January 8

First day of the second semester! No, make that the LAST semester. Seriously. In only a few months we'll have graduated. Isn't that crazy?

Today, Dr. Preston introduced the second semester for us. This semester even more than the last one, we'll be immersing ourselves in Open Source Learning. Dr. Preston said that if he tried to tell us to completely do Open Source Learning from the start, it wouldn't have really meant anything to us, and would have just been another assignment for us to forget about. But by now, with a semester's introduction, we can actually commit to it (but only if you, as an individual, are motivated to!).

For all 12 years of our mandatory schooling, our teachers have provided us with structured learning which we've either gone along with, or not. However, as soon as we turn 18 and graduate, much of that structure is taken away, and we'll be left responsible for our own selves and our own minds. After 12 years of being motivated primarily for A's, NOT for learning itself, how are we supposed to make that transition? Luckily for us, we have this semester in AP English with our buddy Open Source Learning to help with that.

...Which brings us to our homework assignment, a blog post entitled "HACKING MY EDUCATION." This semester, we'll be pursuing many of our own individual learning goals, or as Dr. Preston put it, "making the course work for us instead of making ourselves work for the course." To that end, tonight's assignment is to determine what it is YOU want to learn.

In your blog post, please answer these three questions:

1. What do I want to know?
2. What experiences do I want to have under my belt?
3. What skills do I want to demonstrate?

These could be in reference to a future college major, career, personal passion, or...?

If you change your mind during the semester, you're more than welcome to repost as "Hacking My Education Part II."