Freshman year, language arts was just a class; I did not care to excel my abilities and never seen the importance of literature. Sophomore year, I dreaded going to English 10, for language arts was my all time least favorite and weakest subject. However, I had Mrs. Sohnly for my sophomore year, and my whole perspective changed. Mrs. Sohnly was not new to the education department at Evergreen; she has influenced lives since my parents were in high school. I was comfortable with the fact that my parents loved her teaching, and it gave me hope that I would have a teacher that would change my excitement toward reading and writing. Mrs. Sohnly taught me that books have a deeper meaning than just what was written on the pages; it was almost like a life-lesson. Life comes at you directly, but you have to look at life with its hidden message. Many students dreaded to read a new book for class, but I loved it. Mrs. Sohnly’s love for reading books influenced the way I felt about them. I loved the way Mrs. Sohnly would engage with her students while reading The Great Gatsby or How to Kill a Mockingbird. Evergreen High School was quite fortunate to have Mrs. Sohnly as an educator because she made a success out of all her students. …show more content…
Sohnly is that she is very approachable. I loved spending free time with her venting about how unrealistic the show The Bachelor is, or getting excited whenever The Walking Dead would make a new season. Mrs. Sohnly was one of my best friends in high school, and even though she sadly retired after my junior year, it always brings me a smile whenever I see her substitute teaching. Every day she teaches, it is a good day because she is passionate about affecting her students’ lives. I was one of the lucky ones who was able to be taught by such a wonderful teacher because she truly did care about me and my future. Without her, I would not have achieved some of the many goals I made for
In Francine Prose’s essay “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Sing” Prose tends to evoke her unsureness on why schools use certain books to teach students their moral values. Prose argues that certain books should be taught in English classes, that in fact, teach students their values. Prose uses several literary examples, such as Frankenstein, How To a Kill A Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, etc. She also provides several controversial opinions, such as using different books to try and teach students, like The Diary of a Young Girl, Teaching The Novel, and many more that she has personally read in her lifetime. She also claims that teacher should start teaching curriculum that has meaning and that will provide skills that a student would
Within college classes, the teachers and students have the ability to talk more about controversial topics that are not allowed within the high school classes. Parents understand that when their children go to college, they will be exposed to more topics that they have yet to hear about. Parents do not expect the same from a high school classroom. Lake Braddock English departments officials sent a letter to Murphy stating that “society must address troubles the world faces” (The Washington Post - Shapiro). The letter also mentioned that, “ reading and studying books that expose us, imaginatively and safely, to that trouble steels our souls to pull us through our own hard times and leads us to a greater empathy for the plight of our fellow human beings” (The Washington Post - Shapiro).
Annie Murphy Paul created this piece in response to a comment made by Gregory Currie. She also describes the positive reasons to why reading books makes better and smarter students.
She does not understand why the older and well-known authors are not being read in high school. Prose uses a personal experience from her son’s sophomore English class. He had to read a “weeper and former bestseller by Judith Guest” (424), about a dysfunctional family dealing with a teenage son’s suicide attempt. “No instructor has ever asked my sons to read Alice Munro, who writes so lucidly and beautifully about the hypersensitivity that makes adolescence a hell,”(424). She again mentions books she approves of that should be read in English classes.
Lessons can always be learned. High school students really learn through two primary ways. The first way is through first-hand experiences. The second way, and arguably the most effective way, is through books and in class lectures. Mark Twain, arguably one of the greatest American authors, wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a controversial book. Originally banned, this book brings readers to a pre civil war period, a time where racism is adherently present. This touchy subject creates a sense of uneasiness within the teaching community because they feel uncomfortable teaching such a horrible time in America’s history. This leads to teachers avoiding Huckleberry Finn. However, teachers who lecture and explore Huckleberry Finn concepts
Coming into the end of my senior year, I was petrified. As I skulked into my classroom, I took a momentary glance around, trying to get a quick view of the people I would struggle with. After all I went through in high school; this is how I began to see my English class, a journey. I took my seat, across from a guy I knew from grade school. I knew I greatly improve at the subject, and everyone else
During the month of May, 2017, my Language Arts class was assigned a book project. Everyone received a book and worksheets that went along with the book, which helped us understand the meanings and ideas in the book. That year we read The Great Gatsby. The teacher would
Known for her wisdom and academic lifestyle, Janet McClain is among the most well-known English teachers of Bastrop High School. Janet is originally from Morehouse Parish but she moved to Florida for twelve years. She began teaching business ed during her early teaching years in Morehouse Parish, but later moved to Florida and taught Business English. The head of the English Department asked her to teach British Literature because of her evident love for literature. As she taught the class, she fell completely in love with English and decided to go back to school and get a degree in British and English Literature. The people at her old school were very kind to her for the mature yet caring personality she expressed. Janet’s old students even lobbied for her to win Teacher of the Year, which shows how lovable she is. I recently had the opportunity to interview Mrs. McClain and I found out that she has had quite the intellectual upbringing. She has always valued higher education, even from a young age. Ever since she was six years old she had an idea of who she wanted to be. Janet made the remark "Higher education is such an equalizer that can forge a door to so many opportunities." She also stated that seeking a higher education was the best decision she had ever made for herself. Janet has had the chance to do
