Why Do We Need English Class?

Sitting in an English class is not an excuse to take a 45 minute nap. At least, it shouldn't be. Taking an English class is not simply reading a short story or writing a persuasive essay. Of course, these activities do take place. Yet, an English classroom contains so much more. It is a space where students from all across the world come together for a brief time each day, learning to express themselves through multiple mediums and honing their own voices, both spoken and written. (I am not being hyperbolic, for my own classroom contains scholars from Nepal, Honduras, Cuba, Congo, Vietnam, Taiwan, I could go on...) This diversity brings classroom discussions alive.

When we teach English, we are not just bestowing lessons on syntax, diction, metaphor, or onomatopoeia. Nor do we simply thrust upon our students boring, dry books, "the classics," in the hopes of lulling students to sleep or creating future English graduate students (we know, we are a poor and dying breed). Rather, we hope that students leave our walls remembering the stories that come out of our world's histories, be they from America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, or Asia. That they have the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of those whose struggles have been penned and printed, even if they cannot quite yet relate. Or, at the very least, find a place where they can pen their own individual thoughts (with proper grammar, of course) and express themselves through writing when they thought they never could. 

I leave you with a brief video that hopefully inspires you to continue reading, writing, and learning, whether it be in the classroom or outside.

                                                            "How and Why We Read"