English was that one class in high school that always received incredibly polarized reactions. Some students loved the class and enjoyed the written assessments as opportunities to grow. Many abhorred writing and hated the class, vocally conveying their frustrations while simultaneously infecting everyone around them with their annoyance. I tended to trend from the latter to the former—I began with annoyance and ultimately ended the year with appreciation for what I had gained from taking that class.

Regardless of a student's overall thoughts on English class, most agreed that the literature from these classes were enjoyable to read and meaningful works of art. The problem was that the class structure often muddled with a student's ability to appreciate the text and enjoy the reading process. Indeed, frequent comprehension and vocabulary quizzes caused many readers to focus on such minute details that they couldn't properly enjoy the test. As someone who enjoys English, even I'll admit that some assignments appeared more like busy work designed to create futile assessments rather than actually test us on our learning and reading approach.