By Paul Neacsu, Namrud Fessehaye, Owen Gorden, Golden Randolph
This school year, the English department decided to create a new requirement for enrolling in English 3 Honors and AP English Literature and Composition after an influx of struggle in classes. Students needed to maintain Bs or better in their English courses and most controversially, they needed to show proficiency writing a timed Claim-Evidence-Reasoning.
In previous years, there were no firm requirements for English Honors or AP Literature, leaving students who were not prepared in trouble. Matthew Russell, the English department chair, reflected that the courses were unable to deliver the pace and depth that English Honors and AP Literature should demand. This year, a new rule has been implemented requiring a test to ensure the student is best for the class.
The Cougar staff interviewed Brian Dinh, AP English Literature and Composition teacher, on his thoughts about the department’s requirement changes. Dinh stated that “students coming in these classes did not have a lot of foundational literacy and writing skills that we expected them to have. These are skills that we thought they could be supported in in developing in non-honors classes”. He also felt positively about the changes, “I think they are good, we are off to the right start and I am hoping that the students who are taking AP lit next year and honors will be ready for it”.
Throughout the school year, English teachers have been preparing students with the correct skills on how to write a good CER paragraphs—the foundational skill for argumentative writing. When asked about this, Leo Eichenberg, sophomore, said “Overall, I thought in terms of literary techniques, they taught us all the right skills. In terms of what they would have done better, they could have given us practice timed CERs because most students aren’t great at that.”
Marcus Yee, sophomore, agrees with Eichenberg, stated that he was taught all the necessary skills but he needed more practice with timed writing, “I feel like Mr. Rusich really prepared me for the test. I’m not really good at timed writing, but he taught me all the basics to write a CER and that really helped me.”
Taking English 3 Honors isn’t just about the grades; it’s about how far you are willing to push your mind and if you can commit to the work. Yee says, “I currently have an A in English 2, but I don’t feel that I’m ready to take honors next year yet. I need to do some work over the summer and get my reading skills up to date to ensure the class is going to be a breeze.”
When asked how he feels about having to test into the class instead of just applying, Austin Waltz, sophomore, expressed, “I don’t really like having to test into the class, but I heard last year, lots of students were stuck in the class, so overall it is a good idea.”
