THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 23, 1994 TAG: 9408230009
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
The English Department of Salem High School would welcome visits by anyone truly interested in the content of today's public-school curriculum. We invite perusal of the course guidelines for our newly designed semester courses in English.
We believe it is important that Edward G. Kreyling (``Lowering the standards,'' letter, July 31) examine the syllabus for Fundamentals of Writing, a junior/senior course which he mistakenly assumes is ``composed of material usually taught in third or fourth grade.''
Mr. Kreyling was the lone dissenter back in January when the Salem English Department received School Board approval to implement semester writing and literature courses designed to focus English instruction for meeting the needs of students based on their academic and career plans.
We are offering such courses as Writing for College, Writing for the Workplace and Creative Writing, as well as a core of reading courses in contemporary, American, British and world literature. Students are required to take one writing and one literature course for each of their final two years at Salem.
The Fundamentals of Writing course, which Mr. Kreyling criticizes, prepares students for both academic and vocational success by individualizing instruction in reading and writing.
This course covers an extensive list of skills and concepts which enable students to evaluate writing based on available facts. It provides intensive review of specific problem areas in grammar, mechanics, spelling and vocabulary. It emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving and school/career transition. The reading list includes Langston Hughes' poetry and William Shakespeare's plays.
The design of this course has helped Salem High School to eliminate effectively the Basic English 11 and 12 courses, which for years had tracked students in English.
A one-semester Fundamentals of English course will prepare a student to perform at or above grade level in three other challenging course offerings, which he will choose to complete his English program.
Last year, 8 percent of Salem students enrolled in Basic English 11 and 12. Now that we have eliminated the basic track, 5.8 percent chose to enroll in Fundamentals, indicating that students are choosing for themselves more advanced writing courses. Many have gone beyond the English requirements and selected challenging writing courses as electives.
At Salem High School, we work to improve our course offerings, not to demand less of our students.
ALMA B. HALL
English Department chairman
For the Salem High School
English Department and Administration
Virginia Beach, Aug. 4, 1994 by CNB