By Kira Lu ’20, Feature Editor

Though many feel that reading books for English class takes away from the joy of reading, this is not the case for many Newark Academy students; NA English teachers do a great job of encouraging learning and critical thinking through the curriculum. Books read in each grade are not only meant to spark discussion but also hold lifelong meaning as they are applied to other courses at NA and to how we approach our own lives.

Ninth grade is generally a transition year for most classes, and English is no exception. I expected there would be a specific theme for the books chosen in each grade, but Ms. Mahoney said: “We mostly choose the ninth grade books with skill-building in mind rather than a specific theme. Rather than thematically linking the text[s], we emphasize exposure to a variety of voices and genres. With the end of the year video project, we intentionally strive to find and build a connection, but that is not our primary focus in text selection.” The emphasis on skill-building is important for setting up students for success, not only in later English courses but also in all courses, as critical thinking is an essential skill. In addition, the diverse selection in the text adds to student engagement; reading a variety of texts including modern books might make English class more efficient. Stella Gilbert ‘22 says, “I’d say I’ve liked most of the books we’ve read this year in English. I probably like them more because of our class discussions than just because of their content, but I also appreciate that we’ve read some non-traditional books. I don’t think I have a favorite book from this year, but I really enjoyed one of the short stories from our short story unit, ‘The Second Bakery Attack,’ by Haruki Murakami.” The discussion-based class structure most English classes at NA are built around contributes greatly to student engagement with the text.

The skills highlighted in Literature and Composition continue to be developed and improved through English courses beyond freshman year. In tenth grade, I thought that “American Literature” would just consist of reading work by American writers, but I found new meaning in the texts when I was encouraged to form my own ideas about American identity and American values through the text. Sophomore Pravan Chakravarthy comments: “I like how we learn about the different historical contexts for each book in APUSH or AMEX even though they don’t always line up school year-wise. My favorite book we read this year is probably The Great Gatsby and second would be A Streetcar Named Desire.” The narrow theme in tenth grade, following a specific subset of literature, is a huge contrast to the ideology behind choosing the texts for ninth and eleventh grade English. Freshman and junior English teacher, Mr. Scerra, commented, “We want you to read books you will connect with and enjoy, that will make you think and make you feel, and that are from a variety of literary traditions. It’s nice to see a thematic connection but that isn’t the primary focus. Developing student skills is the number one priority, usually in the form of developing critical thinking, close reading and analytical writing skills.” Though the focus of choosing the texts may be strengthening skills, gearing texts toward students is still significant because student interest in the text is definitely a factor in how well students absorb skills and techniques. In terms of student engagement, I noticed that many students seemed to gravitate towards seeing the theme across texts as opposed to the skill-building elements they encouraged. Justine Seo ‘19 says: “I think in senior year there’s been a very prominent theme of the characters understanding themselves in the context of a group they’re in. For instance, we read Beloved where we are asked to consider the role of the titular character in terms of the family she lives with.” Reflecting on her experiences in her English classes throughout NA, Justine says: “My favorite year of English was freshman year! We read so many fun books in so many different styles of writing. For me, it was so cool to read Persepolis — I had never read a graphic novel in an English class before! English class taught me a lot about considering the nuances of material, understanding that there are certain things that we will all interpret in different ways.” The critical thinking skills that English equips students with are significant to developing a diverse range of opinions in discussions and essential to take with us wherever we go.

Even though I only formally interviewed three out of over four-hundred upper school students, most NA students have read at least one book in English class that they have genuinely enjoyed. Besides finding connections between texts, many English discussions also lead to connections to other classes; knowing the context of a book fuels more discussion that extends beyond analysis of the text and reaches into how we apply what we learn from a book to how we grow as part of the global community. The skills built through English class are skills we take with us throughout our time at NA and beyond.