MASTERPIECE ACADEMY ESSAY

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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.