Grafton Globe Newspaper
Winter 2020 Edition
For the last four years, Seniors had the option to choose what English class they wanted to take, and those options included in many half year classes: Powerful Warnings, Power of Words, Literature and Film, Human Condition, and Writing in Different Voices. Having options was beneficial for the Seniors since they would be able to choose whether to take the normal English class or AP English Literature, or to take a half year course of their choosing. However the English Department decided that starting next year, the half year courses won’t be offered to the seniors anymore, and instead they would choose between taking CP English or AP English Literature.
In other subjects such as science and math, multiple courses are offered for the students within the subject. In science for example, there’s a big difference between Anatomy and Chemistry. Sophomores are given the opportunity to choose between those two classes, and both classes differ greatly, leading you down two different paths. In math, the seniors will be given the chance to choose between Statistics, Pre-Calculus, and Quantitative Reasons, all of which differ greatly. In both cases, the class you choose is based off of your future plans, and what you’re interested in. Additionally, the subject material in the different courses within the subject are much different. So could the same be said about Senior English? Are all the half year English courses much different from the normal full year class? If so, then losing these half year classes would be concerning, because now the option to take classes based on what the students are interested in is completely eliminated. Fortunately, the short answer to that question is no. The half year courses don’t differ too much from the full year class. Sure, some of the subject material would differ between the classes, but overall there’s more in common than you may think. Ms. Miele, an English teacher summed up that the students are getting the same things out of all the courses, stating that “the classes offer the same skill sets. They meet the same standards and skills, same continuation.” The half year courses are still normal English courses, and as Ms. Miele summed up, there still would be papers, presentations, and other assignments that would need to be done in both classes. So taking a half year course versus taking the full year course would still lead you down the same path, because all the classes would provide the same continuation of Senior English. Despite the half year courses and full year course being similar, there is a difference between them, however it is small. There obviously will be small differences here and there, but the only big difference Ms. Miele stated was that “the teachers of the different courses can tailor the books that they read, maybe with different themes and messages and things like that.” Teachers may be able to adjust the books that they read based on the course, and perhaps teach different themes and messages from the book. In the big picture, the same thing is being taught, the only difference is that it's being taught through different books with different themes and messages. In the end, the students are still learning the same skills from all the classes, so the difference isn't anything to worry about. You may think that by only having one option for an English course rather than having multiple is a bad thing because the students don't get to decide (despite the minor differences), but the classes were being removed for a good reason, and there’s an upside to this. The upside comes from the fact that a good majority of the seniors will be taking the same English course (Seniors can also choose to take AP Literature and AP Language but most students have and probably will choose CP English). Mrs. Wrenn explained the upside to this as she stated “the senior team will be able to work more closely together and bounce ideas off of each other because we won't be in that separate bubble of elective.” Since most seniors will be taking the same course, the entire class would be learning the same content and going at the same pace for the entire year. This can help the seniors greatly. For example, if you have a question about a class or need help with it, you can turn to almost anyone in your grade to ask. You don’t have to worry about whether they’re in the same class as you or not, because almost the entire grade would be at the same level. And as Mrs. Wrenn said, the seniors will be able to “bounce ideas off of each other.” This wouldn't have been possible in previous years because all the seniors were in all different classes, so it would be difficult to work with peers in different classes, because the content would be different. Having most of the seniors taking the same English course will make it easier for them to collaborate with each other, which only makes learning better. And this was the main reason why it was decided by the department to switch back to eliminating the half year courses. Another thing to note about next years English course is that the English teachers are trying to incorporate some visual and literary film into the English course next year. Mrs. Wrenn explained “we are talking about trying to incorporate that into senior English as well, some sort of component that works with visual literary and film.” For anyone who wanted to take the Literature and Film half year course next year but now can’t, you might just be in luck since the teachers are making an effort to add some components of that into next year’s English course. Powerful warnings, Power of words, Literature and film, Human condition, Writing in different voices were all the classes that the Seniors won’t be able to take. This may seem really bad at first, but it isn't as bad as it sounds. As Ms. Miele and Mrs. Wrenn summed up, all the English courses are providing the same skills test and same continuation of Senior English. And sure, deciding what class to take was a good option, and it is a downside that it’s gone, but I believe that the upside to this outweighs the downside. Mrs. Wrenn said, summed up the Seniors will be able to collaborate with each other more than ever before, and I believe that’s a great benefit. So yes, it is big news that the senior only have one option for English next year, but in the end, this will only benefit the seniors.
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