Academics

Departments

English

Main Number: (415) 334-0525   Fax Number: (415) 334-9726

Name/Title/Profile	E-mail	Ext.
Julie Dearborn Department Chair/Teacher MA, San Francisco State University BS, University of Kansas		x321
Mark Botti Teacher/Yearbook Moderator MA, San Francisco State University BA, Boston College		x361
Liz McAninch Teacher/Director of Drama Program MA, San Francisco State University MA, University of Illinois BA, Texas Tech University		x308
Charley Schaefer Teacher/Legacy Moderator MA, San Francisco State University BA, St. Patrick's College		x310

 

Department Profile

Students graduate from Mercy High School able writers, active readers, and articulate speakers. Our four-year, sequential study of language and literature develops students� dignity and sensitivity even as it teaches language skills. Reading and writing become tools for our students. Engaging in the daily process of learning to read and write with excellence, students learn to manipulate those human ideas embodied in the great literature from around the world. The clarity of thought and of communication that they learn contributes to their success and satisfaction far beyond Mercy High School.

 

The Freshman Year

Critical to success in any high school is a student�s ability to read and write maturely. Structured as a college preparatory course, in the literary genre, freshman English introduces the major types of expression and allows students to respond, both personally and analytically, in class discussions, activities, and written assignments. Students learn by participating. Grammar review and vocabulary lessons grow from the reading and writing assigned. As students produce critical literary essays, records of personal experience, poetry, and short stories, they gain confidence. Teachers use a variety of learning techniques, constructive criticism, and personal encouragement to guide students successfully through their first year of high school English.

All freshmen have a reference text, Writer�s Inc., and The Daybook, a critical thinking workbook.

The literature covered during freshman year will vary to meet the needs of the students, but will include both classical and contemporary selections from all the literary genres.

 

The Sequential Program

Sophomore, junior, and senior English build on the skills and ideas introduced during the freshman year. Each year focuses on a different body of literature, but all of our English classes emphasize student skills. Students are asked to do more sophisticated literary analysis, to synthesize ideas maturely, to refine their writing skills, and to present those ideas to others with style. As students move from British Literature their sophomore year, to American Literature their junior year, and finally to World literature their senior year, they learn the skills that will serve them well, not only in college, but also in their adult lives. At all levels, the writing process emphasizes pre-writing, discussion, peer evaluation, as well as teacher evaluation, revision, and finally the finished draft. Reading, too, becomes a regular activity as all students at Mercy are required by the English Department to read at least one novel each quarter.

 

All English courses are college preparatory. At the junior level, students may elect to take the Language and Composition Advanced Placement class. At the senior level, they may elect to take the Literature and Composition Advanced Placement class.

 

At the sophomore and junior levels, students prepare for the PSAT and SAT tests. The seniors prepare for the A.P. English exam and/or the college English Placement Exams. The majority of Mercy High School seniors successfully satisfy both the U.C. and California State University subject �A� requirement. The English department faculty work diligently to ensure that Mercy students are more than adequately prepared for the rigors of analysis and writing at the college level.