Beginning in August, the one-size-fits-all approach to English will be a thing of the past for juniors and seniors

By Alex Zhai
Gargoyle staff reporter
Published Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006, Gargoyle, news

It's official now: Uni's English curriculum is going to look different starting next year. On Jan. 4, the Uni curriculum committee ratified the English department's proposals, including the change from the current yearlong junior and senior English classes to semester-long courses.

The English department will offer three courses in the fall and three in the spring for juniors and seniors to choose from. Although the topics are set, the department is not yet announcing who will teach the classes.

The fall will feature courses on the 19th-century novel, African-American literature, and Shakespeare. The spring will offer classes on the 20th-century novel, Asian-American literature, and British and American poetry.

The new curriculum had been in the making for two years. Previously, the curriculum committee met to assess the feasibility of the proposal and to plan a course of action. This time, the members of the committee gathered for a final discussion of the proposal and a vote.

According to English department head Elizabeth Majerus, the main issues brought up in the meeting were possible scheduling problems with the increased number of classes and how individual classes might be changed in the future. The English department plans to periodically rotate new classes into the six courses available to juniors and seniors each year.

One concern was that the topics of the new courses might overlap with existing courses in other subjects. However, according to Majerus, “It was decided that the focus of an English class on a given topic and a fine arts or history class on a similar topic would be different enough to make the classes unique.”

The committee was “very enthusiastic” overall, according to Director/Principal Kassie Patton. As expected, the proposed changes passed unanimously.

With the new curriculum approved, the implementation is now up to the English department. Teachers must prepare the classes for next year.

For teacher Steve Rayburn, the bulk of that planning will have to wait until summer, when ongoing classes are not taking up most of his time. Meanwhile, Rayburn attended the National Council of Teachers of English convention in November, where he looked for possible textbooks to use.

Teacher Suzanne Linder has taken a similar approach. “All of us are on the lookout for books and material that we think would be useful in the new courses, but we are also in the thick of teaching our current courses,” she said in an e-mail.

The details are not all settled yet, but the outlook for next year is positive. “I'm really excited about the changes,” said teacher Adele Suslick. “Change is good.”