So right here, following Chris Matthews' 'Let Me Finish' segment, give me your closing thoughts......comments, critiques, advice for future AP Government & Politics students. What did you like? Dislike? I will use your feedback, and it will be your final 5 points of the semester.
BTW, Justices, 5-4, Tell California to Cut Prisoner Population
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/us/24scotus.html?hp
38 comments:
Like: The course was really interesting. I had always had an interest towards politics and I had liked the American part. I was unsure of Comparative at first but I eventually grew around to it. I liked when we did different activities and round table discussions
Dislike: Tests, quizzes, etc. We shouldn't have them.
Things you should definitely cover more heavily I felt real shaky on these during the AP test especially the frqs:
-Your past career as a journalist
-Bono
-Strom Thurman and his 24 hour filibuster after sitting in the sauna the night before
-Chris Matthews
-Bono
-Your blog
-The thought hive
-Dave (especially the part about you being the government)
-Bono
-Beanbag
-Bono
-Bono
Definitely less of this stuff:
-Comparative government
-US government
oh and definitely talk more about bono forgot about him
Hey Mr. Wolak. This year of government has been great! It has really sparked my interest in both US government and also countries around the world. The knowledge that you "dropped" to us throughout our chapters really helped when AP tests came around because I found myself remembering many specific facts and examples. A thing I would change for next year would be focusing some more on our comparative countries, especially Mexico.
the class was fun! I learned a lot even if it seemed like i didn't. I think there should have been more time for the presidential race part of the course, and also more deliberations, because those were the best. also there should be an ap gov forum, because that would rock. check the forum!!
Like: I enjoyed learning more about politics and government, and what really happens "behind the curtain." Furthermore, this class gave me confidence that I could in fact start and complete an AP course if I put my mind to it. Thanks Mr. Wolak for being a great coach for my three years of XC, and simply understanding me at times.
Dislike: this final project that's literally at the end of the year. I can't focus anymore!
~ Brian Strum
I disliked the comparative section, it was all just one big random generalization. Mark Twain once said that "All generalizations are false, including this one". Their can't be science like answers to any social studies. All social studies is just opinions. The college board does not understand this and turns it into one big right or wrong generalization which can't just be randomly thought about a culture. I would be pissed if somebody tried to write a textbook about my culture and made random generalizations and/or grouped me my race, geography, or economics. I wonder what most of the people in these countries would of thought if they read our books and realized that we are taught to think certain things about them, and then are tested on our ability to create an opinion about them.
Like: From knowing very little about politics it definitely opened my eyes and taught me to effectively back up my beliefs. The focus on current events helped me to apply what booksmarts to streetsmarts. Comparative was neat because I've never had a class like it, and it opened my eyes to why certain problems are occurring, and made me a more well rounded person.
Dislike: lazy boys who never brought in food but made the girls do it.
Overall I liked the course. I enjoyed all of the projects and they were entertaining yet educational and it kept the course fun. Second semester went by really quickly though. I don't think we had enough time to cover all of the comparitive countries. I'm going to miss your class.
Who knew you had a blog?
Anyway, the class was fantastic. I not only had a ton of knowledge dropped on me, but I also had a lot of fun. I'd hang a lantern on your problem, but the class really doesn't have too many flaws. If anything, get a bit more specific with the recent policy of comparative countries. Additionally, Youth & Gov participation should be made mandatory.
Do way more deliberations. Those were sweet. If you want people to actually know anything about comparative government when second semester, I would advise not breaking everyone into country groups- or at least having a few more assignments that everyone has to do. Because frankly, once I finished my Russia presentation, I checked out, and I'm pretty sure at least 85% of the seniors are with me on that. But then again I also liked that it was a smart class but I could semi blow it off too. That was neat. Also, make sure you tell the same stories five or six times each like this year, that way they really sink in. I would never have understood that whole sauna thing with Strom Thurmond unless you told it to us eighty times. Or how people in Ireland hate euros. In all seriousness though, for all the crap I'm giving you in this post, I did for the most part enjoy the class, and I actually did learn alot first semester at least. Peace out homes.
This was definitely my favorite class of this year and one of the best I have taken in high school! I think you teach in such an engaging manner that makes government super interesting and fun. I feel like that 60 pt current events journal was unnecessary and that we needed to spend more time on Mexico and Nigeria, but that aside, I still think every person was equipped with the knowledge to get a 5 on both tests. I'm really going to miss this class, thanks for the enthusiasm you brought to class everyday and for letting 3rd period have a rave and for dropping knowledge on us everyday. and i like all of casey's suggestions.
hey wolak im commenting here cuz the assignment thing wasnt up so i guess here is my final comment :) thanks for a great year, i really enjoyed it actually, and i remember thinking that i wasnt prepared for the test while i was studying and reviewing and then when we got to the test and reviewing online the night before i was pleasantly surprised by the fact that i knew a lot more than i thought i did and i actually have learned a lot this year, so thanks again for a great year :) and i will see you in the future (who knows maybe i will be cheering patrick on at state one day!?)
