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Jacob Fowler
Dr. David Preston
AP English Lit/Comp
1 June 2014
Masterpiece Academy Essay
Over fifty percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce, that means many people fall in love only
to fall out of it. This is true about learning too. Everyone is born with a passion and love of learning, only to
have it drained by school and the strains placed on us by "education". This year (specifically in this course) I
was able to fall back into my love affair with learning. For the first time in years I was able to be married to
learning without worrying about it all falling apart.
In this class I was able to read fiction, write fiction, and analyze fiction. After rigorously being involved with
fictional tales I can now confirm that fiction, does in fact, tell the truth more than most. This year's reading
selection did not follow the traditional chronological order but was rather curated
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in order that we could extract the most from each selection. Because of this we were able to analyze fiction
instead of just going through the state mandated motions of reading and creating outlines. Edmond Yi and
Connor Albright understood this fact and were able to create very true statements through the fiction that
they wrote in the form of their novels. The truths that fiction told me this year were incredibly personal and
real.
This year was a chiasmus in many ways but particularly in the form of passion. We began over the summer
talking about passion in the form of our Big Questions and ended the year talking about passion in the form
of our Masterpieces. So for me I never really had to get reconnected with my passions because I was
always around my passion, which is teaching. I know the same is true for Kristen Crockett and Kendall
Villa, who exemplified their love of teaching all year through either the Mentor Group or their Masterpiece
presentations. This year I was able to teach and learn in the same setting and it was very valuable for me.
My favorite novel that I have ever read is Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. That book can truly make me
laugh out loud with some of the main characters wit and sarcasm. Some elements of the book, however, are
not intended to make me laugh (i.e the end scene with Holden at the school) but they do because they spark
a memory. For the same reason I laughed at Miranda Nillo's video because it reminded me of so many great
memories this year.
All in all, if this class was a story all of the memberss of the class would be characterized with bilgunsroman
as very dynamic characters. Our passions changed, our learning styles adapted, and the way we
communicated improved. This course (along with the Masterpiece Academy) has personified the perfect
marriage with learning. And now I must be led to believe that college will be the honeymoon.
