Faculty Members Approve New Senior English Electives
Faculty members discussed and approved new senior English electives on Monday for the 2015-2016 school year. Next fall, seniors will be able to choose from seven English genre-based electives, and the senior English courses usually offered only in the spring term will also be available winter term.
Currently, other than the 411/421 Advanced Creative Writing Course, a fall and winter term course for a select group of seniors, English electives are only available to seniors during the spring term. After years of complaints from students asking for more variety and choices, the English Department collectively decided to expand the English elective program.
“It was only in English that somebody who was really passionate about English didn’t have the opportunity to take additional electives in order to pursue that passion.”
English instructor Michelle Dionne said that due to the limited spots in the 411/421 Advanced Creative Writing Course, “so many students have felt cut off from what they really want to do—write creatively. This curriculum provides all sorts of opportunities for creative writing—all three terms, if you want.”
Unlike other departments at the Academy, the English Department has been the only one to refrain from offering electives throughout the year and for various grade levels.
“It was only in English that somebody who was really passionate about English didn’t have the opportunity to take additional electives in order to pursue that passion,” Director of Studies and mathematics instructor Laura Marshall said.
The newly developed courses will be similar to the current 410 and 420 courses, but students can now choose what area of the subject they want to focus on. Currently in English 410, students are randomly assigned to classes and instructors who emphasize all different genres of English.
Following the approval of the proposal, however, seniors will now “study writing from the apprentice practitioner’s perspective. Choosing the genre they prefer to explore, students will examine a number of texts and create a portfolio with a balance of original work within the genre and craft-oriented essays,” the proposition stated.
Students will have the freedom to choose from the genres of drama, poetry, creative nonfiction, memoir, journalism, fiction, satire and a multi-genre course.
Once seniors have registered for the genre that interests them, the department will decide which courses to run. “If we have enough signups for five sections of creative writing, we’ll run five courses of creative writing. It will just depend on what the popular choices of the kids are,” English Department Chair Lundy Smith said.
Dionne added, “The innovative design of the fall term will bring a blast of creativity into the curriculum. We are modeling the course on MFA writing programs, where writers study their craft and create, create, create. It should be a lot of fun.”
To further diversify their curriculum, the English Department will offer a diverse range of specific electives, which were originally only available in the spring term, in the winter term as well.
As well as providing a specific outlet for students’ interests, instructors hope the new English elective program will help students fulfill college requirements. The graduation requirements with respect to English will remain the same, but it will be possible for seniors to enroll in two English courses at once, whether it be in the winter or spring term. Such an adjustment will help accommodate students that participate in programs abroad during their senior year.
Nevertheless, the English Department still hopes that students will continue to enroll in fall term English classes, as is the custom. “It is highly recommended by the College Counseling Office that students do take a fall term English class. When students double up elsewhere, it can create problems for colleges,” Smith said.
Regardless of the possible downfalls of the new elective system, most faculty and students agree that this is a step in the right direction.
“Students who want to show colleges they have a passion for English will be able to demonstrate their interest more clearly with this curriculum,” Dionne said.
Senior Rachel Baxter agreed, noting that the new elective program will give seniors an opportunity to “hone their skill and find their voice or try something that they hadn’t had the opportunity to try yet.”
Although Baxter was chosen for the 411/421 Advanced Creative Writing Course, if she had not been accepted, she said she would have wanted the possibility to focus on a specific area.
“I knew that I wanted a poetry-heavy course, but I also have friends who enjoyed projects like the Reporter at Large and want to explore journalism or something of the sort.” The elective possibilities will be able to account for the range of interests among the student body.
Additionally, Baxter thought that since the electives are offered only in the spring, students can feel like they are missing out on interesting course topics. But with the new proposal, these electives will be offered both winter and spring, which will gives seniors a better chance to enjoy what appeals to them. “The courses are so valuable and enriched that it seems like a loss that I am only able to take one this spring,” Baxter said.
Upper Evan Thomas also found the proposal to be advantageous; he believes the student body will embrace it with open arms next fall.
“It is undeniable that students who enjoy what they’re learning learn better, and inherently put more effort into their work,” Thomas said. “The new system appears to provide an outlet [for students] who want to learn something specific instead of taking yet another general English course like so many other times before.”