She chose the books for them to read that related to their lives, this got them interested in reading. To help them learn to communicate she gave them each journals to write in, they could turn the journals in to her if they wanted her to read them, but this was not a requirement. When they had class discussions, it allowed the students to connect to one another. The books they read for class, taught them life lessons, encouraged them to do the right thing, and to overcome stereo types for their age and race. Erin Gruwell taught them more than just Freshmen and Sophomore English, she taught them about life and how they can change the path they are on. Through her teaching she encourage them to learn more, better them selves, and see others for who they are and not for what they
Mrs. Stewart not only hindered my love for literature, but instead induced a phobia onto me of books. The way she treated my class would get a teacher fired today. Her slender body with the complexion of a witch could scare any child, maybe even some adults. She proused the classroom like a wolf,
Kirtley and Mrs. Grubb know that demographics continues to change not only in ethnic diversity but also in linguistic diversity. This is a growing need to diversify school and classroom books that are presently in the classroom. Teachers have collected their inventory of books to help improve their students reading skills over the years. Present day student are looking for more up to date reading and with the technology being as it is. Students experience that feature a need of interests from their age group of middle school students. A school librarian at East Hills Middle School discovered that the students could not or would not read. The diverse group of students had not found books that they wanted to read the book with characters who looked like them and with whom the students felt a connection. Her fellow librarians and teacher, books are an effective way to help students understand each other. Also, they will be helping work with National Education Association Read Across America diverse classrooms across the country this year (Diverse Students, Diverse Books, by Anita
My goal for the fourth quarter was to read a classic novel that I normally wouldn’t read. This quarter was a crucial part of my development as a reader. This was challenging for me because I never read classic novels unless it is chose for me to read. I don’t usually have any interest in books that were written in a different time period. Although I learned that a lot of the times, books that were written in history, teach us lessons that we can apply to our future. I also feel that this concept will apply in college. I am going to have to read books or texts that I have no interest in. Therefore, I feel that learning that I have to read books I don’t think I’ll like, taught me that maybe it’s just for a lesson that I have to read it. I will know there is some purpose for it.
Mrs. Kissell, my first grade teacher was strict with reading. I wasn’t advanced on reading as my other classmates. Although, I wasn’t advanced as my other classmates I tried my best to be. As I remember in back in first grade, every Wednesday Mrs. Kissell would take the class to the library to choose a book of one’s choice to read,
There are certain literary subjects that are made necessary and become staples in a classroom setting. Many of the topics and stories an English class has to offer, are basic and shallow. This past semester, our Honors English class has covered a plethora of topics via the brilliantly written short stories placed in our corportly compiled textbook. Paying attention to the different pieces of literature within the textbook it becomes clear that there's a certain criteria that is being taught to students. This sort of influence has the power to shape the young minds of the students. Fortunately, the stories within our textbook cover topics that support and celebrate diversity. Those stories that have the greatest impact are stories that become memorable and serve to educate students in a greater way. An excerpt from Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson, When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer by Walt Whitman, and an excerpt from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass, are the three most compelling forms of literature that have influenced students by supporting individuals, teaching self education, and demonstrating the power of passion.
My senior year was by far the best. I had all great teachers and graduation was right around the corner. My favorite teacher, that year was my English teachers Mrs. Carver. She was one of the few teachers that wanted and did teach life lessons, along with educational lessons. She focused a lot on making sure we understood that there are small scenario in our lives that have major or minor impacts on us. Due to that, we did not really focus on our writing. Even our research paper was based on creativity and making sure when we write we put our voice and feelings into the paper, at the appropriate times. Us not focusing on writing made my small scenario have a major impact on me. My writing grammatically was never enhanced. Upon graduation, I decided to take a couple of college courses online to get a good start on my freshman year at Ole Miss. I talked to Mrs. Rhodes, my 11th grade writing teacher, about the classes I wanted to take, which were Writing 101 and College Algebra. I decided to talk to Mrs. Rhodes because she was the only teacher that challenged me academically and personally. I went to her with any and every problem. After telling her my plans she agreed that it was indeed a good an idea . She also warned me about the challenges I might face with not being fully prepared, after having such a long break from real writing. I then went to our local junior college, Northwest Community College the Desoto campus, and signed up for my online classes. My college