I
t's been 29 years since I actually participated in a high school class as a student.
I began my day in the Commons with the majority of the 1400+ students who attend Enumclaw High School . . . some seated around tables . . . some standing in a
circle . . . all were engaged in conversations. Like the students, I chatted with friends about various events in my life. There were no bells, but like magic, the students
knew when to leave for class. I followed the lead of other students and walked to my first class. As I walked down the hall, I saw my first teacher, Mrs. Phelps, standing by the door. She greeted me with a smile and said, "Good Morning."
The first thing I noticed was a word of the day: hubris (n) excessive pride or self-confidence,
arrogance. Hmmm . . . I was definitely not feeling this way!
AM E NDM
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This week's Not So Undercover Boss would take me to three Advanced Placement Classrooms:
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AP Language and Composition, AP Calculus
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After morning announcements, Mrs.
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Phelps quickly went through a review for
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ps is proh
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the AP practice test that I was about to take. Was she speaking a foreign language or
15.) Whic
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was I supposed to know and understand the words she was verbalizing? She swiftly
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grabbed the practice test and handed it out to each student. The room immediately
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became silent and remained silent for the entire testing period. I was in trouble upon
ent?
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reading the first question: "Use the terms to fill in the blanks next to the correct exam17.) Whic
hat
h amend
ment gua
ples." Doesn't this sound easy? Hmmm . . . asyndeton, metonymy, synecdoche,
rantees fr
eedom to
anaphora, zeugma—really, zeugma? How do you even pronounce zeugma (think
assemble
?
of zoo!)? Here's the definition of zeugma and an example: a figure of speech in which an
adjective or verb is used with two nouns but is appropriate to only one of them or has a different sense
with each, as in "During the race he broke the record and his leg")
APLAC: REVIEW QUIZ
After squirming in my seat for 50 minutes, the bell rang. Mrs. Phelps asked if I wanted her to grade my
test. I said, “No need. I think I know how I did!"
anaphora
antimeabole
alalogy
alliteration
allusion
paradox
parody
antithesis asyndeton metonymy hyperbole
oxymoron
zeugma
synecdoche
personification
I had made a friend while in class who also had my same second period class. Will volunteered to walk
me to my AP Calculus class. As the period started, Mrs. Ross explained that we would be taking a practice AP test that would represent one of the four exam sections that the students would experience next
week . . . 28 multiple choice problems in 55 minutes. Because of the length of our period, we would only
have 45 minutes. I thought to myself, "How long could it take to do 28 multiple choice questions? " I
have to admit I thought about marking "B" for all the answers to assure that I got some right . . . it's amazing how quickly I moved into a survival strategy!
Use the terms to fill in the blanks next to the correct examples. Some
words mayo be used more than once and some words not used at all. (20
points) **Some questions have more than one answer--look carefully
Let me give you a quick example of a problem:
"The radius of a circle is increasing. At a certain instant, the rate of increase in the area of the circle is
numerically equal to twice the rate of increase in its circumference. What is the radius of the circle at
that instant?"
A. 1/2; B. 1; C. Square root of Two (couldn't figure out how to do the symbol on email!); D. 4
Give up? The answer is "D." I had the great privilege of answering 27 more
problems like this!
In preparing for my third AP class of the day (AP Government), I made sure I
knew lots of names of important government people. I was feeling the pressure of not knowing or being able to answer something that students think I
should be able to do! The staff at the District Office quizzed me before I left. I
felt ready . . . or so I thought. Unfortunately, I didn't review the first 10 amendments of the Constitution and, of course, the first thing on the agenda in Mr.
Engebretson's room was a 30 problem quiz on the first 10 constitutional amendments. I simply had to put a number from 1 to 10 in the space provided. I had
better odds on my AP Calculus test as there were only five choices!! Here are a
few examples:
"Quartering of troops is prohibited by what amendment?" (III)
“Jane Anderson's bail is set at $50,000. Her lawyer argues this is too high. Which
amendment will be used to support this claim?" (VIII)
"The right of a defendant to confront and cross-examine witnesses against oneself is
guaranteed by what amendment?" (VI)
After we corrected this quiz (I did OK on the first and fifth amendments.), we were
divided into four teams for a bit of a competition as a way of preparing for the exam.
My team mates honored me by naming our team "New Kid." I was helpful with one or
two questions, but that was all! Our team finished tied for second.
In reflection, I wonder if this experience was "Not So Undercover Boss?" I think it was more
like "Are you Smarter than an AP student?" At the end of that show, I would have to say
those magical words, "I'm Mike Nelson and I am definitely not smarter than an Enumclaw
High School Advanced Placement student." I was so impressed with our students and the
teachers and am thankful for these three hours of learning. I witnessed many juniors
and seniors who will be our community leaders in the not-too-distant future.
We ARE in good hands!
1.
Herbert Humphrey
“I proudly and humbly accept your nomination.”--
2.
it on plastic.
Kara’s plan for balancing her budget was to just put
3.
later. -- B. Franklin
We must all hang together now, or surely separately
4.
“I’ll die if he doesn’t ask me out,” she said.
5.
According to Hillary Clinton: “It takes a family; it
takes clergy; it takes teachers; it takes community leaders . . . It takes all of us.”
6.
sence.” Carl Sagan
“The absence of evidence is not the evidence of ab-
7.
The game was a bittersweet win over my best friend;
we would both need IcyHot in the morning.
8.
thrive in the morn.
We have suffered through the night; now we will
9.
The calculus problem presented a virtual chimera-the solution was here one moment and gone the next.
10.
I can’t get the fence open because this bolt refuses to
release its grasp; it’s being stubborn and uncooperative.
Write the correct definition letter next to appropriate word. (4 points.)
1. _ _____
Diction
A. Use of language
2. _ _____
Syntax
B. The attitude of the author
3. _______
Tone
C. Word choice
4. __ _____
Rhetoric
D. Sentence structure