The value of a small school, literature, and an epic...

Yesterday, for the first time in many years, I began a semester of teaching British Literature. I was actually nervous: had I forgotten things? Was I going to be too rusty? I think we got off to a decent start, though, so that's good. And the American Lit class went okay, too. After a semester of the focus being on writing, a literature-heavy schedule is a nice change.

Both classes are quite small, only six students in each. Our enrollment at the high school is small, but seems to be starting to build back up. It's never been all that large, but with families having fewer children, and others choosing to either home school or send their kids elsewhere (especially during and just after the pandemic protocols), we've had pretty low numbers. When I started teaching there, many families had four or five children, one had twelve-- not so, and not possible nowadays. Couple that with few places to rent or buy, especially on hourly-wage-earners' income, and we have the situation we do.

But that said, they are great kids, the material is familiar to me, and I'm pretty psyched. Both classes are dual enrollment courses-- students can opt to earn college credits at the same time they are working on graduation requirements. This is a bonus for them, in so many ways. The cost is very low, comparatively-- 100.00 for the Brit Lit class, which is a significant savings. The course would cost well over 1K in person, on campus at SNHU. The same goes for the Am Lit class (associated with WMCC)-- that would cost them about 800.00, and will likely cost them 75.00, with a "scholarship voucher" -- either way, kids are learning and earning credits for very little money. 

Our school offers a few courses that are designated AP courses, which looks good for both the school and for the students on their transcripts; if they take the qualifying exam and score high enough, many colleges/unis will accept the coursework. We also have a robust internship program as well; students gain a lot of practical experience that can transfer into getting meaningful employment after graduation, if not before. 

We may be small, but we do our best to help our kids get where they need to go. 

All of that is important, of course, but what really gets me excited is hitting the ground running with the epic, Beowulf. Heroic deeds, beautiful poetry, and a grisly tale-- how wonderful. =)

Have a good day,

C