TOW #30

Hello new APELC students,

Don't be afraid of the upcoming year. Maybe you have heard some negative things about the course, but in all honesty, it's not scary. With supportive, helpful and communicative teachers like Mr. Yost and Ms. Pronko, someone will always be there to help you even if you don't think you are ready to write another essay or annotate another reading passage. You can talk to them about anything, ask them to give you suggestions on every assignment, and simply trust in the fact that although your grades (at first) may not reflect what you think you're capable of, they will rise by the end of the course, along with your character and ability as a student.

For me, personally, I know that this is true. My very first essays (the one assigned over the summer and the first timed essay we did in class) earned a score of a 3 and a 4. Previously, in honors english classes, most of my papers earned an A or a high B. I walked into this class thinking that it would be easy because it was mostly writing, and the lowest grade I had ever gotten on a paper was an 85. When the 3 (around a 65%) went into Sapphire, I was almost certain that I would be getting a C for the year or worse. I wasn't sure how I would be able to survive AP English with writing skills that I originally thought were good that actually were only worthy of a low D. However, my last two essays written (one a take-home essay scored by Mr. Yost, and the other an in-class essay scored by my peers) scored an 8 each. I know personally that my writing improved over the length of the course, and I know that the writing of my peers have as well. The average essay-writing score improved about 3 or 4 points for the class as a whole, and when the time came to take the AP exam, I know that we were all prepared to the best of our abilities. By the end of the year, I know that you will feel the same way.

An important thing about this course is that you should remember to keep your head up, that you are a good student, and that you are trying, even if your Sapphire is reporting numbers that you've never seen in your grade book before. If you have to, don't even look at Sapphire. Sapphire can, in some cases, only bring you down and checking it every two days does nothing to improve your self esteem as a student. So instead of worrying about your grades, try to concentrate on writing more. Do practice essays at home. See Ms. Pronko or Mr. Yost during study halls to hear what they have to say about your writing. Bring in more than one paper, so they can identify common mistakes that you make and help you correct them going forward. All the help that you need to do well is available, as long as you ask for it.

So sure, in the beginning of the year, you may not feel ready to do well in the class. But, as Mr. Yost pointed out, APELC wouldn't exist if everyone was a rhetorical master as they entered it. But if you stick with it, do your work, and ask for help when you need it, you will be successful coming out of it.

Good luck, remember to relax, it's only school, and have confidence in yourself!
Sydney Hale

TOW #29

The main claim made in the documentary was that bullying is a serious problem that can do more harm than some of us may think. I know that at Wissahickon, or at least in my personal experience at Wissahickon, I have never experienced the harsh realities of bullying, but in this documentary I have seen firsthand that it can lead to self harm, depression or suicide. Because of this, school officials should treat bullying with the utmost importance. As shown in the video, administrators say to the parents that they will do everything to stop what is going on, but people simply don't know the extent or aren't willing to go to the extent that they need to to stop the bullying that is going on. Parents who care about their children aren't even aware because the kids are scared to inform their parents of what's going on. In many cases like these, the bullying is then left unattended and simply becomes worse, as the bullies themselves realize that there is no negative consequence for picking on someone, as long as it makes them feel good.

Because of this, I fully support the stance that we need to educate people about and try our hardest to prevent bullying. The cost of losing a child to bullying is far greater than the cost to simply go to schools and help administrators understand how to deal with bullies, or helping kids understand that bullying is always the wrong thing to do. Documentaries like Bully should be shown in our own high school and the anti-bullying message should be a more prominent one in assemblies, posters, or on the morning announcements.