Also, in response to katy, the boys really appreciated all the food :) sooooo THANKS!!!!!
This class was definitely...interesting. Whenever i did actually look at the blog I did like reading the articles that you posted up, I just wish you put up more "assignment related" ones so I'd check it more often instead of just posting random ones and telling us to look at it every so often. It also would've been a little better if our class would have kept quiet...instead of talking every 5 seconds and interrupting you while you were giving us important information and then ruining my thought process. Other than that, I felt like this year went well. The other thing I liked was our blog presentations, more for us actually working on them rather than hearing the other groups present them because we actually focused on those specific countries which helped a lot.
Like: all the interesting stories and people that we learned about. (Some of the people in class also count)
Dislike: the fact that not as much material was able to be covered due to riveting conversations during class.
I loved this class! Apart from the randomness and the Bono and Chris Matthews.....etc, just the stuff we coved was really interesting. I like how tied to current events it was. And of course, the knowledge that was dropped was really helpful for the AP tests. Maybe it was just me personally but it kind of scared me to push Mexico so far back and have it so close to the test. Oh, and I definitely agree with Casey that Strom Thurman's filibuster is essential to our understanding of this course.
Less bright green presentations. Less presentations in general.
I felt like we learned more by having discussions instead of listening to you and reading the book. Did we have any discussions during comparitive?
Also, more dave.
I really enjoyed how this class taught both basic, fundamental things about government but also served as a current events class as well. I liked all our class discussions and all the fun we had together. But at the same time a ton of knowledge was dropped.
The most disappointing moment for me was during the movie Dave, when we finally heard the line "I am the government," it was not nearly as epic as you made it seem.
Overall, I liked the class. U.S Gov was a good experience, because we got to learn about current issues and how the government deals with them, much more than we did in past social studies classes. I never had an interest in politics before, and this class made the experience a good one. I especially liked the Comparative part of the class, since up until now, we mostly learned and discussed the U.S Government. learning about other types of government and how they dealt with similar problems was really interesting.
What I didn't like was the about of reading quizzes we had. We should have discussed the chapter more before the quizzes.
I really liked some of the concepts introduced in this class. I feel like it wasn't necessarily hard, it was just time consuming. Most of information I learned helped me diversify my interests and reinforce the fact that I don't want to go into politics. For the amount of work that I put in I felt you prepped us really well for the tests. It got a bit smushed towards the end, but that happens in a lot of classes.
I love how fun the class is, and how that adds to my actual learning. I always learn more because there is just a sense of passion for government in the room. I swear on the AP test I was having flashbacks to some of our class talks and remembered answers from jokes, etc. I wish we'd spent more time on the actual structure of comparative governments, though. Maybe a little more hardcore political structure and less social discussion would have been helpful.
It's been an awesome year, thanks for running a class I looked forward to everyday, Mr. Wolak! I'm going to miss it and your passion for AP Gov next year!
This class was truly interesting and became one of my favorite classes this year. I am glad I am more educated not only on US governemnt, but the governments of other nations as well. I enjoyed the way you taught us the material and class discussions really helped me understand the concepts even better. My only dislike would be that I felt we were a bit rushed towards the end of comparative and I wish we were able to spend more time on each country. But overall, I think we were still able to understand the main ideas of each country. Thank you for an enjoyable year, Mr. Wolak!
i learned a lot more than I thought I did. the course was really interesting, and I really liked the first semester project. maybe next year do check ups for it every few weeks to make sure they are doing it, because that was a pain in the butt to do the night before. thank you for a great year!
I enjoyed both the us and comparative parts of the course. I definitely thought the use of the blog and electronic media was extremely helpful, and it made some of the information more interesting and engaging. That and the random tidbits of information and the "dropping" of fun facts, as well as important knowledge made ap gov unique. I liked that a lot of assignments were electronic so I would definitely continue doing that. I thought a lot of good information and material was covered, and I definitely benefited from the class and will take the experience and mentality with me.
As for improvements, certainly encourage more electronic media and assignments, and keep up with that...
and as for the reading material,
if you want to encourage more reading I would have more in class discussion over reading material.
All in all, it was a fun year and I'm glad I took ap gov!
