Mrs. Shirley Jean Walker's English I Pre-AP

      Welcome and thank you for embarking on your journey to personal mastery of the English language.  Speaking and reading are not the sole components to true dominion over any language.  There are the elements of grammar and usage, interpretation, mechanics and writing, articulation, listening and so many others that I will be pleased to share with you.  It is my hope that each of you has a desire to express his/herself without fear of being misunderstood, amongst other common reactions.  The exercises, assignments, and progress points you will be given are tools.  As such, your skill will only be perfected through practice, application,  and evaluation.  Opportunities to present your newly acquired skill will always be coupled with the abilitiy to infuse your work with your perspective.  The joy of knowing not only the answer to something but also delivering it as only you can is the mark of any true successful person, albeit personally or professionally.  You can look across the media for easy examples:  talk show hosts, musicians, directors... the list goes on and on.

     The history of language is that, while ever expanding and evolving, it is always rooted in several fundamentals.  1)  Our ability to communicate at such a high cerebral level is what separates us from the animals.   It is not natural to aspire to speak in a form of communication that is broken or inefficient.  That is why you are here.  You recognize the importance of not letting any word, either spoken or written, take away from your ability to share your truths, beliefs, and opinions.  I commend you, as does this school.  2) Language - whether for good or bad - has always been a tool for recognizing intellect.  The scope of this filtering goes from the world of law (ex: witness testimony) to psychiatry/psychology (ex: establishing sanity).  It is one of the ways that businesses select preferred clientele.  On a more basic level, it is even a means of discerning how one chooses those with whom to socialize.   Being judged for what you say as opposed to how you say it is the definition of being seen for who you are.  My ultimate goal is to set you on the path that will make even those who may disagree with your perspective still be in awe of your line of reasoning.  Respect is often the gift that keeps on giving.

     Your success in this class will prove that you are capable of being more than a student.  You are laying the foundation for being an adult that has an independent mind and the means to make that known.  Each of you are challenged to establish your own identity, and I aim to help you learn how to convey it in a convicing manner.  Once again, thank you for investing in yourself and your future.   

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