english Archives - Loreeebee

Is Shakespeare necessary in high school English classes? That is MY question…

Why do they still force Shakespeare and ancient literature on high school students who have no future use for it? I understand that Shakespeare’s tragedies are part of the history of literature, and feel that he should be mentioned in that context, but devoting a large part of English classes to deciphering it is ridiculous. I do not mean to offend any readers that may enjoy and appreciate Shakespeare, but am speaking here as a mother of three sons, none of whom found the hours spent on Shakespeare useful or interesting.

English is the only mandatory (at least here in Canada) course in grade twelve. That fact is understandable as we are a predominantly English-speaking country. Most Canadian universities require a minimum mark of 70% in grade twelve English for admission. That would not be much of a problem for university bound students if the curriculum consisted of things these students could actually use in their chosen careers. Useful skills such as writing resumes, memos, and technical reports, using proper grammar, preparing PowerPoint presentations, debating and public speaking would be much more beneficial and less of a waste of time for students trying to concentrate on their futures. When they are not interested in, and have no future use for Shakespeare and English literature, forcing it on them only serves to lower their grade average, compromising their acceptance into the university of their choice.

Grade twelve is a stressful year for students trying to decide what they want to do after high school graduation. Unless headed for a degree in English literature, studying and analyzing Shakespeare is of no use to many of these students. Perhaps English literature should be an optional course in high school instead of mandatory, so that those students that enjoy it and may have use for it can benefit without punishing those that do not and will not…

“To Be or Not to Be” should be “To Take or Not to Take”

Although I have only recently joined Facebook, I must say it is great for looking up and reconnecting with old friends. In the past few weeks I have reconnected with two such friends…

I was quite a tomboy growing up in Cornwall, much preferring games of football, road and ice hockey to playing with Barbie dolls and fussing over my clothes. It didn’t help that there were mostly boys living on our street and that I was closer in age to my three brothers than my two sisters. I do not remember exactly when it was, but I know I was younger than ten years old, when a new family moved in to the home across the street from us. I was excited that there was a girl my age in this family, and I know my mother was hoping I would lose some of my tomboy personality with a new girl friend on the street.

This new family was french speaking; the children spoke some english, but the parents very little. It was my first introduction to french immersion, and in retrospect I learned more french from them than I ever did in school. I am sure it worked both ways, as the children and their parents had no choice but to learn english as they were the only french speaking family in the neighborhood.

The girl in this family quickly became my best friend, and although we went to different schools, we spent most of our free time together, each learning the rules of the other’s mother language. She learned that “beurre d’arachide” was not called “butter peanut”, but “peanut butter” in english. I learned which french words were preceded with “la” as opposed to “le” (most important things have “la” by the way) along with many common household phrases. I even learned to play cards in french, as most friday or saturday nights the grandmother would come over to visit their family and the cards would come out. Her favorite phrase (at least this is how I remember it) was “je tu avec mon ace” which translates (loosely) to “i beat you with my ace” I also remember learning a few french swear words from the father, but those are probably best left unsaid…

Unfortunately, this friend and I drifted apart in our later teen-aged years, and lost contact completely when I went off to school in Kingston and later moved to Ottawa. We have both since married and have children of our own. My parents have both passed away, I know her mom died suddenly years ago, but I am not sure if she is fortunate enough to have her dad with her still.

The other friend I have recently reconnected with on Facebook is my “little sister”. In my family I have two older sisters, two older brothers and one younger brother, but not a little sister. Years ago, before I had children of my own, I applied to the “Big Brothers/Big Sisters” association to become a big sister. This was something I had always wanted to do, since the program was familiar to me in Cornwall where my cousin was the first executive director and co-founder of Big Brothers. I was matched up with my little sister, an eight year old girl who lived close to my home in Kanata with her mom and younger twin sisters. My little sister and I spent many hours together over the next eight years; talking, laughing, crying, celebrating and growing up. Officially our relationship as big and little sister ended when she turned 16, but we remained close for a few more years until life got too hectic for both of us and we drifted apart…

I am grateful to Facebook for the chance to reconnect with these two important women in my life. I hope to get to know both of them once again!