Mid Year Reflection

Erin McNamara
March 10, 2013
Coach Funk- F Period
Throughout high school, I believe it’s quite important to keep a challenging and well rounded schedule. Naturally, some will be a better fit with your learning style and interests, and being that the sciences have not always been my strong suit, I wasn’t sure how I would like the Anatomy and Physiology course. Now well into the third semester, I can truthfully say that not only have I enjoyed the class for numerous reasons, it’s been probably one of my favorite courses I’ve taken thus far at DY.
For me as a learner, I’ve always needed a visual, hands on experience to really understand any given topic. Being that this class had been a lot of dissections and activities, it’s been a perfect fit for me and I’ve been able to excel. I’ve never felt overwhelmed or rushed, and the class moves at a comfortable pace that allows everyone who gives adequate effort to be successful.
The coloring and other test prep activities have helped me immensely because that’s exactly how I retain information, by actually seeing the information and completing it myself. Looking a little further back in the year to the anatomical terms unit, I thought the newsprint body tracing activity was a lot of fun. It was interactive and got us involved while at the same time, really enforced what it was we were learning and gave us a real life example. Additionally, the BU City Lab was in a league of it’s own. That was an awesome experience that I wish every student in the school could have been a part of. The woman who ran it was phenomenal and made the lesson so much fun. I think if more teachers planned lessons based on scenarios such as that, it would keep students interested and focused on the task at hand.
The ONLY downside of the class for me has been the dissections. Watching them is fine, but I have had some trouble actually making the incisions myself. I now think it’s safe to say that I will never go into the medical field, as much as I’d love to. Additionally, I wish we did more whole class activities with the cats, maybe watch a dissection occasionally instead of everyone doing their own, so we could walk through it together step by step, ask any questions, and avoid confusion. Personally, I think my group has always just been a little hesitant about whether we were doing the right thing or not.
Overall, I think the course is wonderful. There’s nearly nothing I would change and I thoroughly enjoy coming to class every white day.
The ONLY downside of the class for me has been the dissections. Watching them is fine, but I have had some trouble actually making the incisions myself. I now think it’s safe to say that I will never go into the medical field, as much as I’d love to. Additionally, I wish we did more whole class activities with the cats, maybe watch a dissection occasionally instead of everyone doing their own, so we could walk through it together step by step, ask any questions, and avoid confusion. Personally, I think my group has always just been a little hesitant about whether we were doing the right thing or not.
Overall, I think the course is wonderful. There’s nearly nothing I would change and I thoroughly enjoy coming to class every white day.