Am Lit Feedback Survey - September 18
http://www.quia.com/sv/66829.html
Number of respondents
20
1	Rate the pace of this week's activities.
	Rating	Count	Percentage
	[1]	0	0.00%
	[2]	0	0.00%
	[3]	10	50.00%
	[4]	10	50.00%
	[5]	0	0.00%
	Average Rating
	3.5
2	Rate the level of challenge of this week's assignments and activities.
	Rating	Count	Percentage
	[1]	0	0.00%
	[2]	0	0.00%
	[3]	5	25.00%
	[4]	11	55.00%
	[5]	4	20.00%
	Average Rating
	3.95
3.	Rate the level of respect shown this week by Mr. O'Leary to students.
	Rating	Count	Percentage
	[1]	0	0.00%
	[2]	0	0.00%
	[3]	1	5.00%
	[4]	5	25.00%
	[5]	14	70.00%
	Average Rating
	4.65
4.	Rate the level of respect shown this week by students to fellow students.
	Rating	Count	Percentage
	[1]	0	0.00%
	[2]	1	5.00%
	[3]	1	5.00%
	[4]	14	70.00%
	[5]	4	20.00%
	Average Rating
	4.05
5.	Rate the level of respect shown this week by students to Mr. O'Leary.
	Rating	Count	Percentage
	[1]	0	0.00%
	[2]	0	0.00%
	[3]	0	0.00%
	[4]	13	65.00%
	[5]	7	35.00%
	Average Rating
	4.35

 

 

	6. Identify instances of disrespect that occurred this week in class.
	A couple of times in the large discussions there were some side conversations going on. The conversations weren't intended to be disrespectful, but its something that we should keep in mind.
	A few times when you were talking this week people (including myself once) were having side conversations. While they related to what you were talking about we should be quit when you speak.
	I did not observe any instances of disrespect during this week in class. It improved from the previous week even though there was one or two situations where I saw disrespect last week.
	i didnt see much that was disturbing, some drifting off but nothing on purpose.
	I feel that there were no instances of disrespect this week, or at least none that I saw.
	I felt that there wasn't an accptable amount of respect shown from student to student in class this week regarding listening to eachother's ideas. The trust and ease that our class used to share doesn't seem to be coming back.
	I think some people aren't listening when others are talking about their ideas or writing in the big group.
	I think that as a class, we need to try harder to include everyone in large group discussions, so that there are not always the same people talking. When someone wantes to say something, they are often cut off by someone louder inturrupting.
	I think that this week we could have been more respectful in the large group discussions. Many of the side conversations are probably about the topic, but the people involved in them are still missing what is being said in the large group and are not being respectful of the speaker.
	I thought that people seemed to pay more attention while another was speaking and/or reading this week, but I feel it is still not up to par, especially in class discussions.
	It still seems to me that the side conversations need to be worked on.
	One major thing that I thought was disrespectful was the fact that when Mr. O'Leary would check our homework, we would talk amongset ourselves (not quietly either) and not work as hard on the assignment we had been given.
	Our class was disrespectful this week because we were too loud. Mr. O'Leary had to remind us a few times to be quiet because there was a class right next to us that was trying to work. The problem is that I REALLY like to talk.
	Our small group discussions could have been a bit better. I felt that a lot of the time people did not listen to the discussions or were not interested in them. This only happened a few times, though.
	Some general booing at assignments, talking when others were talking (sometimes when Mr. O was talkin). Mostly unconcious acts that people do not notice.
	The only disrespect I noticed was that sometimes during large group discussions, people (including me) would have side conversations. Also we have been getting very loud when the homework is being checked, which is disrespectful to the class next door.
	There were only small instances of disrespect. I do not think it was intentional when people were so carried away by what they were talking about that they did not listen so attentively to each other. Also getting started with the class sometimes took a few tries to get everyone to listen. One time there was the rather loud noise of a pencil sharpner which I found disrespectful since I think Mr. O'Leary was talking.
