U-46 offering new English curriculum

Since I moved out of my parents' home a few years ago, my mother has been on a quest to completely clean out my old room.

Every time I stop by to visit, I get a box full of old dresses, pictures, books or trophies loaded into my arms on the way out the door.

Last week, it was old notebooks.

I'm not a pack-rat by any means, but for the past decade, I've kept my notes from Advanced Placement English classes at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights.

Our teacher, Viatorian Br. Robert Ruhl, was a legend of sorts.

A brilliant, imposing guy who could often hit you in your seat with flecks of spit as he lectured, Ruhl stressed tight writing, deep literary analysis and a love of Flaubert.

When he passed away in February 2008, Daily Herald correspondent Eileen Daday - whose children are also Viator alums - recounted some of Ruhl's favorite quotes in a life story.

One of them was "Get your scuba gear on, kids, we're going deep." Or "very is a useless intensifier."

I brought Ruhl's notes to Villanova University, where I studied English, and to Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, when I went on to get my master's in the subject.

Many lessons remained relevant.

Approval of a New English curriculum could have many U-46 high students doing the same thing, with a focus on applicable skills students can apply in college and beyond.

Beginning this fall, seventh, eighth, ninth and twelfth grade classes will focus on applicable skills kids will see as more relevant, a group of teachers told the board Monday.

Seniors, for instance, will spend the first quarter exploring texts and completing writing assignments centered around the theme "Who Am I?" This theme, teachers noted, also pops up frequently on college application essays.

Quarter two will focus on "What do I believe?" with Barbara Ehrinreich's "Nickel and Dimed" among the suggested texts.

The third quarter "how do I make myself heard?" has students analyzing written, oral and visual arguments.

The fourth quarter, "What is my place in the world?" studies identity as derived from allusion, imagery, themes and motifs in literature. Sounds positively Ruhlesque.