that we teach students to develop a strong writing voice and flesh out their argument clearly and concisely, rather than trying to redeem a BS paper by dusting it liberally with SAT-caliber vocabulary.  I love reading and I love to learn and use new words, but I think few things make you seem like a bigger idiot than when you misuse a fancy term in print. 

Also, I kept reading past the part Megan asked us to read in "My 54 Year Old Love Affair with the SAT" and developing vocabulary is mentioned at length towards the end of the piece.  Stanley Kaplan goes on about how to make words "yours" and I feel that his method for developing your word power is sound.  Though I must say I used to do a lot of really verbose writing while I was studying for the SAT and I am definitely guilty of using jargon a bit in my more immature moments.  Truth is, some teachers gave more credit for a good word choice than a good thesis, but luckily I had better teachers later on. Thankfully, they saw fit to show me that the real use of words is to give life to my ideas.  Guess those English teachers were the Hobbes to my Calvin after all...

My 54 Year Love Affair with the SAT Reading Response

            This reading is an excerpt of Stanley Kaplan’s own book where he explains how he was introduced to the SAT, a basic history of the SAT’s inception, how he developed a method to prepare students to take the SAT, and his opinions regarding the utility of the SAT as a part of the college admission process.  Kaplan believes the SAT functions as a good indicator of academic success in college because the test gauges students’ critical thinking and deduction skills rather than their ability to recall factual knowledge.  He supports this argument by giving examples of critical thinking from his own introduction to the concept, explaining how these skills are necessary for academic success, and outlining how critical thinking skills can be taught to students to improve their academic success for life.  Kaplan also believes that the test functions as both a necessary and equalizing force in the college admission process because it will promote diversity within the college population. He believes the test will help colleges to assess and admit students based on academic merit instead of socioeconomic factors.  He supports this argument by describing how the critical thinking skills tested by the SAT can be learned by a variety of students. He also talks about how this need to measure academic success in a reliable way occasioned the formation of the College Board, the organization responsible for the development of the SAT.  

            Mr. Kaplan believes the SAT is a very reliable and accurate tool for the measurement of academic success because he believes the cornerstone of academic success is rooted in critical thinking. He argues that students can prepare for the test, and thus prepare for college, by learning to think critically about basic concepts rather than just memorizing facts and figures.  I agree with him to some extent:  the test can be prepared for, but critical thinking is impossible if a student isn’t armed with a good base of general knowledge.  Kaplan thinks students don’t necessarily need exposure to basic concepts in order to perform well on the test and I feel this is a narrow point of view.  I agree with him that critical thinking is important, but I do not believe that persons lacking strong deduction skills should be denied admission to college.  College is where a majority of students really learn to think critically about their world for the first time, so using a tool like the SAT that may select against these students seems a bit less than reliable a method than Kaplan would have me believe.

            Additionally, Kaplan believes that the SAT will promote diversity in college populations because the test will help colleges admit students with differing socioeconomic and academic backgrounds who are united by their academic merit.  With this, Kaplan assumes that mental competency is accurately and completely measured by a tool like the SAT and that academic merit can be measured by testing certain subjects.  Math and verbal reasoning skills are the primary subjects tested on the SAT, and I believe limiting the SAT to these two subjects does keep the test from promoting a certain kind of diversity within the college population.  For example, students with aptitudes in theater arts may perform well on stage, but not necessarily well on a standardized test, and they deserve a place in college just like the mathematicians. 

I think Kaplan also assumes a direct correlation between test-taking ability and academic competency. A great number of intelligent people have documented difficulty taking standardized tests and testing ability or the lack thereof is not something to be ignored. If the SAT is the tool used to measure all students, it would seem that students that test well have an advantage over those that don’t. In this way, I believe that the SAT and other standardized tests may actually inhibit a certain kind of diversity within the college population.  For this reason, I am very glad to see that some more progressive colleges are making the SAT optional and many more are giving greater weight to other indicators of success like writing portfolios and work experience.

