Masterpiece Academy Question

Hannah Savaso

Period 4

                Personally senior year was a year of growth for me. I saw growth in all aspects of my life: emotionally, academically, and physically (one inch to be exact). I learned a lot about myself, others, and the world around me. One of my biggest eye opening experiences was in my AP Literature and Composition class. Day one I could tell that senior year English was not going to be like any class I had before. This class was going to push boundaries, to make me think, to go above and beyond. All through school I had always loved learning however this year was different. This year I not only loved but also fully embraced learning. The Open Source Learning techniques presented in class made it easier to embrace learning inside as well as outside the classroom. Learning became a lifestyle not an occupation I participated in from 8 to 2.

                Open Source Learning put us students in charge of our education. Freedom? Decisions? In high school? I know it’s pretty unheard but I was a firsthand participant and witness. This new source of power gave many students including me self a sense of responsibility. I felt pride in the fact that I was entrusted to lead myself and my peers in our academic journey. After eleven long years of being told what to do, it felt well deserved to finally be able to take some control over my education.

                During the journey I have taken this past year, I found myself relating to many characters in literature. In the most recent book I read “The Book Thief” I found many similarities between myself and the main character Liesel Meminger. At first glance you may think that Liesel’s fiery attitude and witty comebacks are all that we have in common, but the similarities don’t stop there. Liesel, much like myself this year, was thrown into an environment she was very unfamiliar and uncomfortable with and was expected to thrive. After time passed, Liesal and I both learned to adapt to and love our new and very different surroundings. Besides Liesal, I found myself identifying with Bernard from “Brave New World”. In AP Lit we were all kind of Bernards, questioning the world and accepted learning methods around us. The last literary character I found myself connecting with was Jing-Mei Woo from “The Joy Luck Club”. In the beginning of “The Joy Luck Club” Jing-Mei feels unsure of herself and what she is capable of. However, as time passes Jing-Mei begins to recognize her potential and what she can achieve. This journey of self-doubt to self-realization parallels the one I endured this year.

                This year I have reconnected to and ignited a number of my passions. I would say the biggest passion I reconnected to this year was just the simple joy of learning. This year, more than any other, I appreciated what I was reading or seeing because it truly interested and engaged me. It is so easy to lose this passion when you are in classes that only use workbooks and worksheets as learning tools. In addition to learning, my passion for adventure sparked in a big way at the end of this year.  For our masterpiece, my friends and I decided to go on as many adventures as we could in the time we had left together. This project fueled my passion to travel and experience the world in its entirety.

                This past week I saw a common thread through many of the masterpiece presentations and mine. Hayley Forett’s blog “How to Love High School” highlighted a lot of the same kind of experiences that my group’s blog Theadventuresofus.tumblr.com did. Breanna, Whitney, and Eli’s theme of living each day like your last was similar to the make the most out of every day mentality my group had. Both Miranda and Danny’s videos about high school and growing up touched on the concept of fleeting time that our video did. It was eye opening to see that so many kids were/are feeling the same kind of positive thoughts that my group is about high school, graduation, and the future.

                This year I went through my own little mini version of “The Allegory of the Cave.” I learned that there are alternative and effective ways of learning that do not solely depend on lengthy textbooks and endless lectures. I was once in the cave of dark uniform education, but now I am aglow with new possibilities (and the light from my Open Source Learning computer screen). I feel enlightened and even more than that, I feel the need to share my experience with others, because after all that is what OSL is all about.