By allowing students more freedom to decide what they learn about, the English department’s quarter classes offer students an alternative, focused and beneficial learning experience compared to the typical semester classes.
English department coordinator Stacey Aronow said the skills students learn in these English quarter classes will benefit them throughout their lives.
“The skills that you learn in the classes are the communication skills that help you be successful in the real world, [such as] how to write and how to communicate, both through speaking and through the written word,” Aronow said. “Also, [the courses help students] learn how to do research, and how to sift through what is credible and what is not credible.”
According to English teacher Michelle Ruch, it doesn’t matter which quarter class you take; you still learn similar skill sets from each one and benefit a lot from all of the classes.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re in Literature of Horror and Suspense, or if you’re taking Psychology and Sociology in Literature, [you’re being taught] the writing process, literary analysis, active discussion, how to ask good questions,” Ruch said.
Additionally, English teacher Therese Tirado believes that the English quarter classes have the benefit of driving out more student engagement.
“The quarter courses are interest-driven and [since they were introduced] we’re seeing a little bit more active engagement from the students,” Tirado said.
For junior Reese Robitaille, it is easier to do the work for the English quarter classes because he is interested in what he is learning about.
“[In other English classes] I felt like when I was reading books, I was just kind of skimming over it, and I wasn’t intrigued by it as much,” Robitaille said. “Now that I’m in Mythological Men and Women, I’m a lot more into the book. It’s something I want to read, and I’m actually intrigued by the material.”
Aronow said that students can only get as much as they put into the class.
For example, the student who is actively engaged in class and constantly participating will learn more and benefit more from the class than a student who doesn’t fully make use of the class.
Robitaille said that having prior knowledge of a subject you’re learning about can make the learning process more exciting.
“I think that knowing some of the background of it will make it a lot more fun and more intriguing,” Robitaille said.
For Tirado, a big problem before quarter classes was that students were not always reading the material because they were not interested in the books.
However, now that students can freely choose their English class, “there’s some autonomy and ownership in selecting what topic they want to read about. We are seeing more kids actually read the material,” Tirado said.
For Robitaille, the English quarter classes are more easily enjoyed when compared to typical English courses because of the experiences he is able to bring sto the table.
“It’s cool to see all the stuff that I saw when I was younger come to life and read about it and learn about it,” Robitaille said.