            I do not believe the SAT to be as important and valuable measuring tool as does Kaplan, nor do I believe it to be a great equalizer.  I’d like to ask Kaplan what he thinks of the test preparation industry today and how the need to prepare for the SAT has managed to draw class lines between students.  If the need for SAT testing preparation is so high, then how fair is it really to test students lacking test prep material right alongside those students whose socioeconomic status gave them a wealth of test preparation, even access to special courses like those Kaplan pioneered?

I’m also of the opinion that the SAT is a limited tool for measuring academic success in school because it doesn’t accurately measure students’ aptitude in specific fields of study. It seems the College Board also recognized the limitations of the SAT and saw the need to develop additional tests to gauge students’ knowledge of certain subjects in college. As a result, they recently created a set of SAT II Subject Tests. By taking these tests, students can demonstrate their aptitude in subjects like History or Chemistry in addition to critical thinking skills, giving colleges even more information on which to base their admissions decision.  I wonder what Kaplan would have to say about these Subject tests, whether or not he would think them worthwhile.  I have mixed feelings myself; I am not sure that having more test scores to be considered is a good thing because not all students will have the ability or resources to take them, giving yet another possible advantage to the more privileged class of students. 

While I do not completely agree with Stanley Kaplan’s opinions of the SAT, I do think that reading the excerpt of his book made me think about my opinions of school.  I think a lot of what Kaplan said about critical thinking is true, that it is essential to success in school to learn to think about “how and why” and synthesize all types of knowledge together.  I also think that in the current educational environment where students are constantly being measured with standardized tests, Kaplan’s test preparation methods have never been more essential for every student to learn. The popularity of tests like the SAT has helped standardized testing become the primary way students are assessed for competency. I believe standardized testing to be a necessary evil, but it is here to stay, and students would do well to take a lesson from Kaplan and “think out” the best way to use his test prep methods to their advantage. 

I think the line that stood out for me the most was where Kaplan says that he thinks he might have been admitted to medical school if a test like the SAT had been in existence.  As someone who has taken the both the SAT and the MCAT before, I can attest to the fact that success on a standardized test is largely dependent on one’s ability to think quickly and critically about the material presented; Kaplan clearly has that ability in spades. It seems to me that Kaplan feels that he didn’t get into medical school not because of other factors, likely because he wasn’t well-heeled or well-connected.  This is still an unfortunate reality in medical school admissions. No matter what the admissions committees say, even now, some decisions are based on who and not just what a candidate knows, and more than one qualified applicant has been passed over for one with a physician for a relative or a social connection.  I am glad to see this doesn’t happen as often as it must have in Kaplan’s day, and tools like the SAT and MCAT must have helped in a small way to help eliminate such preferential treatment and equalize admissions.  The system isn’t perfect, but tools like standardized tests do give admissions committees more information on which to base their decisions, something that Kaplan believed would help “democratize American education”. Even so, I feel that it may have worked out better for both Kaplan and me that he didn’t go to medical school.  It seems to me that his true passion was teaching, and without the test prep resources he developed and championed, I would have been just one more student among the many baffled by the SAT.  For that alone, I am much obliged to Mr. Stanley Kaplan for his life’s work, even if that work wasn’t in the field of medicine. 

This Writing History Brought to You by the Letter P

If I were asked to use one word to describe myself as a writer, the word would most definitely be “pensive”.   Those who view this as meaning hesitant may argue that I seem to be rather verbose, citing instances where I have spouted off passionately at some length on a blog or email.  Even so, it is essential to know that, with every word I have written, I have struggled for a while to even put pen to paper, fingertip to keyboard, or thought to mind.  This is primarily due to the fact that I can never quite dismiss my past writing history from my mind.  I was once a promising writer, but one epic failure in judgment has forever halted my writing voice and often threatens to stifle it completely. 

            I began my writing career nurtured by caring parents and teachers driven by the common goal of encouraging my academic success. So in my childhood, the “P” at this point stands for “progress”.  My mother, a teacher by profession, knew that the surest way to expose me to the writing process was through reading. During my early years, she dedicated herself to reading to and with me almost every night, and she also encouraged me to discuss what I had read.  Even now, I have a thirst for the written word that I cannot seem to quench.  More importantly, I gained early exposure to a veritable chorus of literary voices—from the dry, technical jargon used by the historian to the flowery prose favored by Jane Austen.  I believe this informed my own writing voice because it allowed me to see just how many different forms of expression could exist and how the tone of a work could be affected by even the simplest word choice. Under the careful eye of my mother, I began to think and eventually write critically about what I read, enabling me to have an early advantage in almost every school subject, to benefit from the academically gifted classes, and to perform well on standardized tests.

