Lincoln High School at 555 Dana Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126

Contacts

Address:
555 Dana Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126
Get directions

Phone number:
+1 408-535-6300

Website:
sjusd.org

Categories:
Establishment   School  

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Reviews

• Minerva Aceves
  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  Peter Madden was by far the greatest teacher I’ve ever had. He is a genuine individual who cares profoundly for his students and is passionate about the work he does. While he was new to teaching AP Lit (not English, he has many years of experience) he also studied the books we read and totally embraced the Literature. As a class, by no means did we read the bare minimum. In fact we read the required texts as well as a piece from The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers at the end of the year that was meant to be a “reward” since we had been reading Shakespeare and Ken Kesey, among other classics all year. Reading aids like Spark notes were discussed because many students did not do their reading homework or pay attention during the reading done in class. Everyone read them regardless, to prepare for quizzes and tests. While it does not make up for reading and comprehending the actual text, it is an outside resource provided to us for a better understanding of Hamlet because sometimes we just did not understand the complicated Shakespearean language.
  
  Projects were related to the real world and how our knowledge from an English class might relate to it, if we decided to pursue a career in the field. For example, a friend of mine was interested in writing and it was because of Madden’s movie project that he discovered he had a passion for screen writing, now he’s majoring in that! His projects incorporated aspects of AP English Literature and gave students the opportunity to express themselves creatively. While not everyone is interested in movies or the Arts, it is a performing arts school, what else is to be expected?
  
  The students who involved themselves in class instead of being on their phones were really the ones who excelled. No teacher is a babysitter, students have to advocate for their own education and personally decide to pay attention even if the material is not interesting to them or difficult to understand. If a student doesn't understand certain material or doesn't like the teaching style of an educator, that is the time to be self sufficient and look to outside resources. His classes were comprised of 17, 18, and 19 year olds, most of which were college bound since they were willingly taking an AP level course. It was their own mistake believing the work wouldn't be hard because they were assigned a certain teacher. There are required guidelines teachers stick to as well as months of preparation prior, during, and after each year.
  
  Taking suggestions from students about certain assignments only reinforces that he cared for student’s opinions and wanted people to truly enjoy his class, however some people are never pleased regardless. He said himself that he had thick skin and took criticism well, which is true.
  
  Madden literally prepared us with actual practice tests but then students started complaining and whining about it being hard on their grade and barely participated. There’s no winning with certain individuals. They aren't pleased when we watch a movie about the book we were reading (something that is not unique to Madden, who hasn't seen movies in class?) and they get frustrated when we do traditional test prep.
  
  An overwhelming majority of students showed up for the AP test simply because it was required by Lincoln, skipping was not allowed what so ever. You physically had to be there to bubble in your information but as soon as time started nobody is forced to do the actual test. No one would’ve been stuck with fees the test cost $5, courtesy of the district, all you had to do was fill out a short form. Those who failed to do so totally neglected a simple task that would have saved them $75 dollars. Even if you didn't turn in the form, the office still only charged students $5! That’s how much they wanted students to take the test.
  
  Madden did not screw us over, we screwed ourselves over if we chose a pathway that didn't lead to the end result we wanted. No one is responsible for another’s decisions or lack of motivation. You really receive what you put into anything in life.

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  Herbert Hoover Middle School

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  sjusd.org