The Gunn English Department is part of the reason why

The Gunn English Department is part of the reason why it’s worth to go school each day. There are so many facets of Gunn English that make it my favorite subject at Gunn—the mixed-grade classes for underclassmen, the magical Farrellian system (even if Mr. Farrell insists that he just uses what the AP people use), the creative ways to review vocabulary, how the desks are arranged in each class, our circle discussions on the ground, the warm atmosphere you get when walking into class, how it makes people think and reflect, how it induces civilized debates and spurs discussions outside of class… It engenders a fuzzy feeling inside me as I think about it.

People say that the books we read are quite depressing, but in all honesty, they’ve also taught us a lot about life—even if it only means that we should avoid the character flaws that we read about in the pages of our Dover editions. We just finished reading A Man for All Seasons in English. Despite the sort of depressing ending, Thomas More’s determination made me realize that although we can easily give into peer pressure, it’s just as easy to stick with our principles. We just need to focus on what we believe in and extend our rooted beliefs even further into the ground. (No fake anchors!) Then no wind, no matter how strong, can make us bend or sway.

I consider quite a few of the English teachers as the “emotional engineers” of the school. They have insights on students that sometimes we may not even be aware of. They care, they listen, and they try their best to help us—that goes for a lot of the teachers at Gunn. The depressing English books at HMGGMH. I guess the literary term for that would be an “oxymoron.” =)

–Hinkety Pinkety (12)