Personal Essay
For my project, I chose to make a website on the topic of banned books, or more specifically, banned children’s and young adult fiction books. Originally, I was going to choose 10 YA or children’s fiction books, and research to see if they are banned anywhere and why. After that, I would figure out if the reason was valid. Of course, the project didn’t go exactly as planned. I discovered quickly that I had set my expectations for myself too high, and that I was going to have a lot of trouble finishing this project. I also had some trouble summarizing all of my research. All in all, this project sometimes got very frustrating.
I chose to do my project on book banns because of a book I had recently read. In a scene in the book, the main character speculates on how the library in his town is so empty because of the local church banning so many of the books. I prefer fiction novels, so that became my topic. I didn’t expect there to be much information on book banns because I didn’t think it was a very common thing to do. I was very wrong. I learned that there is an entire week of celebration for banned books and was slightly overwhelmed with the amount of information I was getting. Book banns happen to such a variety of books for so many reasons that I didn’t have to worry about getting information and sources like I thought I would. If anything, I was getting too much information in my research.
I definitely set my expectations too high when I chose 10 different books. Halfway through the project, I had to cut 6 books from the list. I went to the library almost every day for two months to work on my website, and was still struggling with finishing it on time. I had only had my research done for 3 of the books, and knew it would take way too much time to research the remaining 7, not including the time it would take to summarize it all as well as finish my introduction. Even after that, I debated with myself on cutting the list down to three, but decided against it in the end. It was in these times that I often wished I had done my project in a group. Then I would have been able to divide the research, and therefore the research time. I don’t enjoy writing, so I would have enjoyed editing my partner’s articles, and adding information to them compared to just writing my own. All of the writing was very time consuming and frustrating.
Not the entire project was frustrating though. I rather enjoyed picking out the theme and URL for my website. The free website creating website was very user friendly and had so many choices, I liked scrolling through them. Some of the choices weren’t free though, and I kept getting emails to upgrade my website, which were very annoying. Part of my research was fun as well. I found some book burnings and rant videos which I enjoyed. I also found a website to help parents on their quest to ban books in schools, and a few website articles commenting on how parents aren’t banning enough books. I found those parts pretty funny. Even with all that, I would change a lot if I could do this project again. I would probably narrow my project down to only one book, and research that deeply. It would have saved me a lot of time.
If anything, this project was a challenge. It tested my patience, and organization skills. I had to learn to be more efficient and how to keep on top of things. I had to discipline myself, and figure out how to manage my time better, so that I wouldn’t fall behind. I can definitely notice a change already in how I work. I am a lot more efficient and don’t waste any time in completing things. I still don’t interact with people much, but that’s not really a change. I also discovered some unknown things about myself that will help me in the future. I learned that I do best and don’t procrastinate when I set due dates for myself. I also discovered that I only get easily distracted when I’m tired, which is often considering how late I stay up at night. I found out that doing work in the mornings after I wake up is easier for me than doing homework at night. After doing this project, I agree with John Taylor Gatto.
John Taylor Gatto pointed out the difference between schooling and education in his acceptance speech for the New York teachers of the year award in 1990. While I agreed with John Taylor Gatto before doing this project, I wouldn’t have wanted the school system to change. School hasn’t been too overly challenging, and that’s the way I liked it. For years, I didn’t have to always put forth my best effort to do well, so I never had to push myself. Before this project, I thought that getting Gatto’s version of education would have taken so much time, that I wouldn’t be able to do anything else. My parents wouldn’t have the time or patience to teach me, and there are some things that are very hard to teach yourself, and are necessary to learn from someone with more experience. I was partly wrong. After doing this project, I can understand his point much better. I found that I learned a lot more when I searched independently on my own time every day then I would have in a 45 minute class. While this project was very time consuming, it wasn’t unmanageable. I also developed skills instead of just knowledge. Even though I see Gatto’s point, I think I prefer the present school system to home schooling. That is why we needed a consultant throughout this project, so that we had someone to answer our questions.
I chose to do my project on book banns because of a book I had recently read. In a scene in the book, the main character speculates on how the library in his town is so empty because of the local church banning so many of the books. I prefer fiction novels, so that became my topic. I didn’t expect there to be much information on book banns because I didn’t think it was a very common thing to do. I was very wrong. I learned that there is an entire week of celebration for banned books and was slightly overwhelmed with the amount of information I was getting. Book banns happen to such a variety of books for so many reasons that I didn’t have to worry about getting information and sources like I thought I would. If anything, I was getting too much information in my research.
I definitely set my expectations too high when I chose 10 different books. Halfway through the project, I had to cut 6 books from the list. I went to the library almost every day for two months to work on my website, and was still struggling with finishing it on time. I had only had my research done for 3 of the books, and knew it would take way too much time to research the remaining 7, not including the time it would take to summarize it all as well as finish my introduction. Even after that, I debated with myself on cutting the list down to three, but decided against it in the end. It was in these times that I often wished I had done my project in a group. Then I would have been able to divide the research, and therefore the research time. I don’t enjoy writing, so I would have enjoyed editing my partner’s articles, and adding information to them compared to just writing my own. All of the writing was very time consuming and frustrating.
Not the entire project was frustrating though. I rather enjoyed picking out the theme and URL for my website. The free website creating website was very user friendly and had so many choices, I liked scrolling through them. Some of the choices weren’t free though, and I kept getting emails to upgrade my website, which were very annoying. Part of my research was fun as well. I found some book burnings and rant videos which I enjoyed. I also found a website to help parents on their quest to ban books in schools, and a few website articles commenting on how parents aren’t banning enough books. I found those parts pretty funny. Even with all that, I would change a lot if I could do this project again. I would probably narrow my project down to only one book, and research that deeply. It would have saved me a lot of time.
If anything, this project was a challenge. It tested my patience, and organization skills. I had to learn to be more efficient and how to keep on top of things. I had to discipline myself, and figure out how to manage my time better, so that I wouldn’t fall behind. I can definitely notice a change already in how I work. I am a lot more efficient and don’t waste any time in completing things. I still don’t interact with people much, but that’s not really a change. I also discovered some unknown things about myself that will help me in the future. I learned that I do best and don’t procrastinate when I set due dates for myself. I also discovered that I only get easily distracted when I’m tired, which is often considering how late I stay up at night. I found out that doing work in the mornings after I wake up is easier for me than doing homework at night. After doing this project, I agree with John Taylor Gatto.
John Taylor Gatto pointed out the difference between schooling and education in his acceptance speech for the New York teachers of the year award in 1990. While I agreed with John Taylor Gatto before doing this project, I wouldn’t have wanted the school system to change. School hasn’t been too overly challenging, and that’s the way I liked it. For years, I didn’t have to always put forth my best effort to do well, so I never had to push myself. Before this project, I thought that getting Gatto’s version of education would have taken so much time, that I wouldn’t be able to do anything else. My parents wouldn’t have the time or patience to teach me, and there are some things that are very hard to teach yourself, and are necessary to learn from someone with more experience. I was partly wrong. After doing this project, I can understand his point much better. I found that I learned a lot more when I searched independently on my own time every day then I would have in a 45 minute class. While this project was very time consuming, it wasn’t unmanageable. I also developed skills instead of just knowledge. Even though I see Gatto’s point, I think I prefer the present school system to home schooling. That is why we needed a consultant throughout this project, so that we had someone to answer our questions.