No one really knows this, unless they read the Curriculum Guide, but English 9's fancier title is "Literary Touchstones."  Someone wanting to test (or assay, which is related to the word "essay") precious metals uses a small, flat touchstone.  We want to test the freshmen's mettle, in a sense, by introducing them to both historically accepted literary touchstones and contemporary works that will not be soon forgotten.  

 

Before the school year even begins, students for the past few years have explored their own beliefs about the world and ideas as part of their summer reading of NPR's book of essays This I Believe.  By writing their own This I Believe essay, they create, one might say, their own touchstone against which all their reading and writing and learning and behavior during the school year will be set.

 

We begin the year's literary journey by introducing the concept of the "hero journey" to students' understanding of "heroism."  For as long as we can remember, English 9 has begun with The Epic of Gilgamesh, so we continue that tradition.  One wouldn’t think that a 4,500-year-old myth could speak to a freshman today about the abuse of power, the bond of friendship, and our universal questions about life and death—but it can. This year, we will pair Gilgamesh with Nick Lake's 2012 In Darkness--winner of the 2013 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature--which will explore similar themes as Gilgamesh but will follow the dreams/hallucinations of a 15-year-old gang member named Shorty, trapped in the rubble of the 2010 Haitian earthquake.

 

We will explore justice with Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Antigone, which will be matched up with satirist George Saunders' 2005 novella The Brief & Frightening Reign of Phil.  And Homer's Odyssey, the pinnacle of our literary exploration, will be met with the voices of Margaret Atwood's 2006 Penelopiad.

 

These famous voices, however, won't be the only ones we're listening to and celebrating. Of supreme importance will be students' voices, heard in their writing journals, their formal and informal writing, their discussions and projects, and, ultimately, their Personal Online Portfolios.  Stay tuned!