English department launches new senior electives

In Brian Stumbaugh’s digital storytelling class, some students worked on films about the history of Clayton A. Bouton High School, while others prepared to turn in a film about a student’s father who escaped the Czech Republic.

The English department is trying to cure “senioritis” by offering a series of English electives designed to hold the interest of high school seniors who might otherwise be disinterested in a typical English 12, yearlong course.

High school seniors who are not taking Advanced Placement English can choose one elective each quarter from the nine offerings, allowing them to customize their senior English curriculum.

“We wanted to give them a choice of courses and allow them to engage,” says Brian Stumbaugh, chairman of the English department.

Stumbaugh and English teacher Lynn Kelly researched senioritis, or the unmotivated attitude some students can bring to school during their final year. They learned that schools could combat it by engaging students in courses that interest them, while maintaining high standards.

The nine new classes this year include

• Survey of Drama;

• Media Analysis;

• Film and Literature;

• Short Story;

• Creative Writing;

• African-American Literature;

• Public Speaking;

• Digital Storytelling; and

• Senior Writing.

All seniors are required to take Senior Writing for one quarter in order to graduate. As part of the course, students will write a senior thesis, a 7-10 page research paper.

The electives focus on different principles that students would learn in an English class, such as writing, Stumbaugh said, but these specialized courses may offer students more creativity than a typical reading-intensive course.

Students are graded each quarter on a major project and create a final portfolio at the end of the year.