.
March 2, 2010
Noelle Fujii
Symbolism, tone, style. Some students can’t even comprehend the meaning of the work, which makes enjoying, much less analyzing, the work impossible.
“Every day, it’s a teacher’s job to get students interested,” English teacher Sharon Jones said.
Yet sophomore Melanie Miller is often bored by the assigned reading. She had difficulty understanding Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. She read Art Spiegelman’s Maus because it was a captivating, easy-to-understand graphic novel.
“I was motivated by Maus because it was in the form of a comic book, which set it aside from all of the other books,” Miller said.
Freshman Maureen Madrid believes a good story and climax can motivate students to read. Madrid is unimpressed with a majority of the current academic literary selections, but she continues to read in order to do well on the tests.
“I don’t know what English teachers would really let us read but I guess [I would] like [to read] stories that can relate to a typical teenager’s life,” Madrid said.
Freshman Natalie McCluskey would like to read books containing adventure and life lessons.
“[The books I’m reading in English class] are about the older times, which is harder to relate to and [they also] use older language, which I don’t see the point of learning,” McCluskey said.
On the other hand, senior Michael Jones enjoys the assigned dramatic works. Although he did not enjoy every classic, he liked Lord of the Flies by William Golding and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
“Often in everyday life you see references or quotes from classic books like the ones assigned in class,” Jones said.
If pop culture is not enough to encourage students to read classics, they will be pleased to learn that more contemporary books are approved annually.
English teacher Stewart Perlman submitted The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini to be reviewed and successfully approved by the district. However, purchasing the novels and developing new curriculum is also an issue.
English teacher Teri Hu submitted eight contemporary books to the district for her AP English Literature class, and six were passed.
“We teach enough literature by dead people, it’s time to read books by people who still have a pulse,” said Hu, in an e-mail letter.
She submitted more dramas, such as “Six Degrees of Separation” by John Guare and “Wit” by Margaret Edson, because she can make copies to distribute to students.
“I don’t know if every student who doesn’t read would be more inclined to read if the books were more relevant, but for SOME, that would make a difference,” Hu said.
Meanwhile, teachers continue to motivate student readers through interactive projects, group work and class discussions.
This article originally appeared in print on March 2, 2010. It has been modified to correct style errors.
.
February 15, 2010
Htoo Htoo Lu
As more teachers use extra credit for simple tasks such as buying materials for the class, its purpose deteriorates. Teachers should give extra credit opportunities for the benefits of students.
“I don’t offer extra credit to students for simply buying things because I don’t see how that’s related to what [students] are learning,” English teacher Stewart Perlman said.
Often times, students rejoice at the chance of receiving extra credit for simply buying things for the teacher. We give little thought to as to whether it is the right thing to do or not. Even those students who believe it is wrong find themselves dashing to the store to get those few extra points.
Who cares if it is right or wrong? It’s better than staying up until 2 a.m. to study hard to do well on a test; it is better than having to put in any amount of effort at all, right? There is nothing to lose by buying that box of tissue, is there?
Most students, including me, have this mindset instilled into us. However, after giving much thought to this, I realized teachers should not give out extra credit for such a simple act. Teachers should encourage students to work harder and expand their curiosity. Everything a student does in a class should be related to the class. Each student’s grade should clearly reflect his or her understanding of the subject.
However, some teachers argue that they are doing good deeds to the community and others by using this extra credit method. English teacher Teri Hu gave out extra credit to her class for bringing gift-quality childrens books. The students had a chance to share their favorite and most memorable children books with other children. She donated these books to the Union charity program.
“I want to encourage young people to read. Some books may even be life-changing,” says Hu.
Nonetheless, extra credit should only be given out to students for “extra” work that digs deeper into a certain subject they are learning. For example, government teacher Elizabeth DeWitt gave extra credit to her students for watching documentaries and news, reading non-fiction government-related books and other activities that would enhance the student’s understanding of the government. By making the students work harder for their grade, students would no longer slack off because of the thought of not being able to raise up their grade by simple extra credit assignments.
.
January 29, 2010
Htoo Htoo Lu
Often times, students rejoice at the chance of being able to receive extra credit for simply buying things for the teacher. We give little thought to as to whether it is the right thing to do or not. Even those students who believe it is wrong would find themselves dashing to the store to get those few extra points.
Who cares if it is right or wrong? It’s better than staying up until 2 a.m. to study better than having to put in any amount of effort at all, right? There is nothing to lose by buying that box of tissue, is there?
Most students, including me, have this mindset However, after giving much thought to this, I realized that teachers should not give out extra credit for such a simple act. Teachers should encourage students to work harder and expand their curiosity. Every thing a student does in a class should be related to the class. Each student’s grade should clearly reflect his or her understanding of the subject.
“I don’t offer extra credit to students for simply buying things because I don’t see how that’s related to what [students] are learning,” English teacher Stewart Perlman said.
Nowadays, the idea of extra credit is losing its actual purpose as more and more teachers are using them for other purposes I believe that it is important for both the teachers and the students to realize this and begin to use this extra credit opportunity for the benefits of the students.
However, some teachers may argue that they are doing good deeds to the community and others by using this extra-credit method. AP English teacher Teri Hu gives out extra credit to her class for bringing gift-quality children’s books. The students are given a chance to share their favorite and most memorable children books with other children. She then donates these books to the Union charity program.
“I want to encourage young people to read. Some books may even be life-changing,” Hu said.
Nonetheless, extra credit should only be given to students for “extra” work that digs deeper into a certain subject they are learning. For example, AP Government teacher Elizabeth DeWitt gives out extra credit to her students for watching documentaries and news, reading non-fiction government-related books and other such activities that would enhance the student’s understanding of government. By making the students work harder for their grade, students would no longer slack off the thought of not being able to raise up their grade by effortless extra credits.
Photo Credit: Raphael Ghieuw Sien
.
October 14, 2009
Simrundeep Kaur
English and Social Justice teacher Stewart Perlman loves Halloween. As a kid, Perlman dressed up like a cowboy or a pirate. He and his friends would trick-or-treat in apartment buildings. After a successful night of candy collecting, Perlman and his buddies would come together to enjoy their finds.
Perlman brought the same love for Halloween to his own children by taking them trick-or-treating and to the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival each year. They also selected and carved pumpkins together.
“My son, Jon, loved Halloween. He decorated the front porch each year and really got into it,” Perlman said.
One of the greatest Halloween memories he had was when his son dressed up as a scarecrow. His son “sat on a bench extremely still and then spooked children when they got close.”
“I think the Bay Area celebrates Halloween bigger than before, especially with what schools do with the carnivals and stuff, and the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival,” he said.
Although Halloween is meant to be a fun holiday, unfortunate things can still occur, so Perlman advises to have fun, but not to vandalize property.
Loading ...