In the new 2023 school year, German teacher David Blumberg and English teacher Nathan Ward have
taken over Campolindo’s Advanced Placement English Literature class from retired teacher Dan Doyle. Due to its difficulty and demand for quality, students have varying opinions on the new curriculum.
This has been a significant adjustment for both teachers as Mr. Doyle was “one of the most respected and talented teachers at this school,” said Ward. Further, this class adds more of a workload because of its rigorous curriculum. There are more essays that are being assigned, and since most of these students are going to take the AP, the teachers “want to get them prepared to take this exam,” said Ward.
The class mainly consists of conversing on works that have been assigned as reading. “It’s pretty discussion based…we are in charge of reading the books on our own time…then we come to class and discuss lots of elements like theme, character, and plot,” said senior Marcus Han. This type of learning definitely helps break down works that are hard to grasp, as students build off of their classmates’ points.
Most students find the class difficult, but highly engaging. Han said “the volume of text is pretty challenging, but I really enjoy digging into literary analysis and the class in general is pretty fun.” The importance of AP Lit is not lost on the students either. “I think the main focus of the class is to expose us to a diverse portfolio of literature and really teach us how to read these different types of texts and interpret them,” said senior Max Marino.
Further, students find this to be an adjustment from past English classes. “It’s harder, especially in terms of in-class essays. If there was an in-class essay before [we would] get the whole period, now it’s just an hour,” said senior Sergey Kirsanov. Further, the focus of the class differs from English 1, 2, and 3. As an underclassmen, it would mainly be about “reading books,” but now students are “learning about the structure of literature” and analyzing different kinds of texts, said Kirsanov.
Though this class is an adjustment, students also find themselves working off of past knowledge that they learned as underclassmen. “I find myself using a lot of my freshman year knowledge about integrating quotes,” said Han. This class is a clear example of how students have to adapt to a new style of writing each year and build off of what they have learned.
The class has taught students a lot already and helped them refine many “writing and analysis skills” and helped them “read old English,” said Marino. It’s clear what they have learned in this class will help seniors who decide to go to college next year, because that is where their writing will truly be tested.
Overall, seniors find themselves happy with their decision to take the class. “It’s a challenging AP, but I’ve always enjoyed literature so I enjoy seeing different perspectives on these works,” said senior Madeleine Termondt. It is difficult with the amount of text assigned and the harshness of the grading, but there is still room for success and support for students. Seniors “have opportunities to pull [themselves] back up out of any problems and mishaps,” and they are given “time to get things done,” said Termondt.
