High School
English
The primary goal of the Ribét Academy English Department is to prepare our students for college and beyond. The intellectual challenges intrinsic to the study of literature provide an excellent vehicle to train students to be open minded and eager to learn while equipping them with the skills needed to be critical thinkers and readers.
The teaching of literary and cultural theory as a means to analyzing literature is part of the focus for the high school English program. Students are exposed to Psychoanalysis, Feminism, Post Structuralism, Race and Ethnicity and Colonialism, providing them with different perspectives and context through which to analyze the texts they are reading. Classic high school textbooks are eschewed in favor of critical editions and literary anthologies that are typically used in college courses. These texts while accessible and reasonable for high school level study are chosen for their presentation of information in a more scholarly manner that prepares students for the texts they will encounter in university.
Reading and the honing of skills of argument and analysis are further supported through writing. Students are exposed to literary terminology that enhances their ability to discuss texts, both orally and in written form. Through writing assignments students will practice writing organization techniques that enable them to present informed and meaningful arguments while making use of the Modern Language Association (MLA) standards for academic writing. Students are expected to use the terminology they have learned to discuss texts. We also encourage students to consider the following as they proceed:
- What qualities of the text lead the reader to a greater understanding of the human condition?
- How do the structural elements in specific genres enhance the piece as a work of art?
- Is context important or necessary to the interpretation of the text?
- How does literature function as a form of historiography?
- What are the functions and uses of the study of literature outside of academia?
Thesis driven expository writing is taught as a recursive process that includes multi drafts, research methodologies and peer review. Peer review sessions provide the opportunity for students to support each other’s learning and reinforce their own in a collegial format similar to their future university experiences.
- English I – Is a ninth grade survey course designed to provide students with a taste of everything to come in high school English and build a foundation of tools and skills for deeper study.
- English II - 10th grade English is a survey course on American Literature. Students discover American authors from the beginning of the colonies to present time while learning the literary techniques used by these authors to stimulate and motivate the readers. Students are also exposed to expository writing with in class essays and reports throughout the year.
- English III – For eleventh grade is a survey of major British authors along with cultural and literary theory.
- English IV – World Literature provides twelfth grade students with a survey of authors and cultures with an emphasis on post-structural analysis.
- AP English: Language - Rhetorical analysis is taught in AP English Language. Students are exposed to a variety of readings from literature, opinions, to paintings, and political cartoons. The students then learn how to analyze and write rhetorical essays, voicing their opinions on the subjects using personal knowledge. Students also learn how to take several articles and cartoons, on the same subject, and synthesize them into one rhetorical essay.
- AP English: Literature - The Advanced Placement Literature and Composition course is designed to provide students with the skills necessary to pass the AP exam and, therefore, successfully earn college level credit for Introductory/Beginning English Literature and Composition.
- AP English: Creative Writing – An elective course encouraging students to explore their creativity through the writing forms of genre, short story, novel, play writing, screen writing and poetry.