The English department at Benilde St. Margaret works to build foundational skills to help students acclimate to the difficult school environment of high school. An example of this is the 9th-grade honors English class: the syllabus focuses on critical thinking skills and building skills to further push them into becoming better writers and thinkers.
The class deeply instills core beliefs to help students prepare for harder English classes in the upcoming years. “Ms. Bevington got us used to writing essays in a shorter amount of time and reading books in a short amount of time,” 10th grader Claire Berger said.
9th grade brings the inevitable reading of Romeo and Juliet, an often-favored choice for new high schoolers who are increasingly more interested in romance and drama. “I think [Romeo and Juliet] had very different aspects of English, but they had very good main points,” sophomore Paige Helmer said.
10th grade at Benilde St. Margaret’s brings more options for English classes: Honors English classics, Honors English contemporary, and 10th-grade English. Each class has its own selection of books that coincides with the genre the class emphasizes. Honors English classics reads many books like Jane Eyre, The Nickel Boys, and Lord of the Flies. Honors English contemporary touches more on books covering modern-day issues. All three classes are certain to set you up for success; finding a class that intrigues the student is the key. “I really like reading books, and I think writing essays is something I find fun in,” freshman Laney Breiter said.
Outside of school, reading is not a popular after-school activity, but once someone finds a book they like, it’s hard to put it down. A common trend arising is a heightened interest in romance novels for high school students. The twists and turns of romance novels keep readers interested and make the book an easier read. “I really love The Summer I Turned Pretty because the conflicts and all the different types of drama that happen between the characters make it very interesting,” Helmer said.
Books were thought to be becoming a lost passion, but for high school students, it’s very much a thriving art. Between school and free time, reading books has begun to make a comeback for Benilde-St. Margaret’s students.