English

English Department

An English class at University School will change a student’s life. As a student finds his place around a large oval table in an English classroom at University School, he finds his place in a discussion with his peers about a topic that matters to who he is and how he understands the world. With his book opened and his hand raised, he joins his classmates in a conversation that opens his thinking to other perspectives.

Guided by his English teacher, he reads writers whose words broaden his thinking about himself and the world, and he writes essays that deepen his ability to express himself clearly. In a sequence of courses that prepare him for college-level reading, thinking, and writing, he learns to read closely, think independently, and write persuasively.

In GRADE 9 he reads books about growing up, moral choices, and heroes, and writes paragraphs, essays, and a short story. In GRADE 10, he reads Homer and Shakespeare and writes expository essays and a research paper on a topic about which he is passionate. In GRADE 11 he reads great works by American writers and writes critical essays and an original speech, and may qualify to take the class at an AP level. In GRADE 12 he chooses writers and topics that interest him in one of several elective courses, including several options at the AP level, that inspire and challenge him to become a competent and confident reader, thinker, and writer.

If he wants to read and write outside of the classroom, he can join the staff of The Record, the school’s literary magazine, or work with an advisor on an independent writing project as a Davey Fellow. Interested students may also apply in their sophomore year for our Anderson Scholar Program in the Reading and Writing Concentration.

We in the English Department at University School believe in the power of words to change lives – whether they are the words of a famous writer, the words a student contributes to a class discussion, or the words a student articulates that reveal what he thinks and who he is.

We invite each student to join us at the table to read, learn, write, and grow.