Later, a succession of great English teachers, most notably my eighth grade teacher Mrs. Patsy Davis, sought to impress upon me the structure and function of writing, while giving me freedom to express myself creatively.  I had done very little creative writing at that point because most of my teachers had been focused on grammar and hammering the five paragraph essay pattern into my mind.  Mrs. Davis encouraged me to really engage my reader though my writing, whether it be by grabbing the reader’s attention with a “hook” at the beginning or by using humor to make a point memorable.  I also learned that it was acceptable to break with convention at times if it would improve my writing, something that really empowered me to really change my overall writing style.  I also began to write solely for “pleasure”—to make the stories I read my very own, continuing where the book ended or crafting my own ending.  This led to me writing pieces of work that Mrs. Davis entered into several writing contests, some of which were honored with awards.  As a result, I gained a lot of confidence in my writing voice and learned that risks in writing can sometimes be taken if deemed necessary.  I feel it is during my middle and high school years that I reached the peak of my strength as a writer, and I credit this to my being blessed with passionate teachers.

            For as strong as my writing was in secondary school, I experienced a real downturn in my writing in college, culminating in an act of academic dishonesty that forever branded me with a P for “plagiarism”.  Coming into college at Wake Forest University, I was very proud of my past success in writing and had become so confident that I began to take planning and editing for granted.  I devoted the time that I should have spent on college papers to crafting elaborate emails and instant messages to friends I missed at other colleges.  I was too proud to admit that I made a grievous error in my choice of school, having made the selection based on the large scholarship I had won rather than whether I might even belong at the school in the first place.  In point of fact, it was a terrible fit for me—I suffered just as much inside the classroom as without, losing confidence in all my academic strength as a result of my inability to find my niche at the University.  I then made a choice that changed my life forever, for I decided to hastily submit a paper for a freshman English class in British Literature without checking grammar or references.  Bad grammar was the least of my problems! I had failed to cite my references properly and my professor felt this was deliberate, ultimately failing me in the class and bringing me before the Academic Affairs Committee for violating the Academic Honor Code on plagiarism.  In this one instance, I failed to give an author credit for her voice, and this lapse in judgment could have meant my expulsion from school. Truly sorry for what I had done, I went before the Committee with a proposal to help make amends to the University and my fellow students.  In it, I proposed that I would stand before my fellow students and confess what I had done and why, so as to serve as an example and warning of what not to do.  My proposal was accepted and I delivered a speech to the incoming freshman that year to warn them against allowing their academic integrity to falter even a little.  I really got myself together for that speech, throwing the best of my creativity into a piece of writing that would hopefully keep others from going down the same dark road I had already traveled.  Even though I delivered that speech successfully and eventually salvaged my pitiful college career, the damage was done. I lost any faith I had in my voice as a writer and to this day, I struggle with any writing assignment because I am halted and haunted by my past as a one-time plagiarist. Fear makes even the simplest writing task laborious and I have been known to turn in papers past due and even not at all, simply because I am so afraid of making the same mistake twice. 

            I’ve experienced a lot in my career as a writer, with true triumphs and dismal failures throughout.  I may have found my voice early, but one fatal mistake was enough to almost silence my writing voice forever.  I still struggle on a daily basis to craft a decent piece of writing, be it an email at work or this simple assignment on myself.  I attempt to remind myself that I was once a very good writer, nurtured by good teachers and parents to write with and without limits. But it is my failures that stand out to me and threaten to hold me back at every turn.  I do not plan any more than I ever did during the writing process and I know that—more than anything—I need help with developing and outline to stay focused. I also know that I need to be guided by a caring and concerned teacher who will help mitigate my fears with help editing and citing references.  I really can write in any environment, but I know I do best when I can be advised by a mentor who has my best interests at heart with acknowledgments to my past.  Many are shocked to hear of my past indiscretions with regard to writing, but I’m not surprised to hear that. Maybe I am too forthcoming with my issues, but I feel that they have only made me more cognizant of the real importance of quality writing in an academic setting.  From the rapid writing progress I exhibited early on to the pleasure I derived from writing creatively, and ultimately my humbling experience with plagiarism, I think my writing history is full of extremes. If experience has taught me anything, it is that I have an interesting and unique voice, when and if I can manage to get over my fears and say something.