	There were still several side converstaions going on throughout the week during large group discussions, though I thought there were less than there were last week. There also seemed to be alot of people that weren't paying attention during small group discussions. I think that the ridiculous heat and humidity might have played a part in people's lack of focus, however.
	There were times when people tried to talk over each other. That can be annoying as well as confusing for people trying to follow the discussion.
	This week I felt that everyone listened to each other's ideas well, i didn't find that there was any disrespect shown.
	7. Identify instances of respect that occurred this week in class.
	Besides the above I found very little disrespect this week.
	During large group discussions, we all listened to each other and were very engrossed in the themes of the essays that we were discussing.
	Everyone accepts everyone else's ideas and doesn't demean or critize. If they disagree, then they support their possition with facts and quotes from the readings. I found this really true in the small groups. There are a lot of opinionated people in the class, so there is enevitably going to be conflicting ideas. Everyone was very respectful in my group about stating their opinion, but not forcing it on everyone else.
	Everyone was good when we discussed our most philosophical person, I think it was nice of someone to ask Mr.O who his person was. I liked when everyone clapped for me after I read my pithy quote and Liam said he wanted to change his person.
	Everyone was very respectful when we looked at the summer assignment covers. Small group discussions were very respectful, and it was also respectful when People were sharing to the big group, when Ryan read his pithy quote it was especailly respectful, since everyone was so impressed with the writing.
	I can't think of specific instances of respect, but this is only because everyone was respectful all the time (except for the noise and side conversations).
	I found that when we broke off into small groups, everyone seemed to pay attention very well. I know at one of my groups had an awesome discussion about the AP practice exam responses and who deserved the best grade. I also heard some amazing complements given to people, like 'When I read your reasoning to the pithy quote, everything seemed to fall into place. It was a great explaination.', while in small groups discussing pithy quotes.
	I think in small groups we all work nicely together, everyone gets a chance to talk, and I ended up having exciting conversations. We all laugh a lot, go on tangents, but have deep conversations.
	I think when the exercise on 'finding the most philosophical person you know' was an example of respect. Each person that was picked for being being philosophical wa actually being honored and respected. I also thought our class was respectful during the sharing because we knew that the people who our classemates shared were important.
	I thought our small group discussions were once again a big success. We took turns listening to each other and had nice comments about each quote.
	I thought that there was a lot of positive feedback in most of the small-group discussions. There were a lot of supportive comments and compliments. That was a change since last week, when I thought a lot of people showed little to no interest in other people's pithy quotes and ideas.
	In the small groups, I felt very respected. I felt that my pithy quote group for Circles was an especially respectful group. We all listened intently to what everyone else had to say, and by doing so were able to extract very deep meanings from the reading.
	Michael Broder was in a small group discussion mith me and he missed part of what someone said. He asked them to repeat it instead of just trying to figure it out.
	Once we got together and started talking as a large group, I thought that we were all very respectfull of each other. We listened well and didn't talk too much. Also, last week there were times when the entire class would talk at the same time, this week we all waited to share our ideas.
	Our class was respectful this week when we were sharing our 'Most Philisophical Person' choices. This was something that may have been difficult for some of us to share because it opened us up. The sharer became vulnerable and, I think, we were very aware of this. We listened intently and accepted everyone's opinions.
	People seem really supportive when people share a good idea, especially when we were in small groups. In my small groups, people would acknowledge everyone's writing and let the writer explain what he or she thought so the group could discuss it.
	People worked very well in small group. By building off of what other people said I learned a lot this week.
	There seemed to be a lot of student to student teaching going on this week. If someone didn't understand a lesson or quote, it seemed to be explained to them quickly.
	This week, it seemed like people really made an effort to speak loudly so that everyone could hear them over the three or four fans, and people were listening closely enough that they asked others to speak up when they couldn't hear.
