My Freshman Year Essay

Did you know that there are three main styles of learning; kinaesthetic (practicing), auditory (listening) and visual (reading)? According to a study by the University of Illinois, 50 percent of students learn best by the kinaesthetic style (Tyne). Books are a great way to get a better understanding of the different ways in which students learn in different educational systems. My Freshman Year by Rebekah Nathan is a non-fiction book that Nathan, an anthropology professor, wrote about her study she did when she enrolled in a college university as a freshman student. This book is an excellent example of how students learn because we see how Nathan learns as a student as well as getting an insight look at how her classmates learn. Another example …show more content…
In one instance, Harry and his two friends, Ron and Hermione, wanted to find out if Malfoy, another student at the school, was the Heir of Slytherin but they didn’t know how to prove it. Hermione suggested this one potion that they could use to transform into someone else so they could sneak in and question Malfoy without him knowing; but since no one has ever made it before, no one knew how to make it. Hermione went to the library and took out the book that had the potion’s recipe. Even though she claimed, “This is the most complicated potion I’ve ever seen,” she learned exactly how to make the potion by simply reading the recipe (Rowling 165). Hermione followed the recipe as stated and after rereading the recipe to ensure she did it right, they added the last ingredient and completed the potion. Once they drank the potion, it worked just as the book stated it would. Harry and Ron both transformed into Malfoy’s best friends, Goyle and Crabbe. The potion that Hermione just learned how to make worked so flawlessly that Rowling affirmed, “Ron was indistinguishable from Crabbe” (217). Reading the recipe proved to be a significant part in successfully making the potion and finding out key information about the Heir of