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English Elective 10

10 June 2018
Quincy E, Privett ‘20
All students enrolled in English 10 were given the choice of five electives to take for the month of May. There was Kid Lit, Photojournalism, James Bond, Gender Equality, and Scary Stories. The students had a range of feedback about the English 10 Elective. So did the teachers Mr Ganley, the teacher of two of the classes said, “I love the elective month because it permits me and my students to study topics that are of interest to us both. I also get to meet students I haven’t taught before.” The program started in May of 2006 and has takem place every year since then. Amelia H, Allard ‘20 took the Gender Equality elective that was taught by Mr Ganley. She said, “In gender equality we had discussions about current events, the roles of genders in society, and ethics. There is a final presentation about whatever we wanted to study as long as it pertained to gender equality. We also analysed certain aspects of pop culture.” All students of that class have certainly gained knowledge about how gender fits into society today and they will use that knowledge during their time at Brentwood and beyond. The Kid Lit elective was taught by Ms Hedquist and had students writing and illustrating a children’s book for their buddies in kindergarten. Deklon S, Privett ‘20 said, “My buddy Clifford gave me a list of the things that he likes and I wrote and drew the pictures for it. We have gone to our buddies’ school about five times now and read stories to them. They loved it. Our next visit will be our last and we are going to surprise them with our finished books.” Unfortunately the kindergarteners may never see their buddies again after the last visit. However, they will have their books to remember them by forever. The pinnacle of the Scary Stories elective may have been the tour with Ghostly Walks, however other events that occurred during Ms Steele-MacInnis’ course were definitely just as fun. Oliver G, Whittall ‘20 explained, “We learned about key elements of horror and ghost stories and did research about local ghost stories. We all wrote a ghost story and shared it with the rest of the class over smores at a class campfire by the waterfront.” This elective helped the budding authors develop their talents in a genre that they are not accustomed to in a fun and engaging manner. “Add a visual piece to any written piece and it helps when you’re reading it to provide more in depth context” said Piper W, Hope ‘20. That sums up the main reason photojournalism is one of the preferred forms of journalism in today’s media. To develop photojournalism skills, students in the class “wrote articles and took pictures on topics and events that we are passionate about,” said Piper. The teacher of the class, Mr Ganley, explained that the course “allows the students to write about topics they care about and enjoy the pleasure of publishing to thousands of readers on the school website.” It’s a vital stepping stool for anyone who aspires to be a journalist or photographer in the future and an all-around fun course even for those who have no desire in pursuing it in the future. The Head of the English Department, Mr Collis, taught the James Bond class. In the class, students “learned about the movies and books and how the differ” said, Jordan D, Privett ‘20, “We also learned about how the movies are affected by the state of society at the time they are released. In the past they were very sexist and racist, but as society moves forward, the movies must conform to it.” The students watched some highlights of the movies, read the first bit of Moonraker, and achieved a greater understanding of how society can affect movies. As the Genre Unit concludes, students and teachers of the classes can all look back and reflect on the knowledge and skills they have gained and be grateful for one of the best ways to learn, through fun. Quincy E, Privett ‘20

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