Going into sophomore year, I signed up for all the honors classes I could take as I had never really felt challenged in school before. My parents, unlike the stereotype, do not provide the bulk of the "stress" I feel; they don't push me into higher classes that I may not be ready for, throwing me into a deep end where I am unable to swim. They know I put enough pressure on myself to do well, so they don't need to affect that anymore. Since Global History is an honors contract class, I wasn't sure if another honors would push me over the edge and I was very hesitant to sign the form. Looking back on this year, I would have regretting not taking this class in honors. One of the biggest learning opportunities this honors class provides is in leadership and self direction. Through leading a class project and designing and teaching a lesson plan, I grew as a student.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
This document is the lesson plan I created to teach the class about how the Cold War manifested itself in Vietnam. As a honors assignment, it was very independent. I felt very nervous before teaching because I had never done anything like that, especially alone, before. Earlier in the year, I led a class project which also was new to me. I found both of these times to be great learning opportunities for my leadership skills. With this teaching assignment, I was pushed out of my comfort zone and had no other people to depend on other than myself. I worked hard preparing to teach the class because I needed to fully understand the in's and out's of the topic, as if I didn't know something, there wasn't another kid I could rely on to come in with the answer. I also improved leadership skills by creating specific directions and tasks for the class to do so I would know they learned something from my presentation. I directed them during this time to make sure they were on task and fully understood the assignment.
At the beginning of the year, I wasn't necessarily bad at leading groups or being able to direct myself and work independently, but with the opportunities from this class, I was able to improve on these skills. Especially with the class projects, leading allowed me to figure out the most effective ways to motivate others to do their work, and organize the group and each individual's task. Along with the ability to lead groups, being able to lead yourself and not rely on others is an important life skill I improved on this year and hope to continue growing in.