I’ll be honest; I’ve never liked English classes. When I
came to Hamilton I decided to make the most of my liberal arts education and
take one, hoping to rid myself of all the negativity that my high school classes had made
me feel towards English. From the first day of class when Janelle introduced
herself, I knew that this course would change my opinion for the better.
All of my college courses have been consistently the same:
read this, memorize that, do this problem set, and regurgitate every piece of
information back on the tests. This course has been the exception. I am able to
be creative and really use my mind for good. We’ve been given so much freedom,
and I have been forced to think outside the box, something that most professors
never allow us to do. We are enabled to our own opinion. It is a rare occasion that
a professor truly takes students’ ideas into consideration.
This class has opened me up to a whole new world that I’ve
never before been exposed to. I can now think freely, write with ease, and voice
my opinion in class discussions. I have Janelle and my classmates to thank for
that. I’ve grown as a student by learning not only from my professor, but also from all of my peers. Everyone is so engaged in class discussions, and I have not
left a single class without taking away an important message.
I now find myself seeing the manipulation that exists in
everything. I do few things without questioning my ulterior motives. Taking
this class was a risk for me, but I can truthfully admit that doing so has been
one of my best choices of my college career thus far.
I couldn't agree more. I have never been an "English person," but I wanted to take at least one English class at Hamilton. This class changed my perspective on English classes because it has taken close reading and paper writing and broadened it to connect to our daily lives and how we interact with the world and the manipulation that comes with it. Janelle has given us the power to make our own choices and push back against manipulation. At first, I was very uncomfortable with the freedom we were given, but I have sincerely come to appreciate her methods and have taken so much from the class. It was a risky decision for me too, but I couldn't be happier that I got the opportunity to take this class with Janelle.
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