Hey there biologists! That's something you'll get used to hearing, trust me!! Here you can see a video that will depict your entire year in biology. Anyway, I will be a sophomore when you are reading this, and I'll be 15 years old. I went to Redwood in 8th grade like many of you. In the beginning of the school year, I was really interested in almost all my classes, but like usual, my motivation and inspiration wore off with time(and homework). I play sports outside of school, and I am generally a good student that puts in a lot of effort. The first day of school, I expected the basic talk and syllabus, but it was the opposite. We actually did activities learning our way around the classroom(AKA the Rookie Module). It was really uncomfortable, but it was something unique. Even though it's the end of the year and people still don't know where anything is, Mr. Orre will still get upset if you act as a Rookie.
Mr. Orre makes it clear what his expectations are, which I think is a good characteristic for a teacher. Have you ever done anything that upsets a teacher and have no idea why? Well, this won't happen in his class, because he makes it VERY clear what he wants out of us as students. The first thing you do when you come to class is work on the DO NOW/warmup, which reviews last night's homework. A typical class day involves reviewing the vodcasts, and working on a lab, project, or blogpost. If you haven't already guessed we blog in this class A LOT. At first it's kinda weird but eventually, you get used to it as you become more comfortable in the class. The labs are typically simple, it's ok if you do something wrong in your group, as long as you participate in some way, and write honestly in your blogpost, you will still get a good grade. If you haven't already noticed how weird this class has been so far, it's because it's different than others. Mr. Orre has a "flipped classroom" where we do the notes(vodcasts) at home for homework, and discuss and apply what we learn in class. I'm not gonna lie, it actually works pretty well, and these silly blog posts do too.Here you can read my Unit 9 reflection, we do a reflection for every unit and it really helped me capture the big idea of what we learned. But often that big idea is not at all what we are tested on. We are expected to understand the big idea, and be tested on small details in vodcasts and CFU's(a CFU is a small comprehension quiz that doesn't affect your grade, but you should ALWAYS do it. He will randomly give 100% in the test category for doing a CFU).
To be honest, it doesn't really matter how you do on the tests, as long as you do homework, blogposts, and notebook checks well, you can have an A. The notebooks must be organized in a specific way, and if you forget to write the date on one vodcast, you will lose points for the whole category. I advise you to put a lot of effort in your notebooks for the first few notebook checks and build your credibility. Also, I know he says you should glue in your vodcasts, but don't use glue, tape is so much easier. There aren't any quizzes but there are tests for every unit, so luckily the class is really structured and predictable. This semester I got a B on every test, but I have a 96%, because it's the "learning process"(i mean this figuratively and literally because that's what it is called on canvas) that is worth the most. Your grade WILL go down if you don't do even 1 vodcast or blogpost. The homework usually takes from 20-40 minutes on average, because he will sometimes give you hand outs for notes, and sometimes he won't, so don't rely on having handouts for every vodcast.
Again, to talk about the blog, you can kind of see it evolve over time in both content and writing style. By favorite blog post is about the river clean up service project, I wanted to do it for fun, and then I realized I could get extra credit and volunteer hours for health, so I got a lot done in one day. I felt really motivated to volunteer and help the environment after that one event. It's my favorite blog post because although it is simple, it shows my personal growth, and that is something Mr. Orre likes to hear about, especially in your blog. I changed over the year because I learned to practice little things like mindfulness, and recognize little things like learning preference and how to reflect on something. I feel like this class, although frustrating at times, has helped me grow a lot as a student, so my advice to you is to persevere.
Some of Mr. Orre's pet peeves are when you treat him only as a teacher. He likes to ask how your day is going, and sometimes people don't answer because they are shy or tired or lazy, but he gets really upset. He will appreciate a little acknowledgment, like just saying good morning. Also, like I mentioned above, he doesn't like "Rookies." To earn a good grade on an assignment, you must be detail oriented and actually put in some effort. You can't just walk your way through this class, although tests don't make up your whole grade, you need to show that you've learned from vodcasts, labs, and classwork through your blog post.Homework is extremely important in this class, like I mentioned above you need to do all the vodcasts, because they will be the base of everything else you do in the class. To get the most out of this class, you are going to need to make time to do the vodcasts, because rushing through them and scribbling them down in your notebook aren't going to teach you anything. You can get away with it, but just know that you will need to focus extra hard when we discuss it the next day.
Also, don't be afraid to ask questions, even if they may seem stupid. In biology you'll probably pronounce a billion things wrong, and get tons of concepts mixed up, but so does everyone else. Asking questions that other people are afraid to ask will make your classmates appreciate you more because then Mr. Orre won't be in a bad mood thinking that people are ignoring him. Mr. Orre, if you're reading this, know that no one in this class was trying to be rude or ignore you when you asked how you were doing, we were just too tired to raise our hand. This class, although it's just a class, can teach you some grit, which is great when you start the day.
I made a few mistakes this year, and I want to share my experience. First, I would advise you to be diligent, although Mr. Orre is usually pretty consistent, he is still human. Don't be afraid to talk to him if you think something in the grade book is wrong. He looks really intimidating, but he's actually really understanding. Second, turn in your assignments on time. This one is really important because even if you turn in a bad blog post, it's better than nothing. You do not want to have a 0/50 on something. A 50% on an assignment is better than a 0%. I know people who have had perfect grades in the class and forget one blogpost which makes them stressed out because they then have a borderline grade. The third thing I would advise is to listen to the non-academic things he has to say. He will go off-topic sometimes and show us how to decrease stress, and handle other things in the future. They are really interesting, and I think have been the biggest thing that has helped me grow as both a student and a person. Also, he likes people who aren't just about grades, so it wouldn't kill you to go to the weight room every once in a while and ask for some help.
My overall rate for the class would be a 10/10, not because it was easy or fun all the time, but because I actually learned a new way to learn. It was really, and I mean really, hard to do finish blog posts before the deadline, or to do vodcasts when all you wanted to do was get some sleep, but it is worth it in the long run. This class, for me, has been the most memorable in my freshman year, because it's always been something to "Relate and Review" with other people, and joke about little things. Good luck this year, because it will go by really fast. :)