I wasn't the most respectful student in your class, or the most intelligent, or the most eager to learn, or much of anything at all. But as I made rude comments and interrupted class and made fun of everything worth making fun of, I also gained from your class a deeper understanding and appreciation for government and politics, which is more than I can say for many of my other classes. Through AP Gov and the Youth & Gov program, I rediscovered my love of public speaking and debate. In-class discussions taught me to consider both sides of an argument and deal with the intensely conservative members of our class (you know who you are). This by far was my favorite part of the class. Reading quizzes were my least favorite part. I feel that they served no purpose but to lower my grade and make me feel worthless overall.
Anyway. I guess you could say this is my way of apologizing for being slightly obnoxious in your class, and my way of thanking you for an unforgettable experience.
wolakwolakwolakwolakwolakwolakwolak.
I feel like the class needed more structure. For instance, I would have liked more concise powerpoints with basic information, rather than large blocks of text. Also, I felt like there were a lot of projects that took a substantial amount of time. Overall, I liked the discussion-based style of the class, but in general, I would have preferred more structure.
Mr Wolak,
It has truly been a pleasure to be a part of your class this year for AP Gov! Personally, I found the course material quite interesting and enjoyable, especially the comparative sections. I felt that your continual "knowledge dropping" of specific details and facts as well as the quarterly group projects ensured that we were well prepared for the AP Exam. I would suggest that we put greater focus on the comparative portion, as most of the american gov't material consists of review. Other than that, this class has been awesome! Best of Luck next year!
-Manoj
Even though I refused to take notes in your class, I felt that I really learned a lot, especially through your side stories. You should tell more of those. I also like the fact that you got me into listening to some of Bono's music.
Thanks for a great year!
-Alex Ding
I actually really loved this class, even if it ain't beanbags.
The one thing I'd change is I think we should spend a bit more time on comparative. This is incredibly biased, considering that I just prefer the material. But also, US history gives us a pretty strong foundation for the material we learn in US Gov. We have very little insight on countries like Nigeria who aren't frequently in the news and are never in our textbooks before we take this class. So having more time to review the things we're less certain of might be beneficial.
Also, make someone get Tshirts next year. I feel like all those catch phrases of yours have gone to waste without one.
Overall, AP Gov was a really great class. I loved the interactive projects, your stories, in-class discussions, and the current event videos. During the AP test, my mind definately flashed back to these moments. Only suggestions I have are to spend more time on comparative government and to put more curricular stuff on the blog (possibly powerpoints that we didn't finish in class....). Also, it would be helpful if groups made study guides about their countries and handed them out to everyone while they presented their comparative country blog. This would have really helped while studying for the AP test.
I wish we had less group projects.
Wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak wolak
Like: the stories, discussions and videos we had in class were awesome! they really helped not only spark interest in political topics, but also helped understanding the topics.
Dislike: sometimes, only sometimes, i felt like we never really got to the point. the discussions were awesome, but sometimes i didn't really know the reason behind them.
My guy Wolak! Wolakwolakwolakwolakwolakwolakwolakwolak... I must say, when I met you in Ireland in the local pub, I didn't know what to think of your career as a print journalist. I thought you would've been sued for millions of dollars or something. But it has led you to become a great teacher! You know, sometimes you ramble on a bit too much on your soapbox about your own personal opinion. And some of my contemporaries say, if I may kindly paraphrase, that you should just shut the f up and f-ing teach. But I personally think you're great, just great...
Now, I love your blog. I check it every day, and I really like how you drop some knowledge to these kids about my One campaign. I come from a land with a large social cleavage, but I admire how this type of objective blogging firmly supports cleavages and squeezes the opposing forces together. That certainly ain't beanbag!
I was recently recording a new album with my guy Chris Matthews when I decided to sit in a sauna with my other guy Strom Thurman. So we got to discussing who the greatest political minds are of our time. My guy Strom thinks it's Thomas Friedman, but I say it's Tip O'Neill. And then I got to thinking... it's actually Chris Wolak. He is the government. You know, you do just a great job of teaching government. You go beyond simply talking about the structures of governments. You also incorporate relevant current events to the AP Government curriculum. Plus, you drop some more knowledge about my work in Africa, and that's really just great, real great.
(Actually from Brian B.)
I thought this was a rather enjoyable class. The current debate talk was always entertaining but perhaps our class was too liberal for an accurate depiction of the country and the world. The blog wasn't as useful as the Google docs. You should keep the Facebook page! Social learning ain't beanbag.
The topics we covered were interesting...but by the time AP Tests came around, I didn't feel particularly prepared for the comparative test. The ThoughtHive was great, so maybe you could go through some of that information during class, just for reinforcement. Thanks for the great class!
Loved the class, and I felt that comparative was the more interesting class. Of course, I missed the final comment assignment's due date, but I felt that I'd leave one anyways.
I loved your class Mr. Wolak. You're a great teacher, and I hope this class is still offered in the future, and that the lower class size trend reverses.
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