Final Reflection

      Taking AP World History class has been one of the smartest decision I've ever taken.  I decided to enrolled in the class because I heard the good comments about Mr. Rodriguez,  people said that he was going to be a good teacher and that he will make sure that I understand everything. The course improved my writing and reading skills, there were many challenges due to the amount of homework that I received, I learned how to study in many ways and also,  I now have a better understanding of the world we live in today and I'm happy to say that I give my effort to the class.

    The course improved my writing,  reading and comprehension skills. I arrived to the United States when I was in sixth grade, Spanish is my native language. The academic vocabulary that the class scared me at first and I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it trough the class. I read the first chapter and only understood half but I started to look for definitions which made everything more clear. Later throughout the year, I was able to understand more and more about the lectures.  As I improved my reading and writing skills, I also improved my vocabulary and new words were gained. I started to use words like conduit,  stratification,  surplus that I never thought I would use. Words that I now believe are crucial to use while writing. Also I became better at writing essays,  using charts to put down my ideas about a certain topic. Starting an essay is not hard anymore I learned many ways to start one,  background information or a generalization about the period or topic. My vocabulary was taken to a whole new level, I learned words that I now use on a everyday basis.

   One of the many challenges of the class was time management,  there is a great amount of homework implicated in this class and sometimes time is not enough to finish you homework. I remember that last year used to get home from school and take thirty minutes to do my homework and then went to sleep. This year my sleeping hours changed in a very drastic way, I'm involved in many extracurricular activities, therefore I get late from school,  which minimizes my homework time. I had to give up my favorite sport for the class,  volleyball,  which actually was a good idea because I did very good on the class. Parties,  family time and time with my friends was given up in order to pass the class with a good grade. The time that I spent reviewing help me for tests and to understand history. Mr. Rodriguez gave us many options to choose from to study, review packets, note cards which improved my vocabulary and learning skills. I learned many techniques to study from and  use them to start essays. I also learned how to analyze documents and interpret them.

       I really liked the class,  I feel like I put enough effort into it. I really liked the teacher's way of teaching, very diverse and entertaining.  One of the things that I really liked is the way in which things were explained because it answer many of my concerns. History is very important because it gives you an explanation of why some regions are more prosperous than others which for goes back to imperialism for example in Africa, or colonialism in Latin America. I don't regret anything, because even though Mr.Rodriguez didn't check the homework I always did it.  I put a great amount of work and effort into the class,  more than others that have more credit or a better grade, I tried my best to understand the material and sometimes I failed but others I succeeded. One thing I wish I would off done is speak,  give my thoughts, my opinions which I always kept to my self. I kept many questions, due to my fear of being wrong. I wish I could go back to the beginning and ask everything that came to my mind.

  Overall the class was an amazing experience, many skills were improved. I learned new ways to understand material and improved my comprehension about history and other aspects. I challenged myself to something new and I don't regret it.