Not All Timelines are Straight

  Writing/Schooling Timeline

My mother, a special education teacher and avid reader, has always represented the earliest and best influence on my identity as a student and writer.  She taught me to read very early in life, an act that led me to cultivate a lifelong love of learning. She also taught me the true value of education--how your performance in school directly affected your ability to succeed in life.  I worked very hard in school, achieving top grades all throughout, while my mother worked hard to reward that success with praise and incentives, which invariably took the form of new books. From very early on, I was encouraged to read and discuss books with her, giving me early exposure to concepts of reflection and critical thinking.  Learning to read, think, and eventually write about the books I read with my mother gave me an early advantage in school, and I have hear to thank for much of my success in childhood.

I was also fortunate enough to have a fantastic English teacher in middle school who served as another catalyst in my development as both writer and student.  Patsy Davis, a whirling dervish of poofy black hair and cat-eye glasses, recognized my love of books and encouraged me to keep their stories alive.  She asked me to continue where the books left off and introduced me to the powerful concept of humor in writing.  I was allowed to be silly, sarcastic, even bend the rules of the assignment if it would help me write a good story.  Several of the pieces I wrote in her eighth grade class were entered into writing contests. I was honored with several awards, giving me the confidence to keep writing well and often. Mrs. Davis was also the person that introduced me to the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham and encouraged me to apply there when I was eligible.  Her son was a senior at NCSSM at the time and she thought I could really benefit from that kind of dynamic learning environment. 

Later, after writing an entrance essay edited by Mrs. Davis, I was accepted to the Class of 2000 at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.  Though the name suggests utter devotion to anything but the humanities, it was in History and English class that I truly excelled.  To my surprise, I was put to shame in science classes, ultimately coming close to failing Organic Chemistry and risking dismissal from the school. My professor, Dr. Myra Halpin, helped me learn and retain by employing pnemonics and other memory aids similar to those used with quotes and vocabulary words.  I buckled down and employed all my efforts into understanding the Chemistry; when it clicked for me, it was like I had learned to read all over again. I fell in love with the subject and resolved to major in Chemistry in college. At NCSSM, I had learned humility for the first time in my academic career.  I realized that it wasn't always going to come as easily as it had before--getting off track and almost failing taught me that life and learning are both difficult, yet ultimately rewarding.

I next attended Wake Forest University on a full scholarship for community service.  Swollen with pride at having won a full ride and several exemptions due to AP credit, I entered into advanced freshman classes and resolved to show my brilliance to the school.  However, I did not fit in at all at the University, and my lackluster academic performance was a direct reflection of that.  Instead of studying notes and writing papers, I focused all my energy into what was, at that point, the most fashionable form of writing--IMing using AOL Instant Messenger.  I would spend countless hours writing to friends I desperately missed who were attending other colleges, even chatting with total strangers. I skipped class to craft the perfect pithy away message, and I disdained emoticons as a lazy form of communication.  I spent so much time writing on AIM that I gave very little time to my academic work, the result of which was that I failed to cite my references correctly in a paper I wrote for British Literature. I simply couldn't be bothered to give credit to another author's voice, an act which violated the Honor Code on plagiarism and forever changed my schooling and writing trajectory.  I took a failing grade in the course and wrote letters of apology to my classmates, professor, and the Dean of Academic Affairs.  I also was scheduled to appear before the Academic Affairs Committee to decide whether or not I would be suspended from the University.  Truly sorry for what I had done, I resolved to get myself together and wrote a proposal outlining how I would make amends to the University and my fellow students.  I proposed that I would give a speech to the freshman class about plagiarism and and serve as an example of what not to do--a speech that would be mandatory for every freshman to hear and would become a part of the Student Life 101 series of lectures alongside those cautioning against underage drinking and hazing in the Greek system.  The Committee thought this was a novel idea and accepted my proposal; I prepared the speech with their help and delivered it to the freshman class that fall.  When I gave the speech, I wore a red P on my chest like the A worn by Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter,and even now, I'm not sure if I've ever really taken it off in my heart.  I lost a great deal of faith in myself and in my writing as a result of this incident, but I devoted the rest of my academic career to making things right and giving credit where it is due.