	When we gathered in pithy quote groups outside that one day Sam McIntire showed great attention to what everyone had to say. He also made some great contributions to each pithy quote. Michelle Russel's persona was great to be around in that group as well. Her enjoyment of the discussion carried over to everyone in the group.
	8. What went well in class this week?
	American Scholar pithy was good because I liked it and understood it and the AP question on Friday, I felt like I really would have done well on it.
	Being in small groups to work on and discuss the AP Prompt helped me feel more prepared to work on it on my own.
	Going outside to do our small group discussions was a nice change of pace. Our group didn't seem distracted by being outside, on the contrary, we discussed more than usual.
	Going outside was great. It gave all of us an opportunity to get away from the heat of the school, and I think it really improved the conversations we were having. Like Emerson says, it is good to think and meditate while in the presence of nature.
	I felt that going over theessay prompt in small groups will really help me with them this weekend. It is much easier to brainstorm with a gruop than by yourself.
	i had great group discusions, i like randomizing it instead of letting people pick their own. it means im with people i wouldnt normally group with. It also apparently generates better conversations.
	I had the best small group discussion I have ever had, when we discussed pithy quotes about Ralph WAldo Emerson's 'American Scholar'.We were all so into the discussion, ideas were flying around and each thing kept leading us further on! I was a fantastic discussion, I wish that there were more discussions that wonderful!
	I liked looking at the covers, and also the organizing-into-a-line activity was interesting.
	I really enjoyed analyzing everyone's summer work covers. It was really great to see everyone interpreted the assignment. I really enjoyed going outside. It helped break up the normal schedule and made me more motivated to discuss the pithy quotes. Reading the AP responses was really helpful.
	I really enjoyed the cover activity. It was intersting to hear why everyone chose what they did to put on their cover. I hope that we can do this again in the future. I also think that the small groups are great. I feel like I get a lot out of them. They give you a chance to work with people that you might not always get to work with, and they are a great way to start disscusions that carry over into the big group. On top of that they give the quieter students a chance to share their ideas.
	I really liked going outside. However, my paper got soggy in the mist. I think we should continue going outside as long as it is warm enough and it isn't raining.
	I really liked the small group discussions this week. We not only shared our pithy quotes from the night before, we also had good discussions. Last week I thought the small groups didn't go so well because we would run out of things to say. However this week was much much better.
	I think that discussing the AP Practice Exam responses went very well. My group did not agree on what the 'best' response and I loved to hear each sides resoning. We had a great conversation about it and some points were brought up that I hadn't ever thought about.
	I think that the small group discussions are a helpful part of the class. It gives everyone a chance to analyze the reading and get other people's point of view. This really helped me because everyone sees things differently and my group members show me something new everyday.
	I thought that the small-group discussions went well this week. There were a lot of interesting discussions and mini-epiphanies that made the discussions interesting and thought-provoking.
	The large group disscussions went well this week. In these disscussions, I was able to see many other perspectives to the readings we did and I felt this was very helpful.
	The lecture on new rehtorical devices helped me.
	The little group discussions have improved since last week. I felt that the people I worked with were focused on their work and no longer just waiting around for the other groups to be done. It was helpful for me to talk out the ideas i had thought of because I usually get confused thinking by myself.
	The small group discussions are a great part of class. I learn about portions of the esays that I didn't understand while reading the first time. Everyone's enthusiasm helps me to appreciate Emerson and his theories. I also like how you (Mr.O) goes around the class at the beginning to read over our responses. It helps hear first hand what you think of my interpretation and how I need to improve my format.
	The small group discussions were a huge success. I have been able to make connections from previous discussions and bring them into light in other discussions. For example, Emerson refers to stars a number of times in his works. I was able to connect this to the stars of destiny and share it with the rest of my group.
