AP United States History was the most difficult class I took in High School. As a sophomore, it was the first time I was in a class that was self-driven rather than conventionally taught. It focused heavily on note taking outside of class, and the in-class time was about applying what we learned to the real world and analyzing its overall effect on society. My goal going into the class was not to get an A or B, but rather to become more self-disciplined for the future. My goal was to grow as a learner, and to prove that I am capable of teaching myself. I succeeded in the aspect that I learned self-discipline. Beyond this, I learned that I prefer to self-teach over just being told how something is. We were given a book, notepad and pen, and with those we were told to learn all about American history. We were told to make connections between the past and present, and about how policies effected the fabric of society. We were not told what those connections were, or how those policies effected society, rather we had to explorer it ourselves. It forced me to critically think about the world, and to truly understand American history. Through …show more content…
Even though I sat down every night and did my notes, and I made those connections that we were told to find, I did not realize that I was teaching myself. I viewed it as a conventional class with extra work, which is not how it was. I think that my failure to realize this ended up hindering my ability to thrive. I did not go far enough to learn all that I could, nor did I make all the right connections, because I still had an expectation that the information would be handed to me, and I did not realize early enough that it would not be. I did not understand that I was responsible for teaching myself until after the class. If I had realized that I had the ability to teach myself rather than be taught earlier on, I would have been in a better position to