Harkness Thoughts
It’s very weird that this was the last time I’d ever get to sit in the Big Circle in AP Lit. That this was the last class, the last harkness, the last Kreinbring class. Even though I didn't know what was going to happen today, I had planned to talk. For a brief moment, I actually wanted to lead the discussion by beginning with a basic question: why did we take the class? Truthfully, I had already designed the harkness in my head, and it would go something like this:
Me: So, I’d like to be begin by asking why we took this class? Since most of us took Lang last year, and nearly lost our minds, there must be a reason why we decided to come back for more.
Someone else (probably Andrew): For the AP credit.
Alex (buddy): But the majority of the AP Lit students didn't take the AP test and knew they weren't going to when they signed up for the class. How do you explain that?
And then from here we’d get into a discussion about what we took away from the class versus what we thought we were going to. I’d talk about how even though I hate talking in front of groups of people, this class taught me how to articulate my thoughts more clearly. I’d talk about how both Lang and Lit have taught me not only how to write, but how to identify rhetorical moves, how to question authority with a purpose (not just for the sake of rebellion), and how to do thorough, balanced research in a project that requires excellent time management skills and creativity. I’ve learned a lot, so in theory, I could have talked about a lot.
But none of this happened.
But let me be clear, I am thrilled with how the Harkness went even though I didn’t directly participate in it. When the concept of genderfluidity was brought up, my heart soared just a little. I remember briefly trying to talk about the same thing in Lang, but it went horribly wrong, so to see such an open discussion of the topic was really exciting. And I almost jumped in here. But as quickly as the subject was brought up, it disappeared.
What was really exciting was to see that my classmates were reading a lot of the same material and using similar vocabulary when all this time I thought I was somewhat isolated in my knowledge. I thought that if I tried to bring up these subjects, no one would know what I was talking about, and I wouldn’t be able to explain it well enough. So seeing that a lot of us are on the same page was a great experience.
What I really took away from this Harkness, and what I really wish I would have said is this: I’m so glad that I got to spend this year with a group of intelligent, funny, and overall amazing people. We will all go on to whatever we do and be so far ahead of the curve. We know how to think, discuss, and most importantly, write. I’m very excited to see what everyone does in the future, and I feel much more connected to my classmates because of Lit.
So, thank you kreinbring65, for teaching me all of the above, but most importantly, to love my classmates.