What is English/Language Arts?
English/Language Arts is the study of how readers and writers bridge the gap between text and meaning. Without a reader's interactions with a text, a novel, newspaper article or blog post is just a soup of letters and words. You, the reader and writer, construct meaning out of words. This process is critical to learning because it leads us to the core of what something is and means.
Consider this: a book is a text; a historical event is a text; a famous painting is a text; a person is a text; the world is a text. But what do they all mean?
Consider this: a book is a text; a historical event is a text; a famous painting is a text; a person is a text; the world is a text. But what do they all mean?
Why Study English?
Words and language are powerful. For millenia, poets, singers and storytellers have used their words to entertain audiences and elicit change. Singers and poets have used verse and song lyrics to woo loved ones, political leaders have shaped and reshaped nations through speeches, and philosophers have forced audiences to reconsider basic assumptions about life.
...but how? How does a string of letters or a chain of words have this much power? How can you and I harness this kind of power?
Studying words and language is challenging. Reading isn't easy, and understanding complex ideas locked away in seemingly indecipherable prose is even more difficult. But this is exactly why you and I should read: we need to train our minds to solve challenging puzzles so that we can reach our greatest human potential. We will never know what our minds are capable of doing unless we experience and overcome challenges, even the challenges of reading.
Writing can be difficult, even painful, because it requires writers to be vulnerable to criticism. By writing, you are choosing to be out in the open for others to examine and take apart. This might be a scary thought, but how else do we build confidence in our ideas and abilities? How else do we share a wonderful thought that we might be hiding?
Studying reading, writing, speaking and listening will prepare you for the future. Your future employers and jobs will expect you to understand how to read well and problem solve. Studying English will teach you how to explore and unlock ideas, skills that you will need on a daily basis at any and all jobs.
Students who excel in English have the tools to live healthy, full and responsible lives. They know how to empathize with others because they experience the pain and joy often found in novels. They dig deeper during conversations with friends and coworkers because they refuse to settle for just basic comprehension and want to get to the "heart of an issue." They learn. And learn. And learn. Because their experiences with all types of literature show them that they are just specks in a beautiful and awe-inspiring universe.
...but how? How does a string of letters or a chain of words have this much power? How can you and I harness this kind of power?
Studying words and language is challenging. Reading isn't easy, and understanding complex ideas locked away in seemingly indecipherable prose is even more difficult. But this is exactly why you and I should read: we need to train our minds to solve challenging puzzles so that we can reach our greatest human potential. We will never know what our minds are capable of doing unless we experience and overcome challenges, even the challenges of reading.
Writing can be difficult, even painful, because it requires writers to be vulnerable to criticism. By writing, you are choosing to be out in the open for others to examine and take apart. This might be a scary thought, but how else do we build confidence in our ideas and abilities? How else do we share a wonderful thought that we might be hiding?
Studying reading, writing, speaking and listening will prepare you for the future. Your future employers and jobs will expect you to understand how to read well and problem solve. Studying English will teach you how to explore and unlock ideas, skills that you will need on a daily basis at any and all jobs.
Students who excel in English have the tools to live healthy, full and responsible lives. They know how to empathize with others because they experience the pain and joy often found in novels. They dig deeper during conversations with friends and coworkers because they refuse to settle for just basic comprehension and want to get to the "heart of an issue." They learn. And learn. And learn. Because their experiences with all types of literature show them that they are just specks in a beautiful and awe-inspiring universe.