	9. What could have gone better?
	Again I feel that the large discussion groups could have gone better. Everyone seemed in a daze a few of the days, whether it was the weather or not. I felt like most everybody didn't really share their opinions on some of the pithy quotes. Our class really didn't have a good tangent to go off on this week. :)
	Circles could have gone better, writing the pithy mainly.
	friday was hard, nobody was very focused or wanted to be there.
	I know that this is an honors class and that we are expected to have a heavier load of home work, but I think that some of the readings were rather long to be assigned for one night. It is not like assigning ten pages of reading from a novel, (which could be easily accomplished) because these essays are very profound and take a lot of deciphering, which takes time. On average the readings and the pithy essay take about one and a half hours to do well. I understand that if we do not do it all in one night that there would be very little to disscuss the next day; I just wanted to bring this to your attention.
	I think that many people could have refrained from having side discussion this week (I'm no exception) Next week we can hopefully all be respectful enough to pay attention to the one person who is supposed to be talking and be quiet when we should be.
	I think the some of the homework assignments during the week could have gone better. It took me a great while to get through 'American Scholar.' I had a busy day to begin with and on top of that I was up pretty late reading and trying to interpret the essay.
	I thought that the time when Mr. O'Leary checked our homework could have gone better. It didn't seem like we were focusing very well on the assignment, instead we were talking with each other. I am unfortunately guilty of this and in the coming week I'm going to try to talk less and work more.
	I would have liked to spent more time with the AP essays. I would like to write one in class without any discussion beforehand, just to see what it is like. Discussing the essay about California and Mexico disn't help me much because everyone seemed as confused as I was about finding points and using them to create an essay. maybe if we went through and AP assignment as a class with help from Mr. O'Leary, I would be able to make more progress the next time we have to discuss in little groups.
	I would have preferred it if we could have had more time in large groups this week. It seemed like we got cut short in our large group discussions this week a lot.
	It seems that the small group discussions are getting better and better, while the large group discussions are getting less and less productive.
	It was too bad that we didn't have more large group discussions, and that sometimes our conversations were cut short because of time. I also think that doing something more with the literary device (chiasmus) would help us to remember it better.
	Large group can use use work. It's difficult to be polite and discuss fairly when 20 people are trying to talk at once.
	Like I said above, the small group discussions could have gone better. I think people were really busy this week and were having a hard time comprehending the essays, which made them less interesting than normal.
	More than once this week we haven't had time to either finish the small group discussions or get back into a large group and share our pithy quotes. While we were still able to analyze the reading, i felt like we could have gone more in depth if we had be able to have more discussions as a whole class.
	My homework could have gone better. Reading the essays by Emerson were hard for me; not really because of the content, but because I didn't leave myself enough time and when I looked at the length of them, I automatically assumed I wouldn't be able to get it done, thereby dooming myself to staying up late to finish them. That definitely could have gone better.
	Overall I thought we had a very good week. One thing that I thought could have goon better was if we had more variety in our homework assignments.
	Sometimes in small gruops, most of the people in the group know each other from outside class. When one or two of the people are not as close friends, or are quiet, they sometimes don't get a chance to talk, or be included in discussion.
	The AP prompt we discussed on Friday could have gone better. It was kind of slow, being a friday and I think we could have gone over it more quickly and still have gained the same amount from it.
	The big group could have gone better.
	Uhmmmmmmmmmmmm, probabaly could have done a little more participating, it seems like since the class is so voluntary its easy not to talk, or to talk. I just feel like its easy to space out, so I have to make sure I stay involved throughout the discussions.
	10. Identity someone who inspired you this week, someone who achieved something above and beyond expectations.
	Alex Crocker really impressed me this week. She stayed on task constantly, was always very respectful, and never failed to have good input and interesting ideas to add to the group discussions. I was very impressed by her insight as well as the respect she showed.
	Amelia really impressed me this week by her assignment cover. She drew a picture of a man sitting alone in a church that came from one of Emerson's quote. I also really like that quote and was amazed by the drawing.