I transferred to UNC Charlotte not long after giving that speech, a change that made a remarkable difference in my academic performance.  I've done fairly well and am not ashamed to say I've avoided writing as much as possible while at UNCC. Choosing to major in Chemistry was a definitely a calculated decision--I knew I enjoyed the field and I knew that I would only have to write two research papers in order to complete the major requirements.  Even so, I knew the day would come when I would have to take an English course as a part of the General Education requirement.  I avoided it until the very end, and as I sit in English class, I am not scared in the least to say that I am very concerned.  My mind is full of good memories of wonderful teachers that encouraged me to grow as a writer. Yet, fighting for space in my head are the memories of my past academic dishonesty and the crushing blow it dealt to my self-confidence. My identity as a student and as a writer seems to be, in a word, non-traditional.  I have certainly not followed a straight path through, but I am not entirely convinced that's a bad thing.  My experiences to date have made me the person I am and I have to hope that they will make me, if not a decent writer, then at least an interesting voice in the conversation.

Reflection on Writing Timeline

As a writer, I believe that I was greatly affected by the presence of several truly passionate mentors, all of whom encouraged me to read and write about what I had written.  My mother encouraged me as a child to read all the time, allowing me to gain exposure to new voices and ideas.  Later, I was encouraged by teachers like Mrs. Davis and Dr. Halpin. With their guidance, I discovered novel methods of learning and writing so that I might approach a subject from a new angle and meet the challenges as they came. I also believe that all the people involved in my experiences at Wake Forest taught me to accept responsibility for what I produce as a writer and to show respect others' intellectual property.  I think this may be the most important lesson I have learned to date.

For obvious reasons, my worst writing is that fated British Literature paper where I failed to cite my references properly, resulting in a violaton of the academic Honor Code.   I sincerely doubt whether I will ever be able to come out from the shadow cast by such a disgrace. Still, I put my best efforts into making amends for my behavior and serving as a cautionary tale to those who would benefit most from it.  I think the worst thing about the whole ordeal is the fact that I have lost faith in my writing to the point where I second guess every word I write and have trouble finishing assignments.

It seems that my best environment for writing includes an encouraging, engaging teacher and a place where I can devote a lot of time to writing and editing.  I write best at home because I am most comfortable there, but I think I need to write in a classroom where I can benefit from the guidance of a skilled writing advisor or teacher.  I do not edit my own papers very well; I used to write A+ papers in one sitting, but I know I need someone close to edit them now and definitely check my references for completeness.  When I get started writing I just sit down at the computer and start typing.  I rarely have a plan or outline unless it is required for the assignment to be complete, and I recognize this to be a major flaw in my writing process.

After reading my timeline, it's clear that I have been lucky to have a number of passionate mentors who directly contributed to my love of learning and got me involved in the writing process early.  I also think that I have been profoundly impacted by my experience with plagiarism; I learned a hard lesson about life that has not left me with the strongest voice as a writer.  I would like to think that other writers can learn from my mistakes and recognize the importance of writing with purpose, clarity, and, if nothing else, properly cited references.

 Reflection on Schooling Trajectory

After reading my timeline, I think that it's safe to say that the trajectory I've taken in school has been far from conventional.  That said, I think the path I've taken has made me just as passionate and inquisitive a person as my mentors.  I have had the privilege of being taught by wonderful instructors from very early on, like my mother and my teachers in middle and high school. With their help, I discovered how to learn, retain, and make the knowledge my very own.  Even so, I have been humbled greatly by several of my experiences in school and have failed just as spectacularly as I have succeeded.  My writing has taken a similar path, with extreme highs and lows in my ability to express myself. At a glance, it seems so tightly woven together that I can barely distinguish on path from another. The path I have traveled, while anything but straight, will undoubtedly affect the direction I will travel from here. My only hope is that

there are good things ahead.