This class is my favorite class this semester. The overall atmosphere, workload, and pace appeals to me very much. Prior to taking this class, I was not looking forward to a college-level English class just because I've had bad history with English classes in high school. I realized my only issue with English classes is not the class itself but the way I've been taught in those classes. Maybe, coming from Durham Public Schools, I wasn't taught to my fullest potential in an English class but in a college-quality environment, I have someone who is completely invested in my progress and that gave me the right perspective on the fields of English study.
The atmosphere comes perfectly together by fact that everyone feels welcome. No one is the odd one out in the classroom and because everyone is the odd one; unique in their own way. Icebreakers such as improvs really brings us together and lets us open up. The concept of "Yes, and but" gives us the opportunity to be open-minded for others and lets us be more expressive about ourselves. I thought coming in at 8am would be a pain just because its so early and I'm always out late, but when I walk in the class every other morning, I don't feel the tension or the stress that I'd usually feel in most classes. I could walk into this class, everyday without a cup of coffee because I'd never get tired out because there is too many interesting things that go on in that class, grabbing my attention.
Coming from a guy who balances 40 hours of work a week, chartering a fraternity, and school, it's safe to say that the workload in this class isn't too little nor too much. The work you give us is a fair amount, that with prior planning, could be done easily. Not just prior planning, but motivational investment, the outcome of every assignment can be great. For every large writing assignment we had, it was broken down, bit by bit, to give the final product it's best result.
The pace of everything in the class was perfect. For each large assignment, we weren't just given a deadline to complete the task. We broke things up and completed small tasks first, to ensure everyone was on the same page and everyone was accounted for when working together. I've never found myself weeded out because an assignment took too much effort. Especially, the Inquiry Piece where the whole class thought it'd be too long to do but we were completely caught off guard by the fact that we worked on most of it all this time. Unlike most professor's I've had, your plans throughout the semester wasn't just to give us an assignment, instead you give us the basics and steps to getting that assignment done. Throughout the writing process, I felt more value in the journey rather than the destination.
You may be one of the few people who genuinely care about their students. Especially when giving leniency and extensions on assignments upon requests of students.
Nearing the end of this class, I am certain I learned a couple things. Writing will always be in my life and my peers' lives, even if they don't think so. Whether it's hands on paper, or the swift strikes of our fingertips on a keyboard, there is something powerful about words that needs to be drawn and observed. Here, at North Carolina State University, I am certain that my peers and I will grow to become greater people and in a greater world, words will be stronger than it is now and writing is something that brings those words to life.