	Amelia really inspired me this week with her interpretation of a pithy quote from 'Circles'. In the quote it talked about limitations being sinful, and Amelia said that that would make death a sin, because death is a limitation. I thought this was an interesting point, and something that i hadn't picked up on when i read the quote. Amelia has some really good insights that i am glad she shared with our group.
	Amelia really inspired me this week. She was in my group for many of the discussions, and I realized that although she is a very quiet person, she has a lot to say. I was continually amazed by the connections that the made within the essays that we read, and I thought that her work was exemplary.
	Caroline impressed me very much this week with the work she did on her homework. She printed out all of Emerson's writings and made notes all over them. Instead of just reading them and picking a pithy quote she took the time to really understand what Emerson was writing.
	Caroline inspired me this past week. I read one of Caroline's pithy quotes and the way it was written was very impressive. It sounded very sophisticated and Emersonian. The quote itself was a good one and the ideas that she had come up with based on the quote were unique and interesting.
	Caroline, as always, found ways to make me think during large group discussions.
	Charlie Beyer always impresses and inspires me with his connections. They are always very original and very good. Also, his pithy quote essay on the American Scholar was excellent and showed that he really understood what Emerson was talking about, and how it related to his life.
	Charlie impressed me this week in my group discussion. He connected his canoe trip to our discussion about communities within society. He talked about how the people on his trip were like the community within society that can be trusted. It was a very good connection to his life that also gave a good picture of the quote we were discussing.
	Houlihan and Holding always seem to have a great grasp of the writing and are willing to contribute comments.
	i commend caroline eichler for being a very good conversationalist in the small groups. she always seems to have an interesting point of view.
	I thought Michael Broder was inspiriring this week. I was in a small group discussion with him and he soon became animated and interested in Emerson's ideas. I am impressed by his interest in the subjects we talked about.
	I thought Ryan Howe wrote an exemplary pithy quote. He wrote a beautiful paragraph that was well written, but also contained deep philosophical messagings. What a nice pithy! Props to Ryan to always putting in 100% effort.
	Im sure this is someone who will receive many kudos from the class and that's Ryan Howe. He gave the class a profound interpretation from 'American Scholar', which blew me away. His articulation and tone left me with a feeling of amazement. His inspiration gave me something to shoot for in the future writing and analyzing literature. Thanks Ryan.
	Lila Trowbridge inspired me this week with her insight to pithy quotes. She always makes good connections that start a conversation in the group. She is also enthusiastic and keeps the discussion interesting and fun to be a part of.
	Michelle inspired me this week. She is always very focused and respectful of everyone else and their opinions. When we are in small groups, she gets immediatley right down to what we are supposed to be doing, simply because she wants to hear what everyone else has to say. Her passion for literature is obvious, and I feel that she is someone to look up to.
	Ryan Fotter inspired me this week with his stoy about the most philisophical person he knew. The way he told his story made me want to meet the person he chose, because he sounded interesting compared to the way that other people told about their chosen people.
	Ryan Howe inspired me this week, because of his amazing Pithy Quote Essay on Illusions. I was inspired with the quality of his writing and also the contributions he made to large group discussions throughout the week. He has many idea that I would never have thought about and seems to have quite a bit on knowledge on eastern religions, which he shared in our small group discussion of 'Illusions'.
	Ryan Howe inspired me this week. When I was in a small pithy group, we all decided to pass the essays around a read them. I was impressed with Ryan's writing and felt that I could actually see his mind process through his writing. Good job, Ryan.
	This week I was impressed with Ryan Howe. Ryan read his Pithy Essay to the class, and shocked me with his writing skills. I was blown away with his Emersonian writing style. I had trouble telling where the Emerson quote stopped and what Ryan wrote began. It was clear that he put a lot of time and effort into it. Ryan's writting inspired me to try harder on my own pithy quote essays.