Humanities is taught by Ms. Small. Although it can be seen as a hybrid of English and social studies, it is unlike any class I’ve ever taken before. This class asks the central question, “what does it mean to be human?” To answer this, we looked at human history, ranging from prehistoric Neanderthals to modern-day relevant events. The topics we discuss are comprehensive and important, such as race, satire, and the school system. Throughout the class, we also focus on writing and grammar, which helps us to express our thoughts and ideas more profoundly.
Our first essay was at the end of our education unit. We explored the American education system, its history, and what an effective learning environment was. In my essay, I talked about the purpose of school in the 21st century. I argued that in a time of racial turmoil and divisiveness, school plays the critical role of creating a new generation of students that can better understand one another and have an equal opportunity for success.
In our satire unit, we learned the many different components and rhetorical devices that make up an effective satire. Ms. Small gave us the liberty to choose a satire to analyze, and I decided to take more of a risk and choose a video from the Onion I haven’t seen before. The video satirized the stop-and-frisk movement, and in my essay, I wrote about how the Onion used rhetorical devices to drive their point home. This was an in-class essay, which challenged me as I’m more used to taking my time when writing.