English at Parkerville Steiner College is about much more than learning how to write an essay. Through literature, students meet people, places and ideas beyond their own experience, while learning to think carefully and communicate clearly.
Across the high school years, students study works including Rabbit-Proof Fence, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Odyssey, Into the Wild and Hamlet. They also explore poetry, autobiography, oral storytelling and creative writing.
These texts raise questions that matter to young people. What does it mean to belong? When should we challenge injustice? What do we owe to others? How do our choices shape who we become? In class, students discuss these questions, listen to different viewpoints and learn to support their own ideas with evidence.
The academic expectations grow each year. Younger students begin by retelling stories, describing characters and responding personally to what they read. As they mature, they examine how writers use language, compare perspectives, analyse complex ideas and build convincing arguments. They write both creatively and critically, speak in front of others and take part in thoughtful discussion.
By the senior years, students are expected to move beyond simply understanding a text. They must question it, interpret it and decide what they think.
This is the purpose of English at our school: to help young people read closely, write well, understand experiences different from their own and develop a voice they can use with confidence and care.
