I won't do anything differently. No, wait, I would do it all early on. I would finish the entire project as early as possible and do absolutely nothing for the remainder of the time. Second, I would reflect along the way, that way I wouldn't be stuck in this damn library writing this now. I will hit the books early on. The Internet is useless – I found in this case anyway. I will not change my note-taking methods. Even though it was obvious, by the structure of this project that it was intended for people to all take notes the same way in some silly standardized fashion. But my notes work for me and it's important for me to know that I needn't compromise my own effective methods in order to meet criteria because my own sense of satisfaction and pride in my work is more important.

There were two high points in this project. The first was reading books. I read a lot of great, interesting books that I might not have, were it not for the exhibition project. The second was actually presenting my project. I enjoyed finally summing it all up and sharing what I learned, my enthusiasm, with other people. At first, the project seemed more fun, given the freedom and open-ended nature of the whole thing. But later on, the novelty of choosing the topic faded away into the year-long drudgery of wrestling with it.

It feels great to be done with the project, of course. It was a year-long project and it was tiring to be nagged by my parents and such, the whole time. It's a huge weight off the shoulders. It feels really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really good.

I accomplished a lot in that I was able to become knowledgeable (on a small scale) on my topic in somewhat of a short time and I was able to share that knowledge with other people. I researched, I wrote, I made a .ppt presentation, I made a web page – looking back, it's a lot to do, especially given that fact that other schoolwork never let up. I didn't learn anything about myself. I knew I was a procrastinator, I knew I didn't like writing research papers, I knew I didn't work very well at school, because of the distractions. This hasn't changed me or opened my eyes to anything new.

I would give myself 8s across the board, except for the presentation, on which I would give myself a 10 in both effort and quality. The bottom line is, I saw the presentation as the most important part of exhibition (maybe that's just me) and I wanted to do very well. It was my time to shine, as they say. Otherwise, I put a lot of effort into research, into writing the paper, into coming up with a a high-quality end result – but I could have done more. I could have put in 30 hours of work a week, I could have written a 100 page paper. I could have become more knowledgeable that the authors of the books I read. But I didn't go that far. I took pride my work and I did my best.

Let me first say that I didn't know I worked with an 11^th grader, which leads me to believe that perhaps I didn't. I don't think I ever really talked to my teacher advisor, Mrs. LePore, I'm not even sure if she read my paper – but then, that's partially my fault. I didn't really talk to my outside adviser (expert) much either, but that was of course, my mistake. I was flying solo, I suppose, and it turned out all right. Maybe it would have been better if I had sought the help of those advisers, but that's something to keep in mind for next time, nothing can be done now, obviously.

“It is a goal of senior exhibitions to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate “This is who I am, This is what I can do”. Riverdale High School is founded on the Coalition of Essential Schools model, whose Common Principles state that an exhibition should be a final demonstration of mastery of the central skills and knowledge of the school’s program. Riverdale High School's program centers around the five core subject areas of Art, English, History/Social Science, Mathematics and Science, and also emphasizes foreign language, technology, community service and self reflection. The intent of RHS senior exhibitions is to encourage strengths, honor achievements, hone prior skills, and strengthen student weaknesses. In order to achieve this, the exhibition needs to be flexible. Student goals must be individualized, and various learning styles and unique circumstances must be considered when assessing exhibitions. The process of developing exhibitions should model student-as-worker, and should allow for student choice. The exhibition involves students in the habits of mind, work and heart. At the core of the exhibition are the relationships between product and process; purpose and form; authenticity and the “real world.” It is through this demonstration of knowledge that the internal learning process is made public. The exhibition should have clear guidelines and a reasonable time line. It should allow for practice or refinement and not be a one shot assessment. Students should compile many pieces, and not just one project. To that end, the exhibition includes written and oral elements, as well as technological products and artistic pieces.”

This is from the website, it basically outlines how exactly the senior exhibition meshes with the Riverdale program. It makes sense and I'm inclined to agree. With one major exception. The program stresses individualized, student driven projects and exhibition is not that. There were so many standardized scoring methods applied to how we took notes, how we presented, the layout of our fair presentation and our visual components that the whole project seemed like it wanted to be individual but was ultimately just a big homework assignment, at some points.

I don't believe i have any responsibilities to underclassmen in regards to my exhibition. It's not my job to show them how it's done, it's not my job to make it easy for them. I would say, in fact, that it is their job to glean as much from my project as they can, so they have some background when they start their projects in the years to come. I suppose you could say I should make myself available in case they have genuine questions, but I would bet that the other students don't really care.

Riverdale has an exhibition so seniors can showcase their magical talents and accumulated knowledge. If you want the real reason though, see #7.

I'd overhaul the research process. There was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much structure there. People should be able to research how they want, justs so long as they get the information. Also, grading notes is an idea am I am strongly against. People take notes in a lot of different ways, it's futile to try to standardize that. Otherwise, I think everything went smoothly.