Come Nerds, Come!

Top Ten Reasons to Take AP English:

1. Stickers. By taking AP English, you have the opportunity to receive much coveted stickers from Ms. Serensky. These special stickers are in tremendous demand and require numerous hours of hard work and dedication to receive, but the feelings of accomplishment, success and pride you feel when you receive a sticker at the top of your paper are phenomenal.

2. Competitions. Taking AP English allows you to compete with your classmates in more ways than you ever thought possible. The Multiple Choice Game, an intense battle for extra credit points, seems to be one of the more enjoyable competitions in AP English. But, there are many more. In AP English, you can compete against your classmates to see who’s data sheet is longer, who wrote more for their in-class essay, who was quoted in Bobbie’s Blog Banter, who got a better grade on the latest paper and so many more. The competitive fun never ends.

3. Self-confidence. By taking AP English, you unleash a part of yourself you have never experienced before. After a few months of Ms. Serensky’s reminder that you can “write well and intelligently.” you begin to believe in your writing skills, believe in your public speaking and interrupting abilities and also believe that you can tackle any writing prompt thrown your way.

4. The Cackle. Taking AP English allows you to experience Ms. Serensky’s marvelous cackle daily from within the very room in which it is produced. This is a highly contagious laugh and not to be missed. Her laugh is one-of-a-kind, and unless directed at you, utterly hilarious, a sure reason to take AP English.

5. Unity. From the first day of AP English 11, when all students feel intimidated and terrified, you form a bond with your classmates which remains strong through senior year. These are the people who will understand all of your problems, troubles and fears. Although, when you attempt to console each other regarding assignments, you will inevitably send each other into a panic, at least these people are there for you.

6. Stress. AP English teaches you how to deal with stress like no other class in high school. Although the first data sheet may seem like an endless amount of work when you have four other AP classes which also require work, by the last data sheet you will have learned how to budget your time, work ahead and deal with the stress. Dealing with the stress is inevitable because if you do not, you will surely lose all of your friends (non AP English friends, that is) as I can guarantee you that they do not care what sections of the long data sheet you have left to complete.

7. Pressure. Similar to stress, AP English teaches you how to deal with pressure. I have never felt more pressured to succeed that I have in AP English. From day one, Ms. Serensky sets high expectations that you will be terrified not to meet. The most pressure- filled days are the days in which Ms. Serensky announces right before an in class writing that this should be your best essay yet and that she wants to see all A’s on this essay. But, if you deal with the pressure and write as well as you can, everything will turn out fine.

8. Feeling of accomplishment. The feeling of accomplishment as you hand Mrs. Lewis your AP Test Booklet at the end of the AP English 12 exam is impossible to describe. It’s when it all makes sense, really. The hard work, the dedication you put in the last semester of AP English as you were battling that well-known illness called senioritis, has finally paid off. This feeling of joy and accomplishment is a definite reason to take AP English.

9. Lollipops and a story. As documented in one of my blogs a few weeks ago, my favorite day of AP English 12 was when we all sat in a circle (Ms. Serensky included), Ms. Serensky kindly gave us all lollipops and told us how she became the teacher she is today. Her story not only answered numerous questions I had about why she is the way she is, but also motivated me to work as hard as I possibly can and emphasized to me, that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible. Getting to hear Ms. Serensky’s story is a definite reason to embark on the two-year journey of AP English.

10. Writing skills. Ms. Serensky’s method of teaching is amazing. Within a few weeks, you will be writing noticeably better than your friends in Honors English. Additionally, Ms. Serensky teaches you how to write faster, more clearly and more intelligently. In AP English you will gain the writing skills which, hopefully, will make college much easier. 

Best of all, you get to embrace your inner nerd-self!