Friday, January 6, 2017

SEE IF WOMEN IN LITERATURE IS THE CLASS FOR YOU

By NICOLE QUINONES

For seniors, there are a lot of options to explore as far as English courses at Washingtonville High School are concerned. One of those classes is Women in Literature, taught by Ms. Bac, who is an English teacher at the high school.  When students are told that the class exists, they often ask questions such as, “What do you do in the class?” and “Is it fun?” 

The structure of the class is something that students might not be used to. At the beginning of the year, students are told to bring in a marble notebook to decorate with pictures that are related to women’s rights, mean something to them or are of influential women in their lives. Seniors who take the class who haven’t had Ms. Bac before, look forward to finally being able to decorate a notebook. 

NICOLE QUINONES FOR WIZARD WEEKLY
Students fill the notebook with assignments throughout the week by stapling their readings and journal entries to the pages. The class follows a rotation: presentation day, media day, reading day, discussion day and writing day. Each day focuses on strengthening students’ writing skills and communication skills. 

Senior, Katie Smolar, who is in this year’s Women in Lit class, expressed her feelings on the rotation, “I think it keeps the class interesting instead of doing the same thing every single day. It gives us experiences with all different kinds of learning techniques.” Notebooks are collected at the end of the rotation and count as a quiz grade. There are also some essays that need to be written throughout the course, but most students don’t mind it because the topics they write about are interesting. So far they’ve had to write two essays.  One was a definition essay where students were able to choose a word which made the assignment enjoyable.  The next essay was a romance essay which captivated students because they got to pick a television show or movie to prove if the romance portrayed in the show was realistic. 

Opening up is a huge part of the course. Women in Lit is a great class to take with a mixture  of people that you may or may not know. You have to feel comfortable in the environment and the topics being talked about, while also learning different attributes of classmates’ personalities that you didn’t know before. The students in the class genuinely get along.  Once students open up to each other, there is a bond that is created. Smolar, again, opened up about the environment and connections that are made, “Because we talk about topics that affect all of us, we are able to come together and bond. I think it’s awesome how a group of people from various friend groups and surroundings can come together and create new friendships.” Mimi Badu, another senior who takes the class said, “It wasn’t hard to open up to the class because I grew up with these people and there is a vibe of comfort in the room.” The students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts about sensitive topics and about their personal lives. 

If you are an upcoming senior and interested in taking this class, talk to your guidance counselor  about signing up f next year. You might need to buy some tissues!


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