What's the best way to advocate for improved English curriculum in MS and HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree English is the weak point.

I think there’s one easy fix which is to assign more books and better book. Basically everything my kids read was written after 1950 and most of t was written after 2000. They don’t read Shakespeare, dickens, Britney, Steinbeck, Hawthorne, Wharton, Austen etc.

The second one, which is probably impossible to solve, is more feedback on their writing. They just aren’t staffed for that. They would need to give all the English teachers at least one or two more additional planning periods to give them time to really read and edit and provide substantive feedback on writing. Or give them TAs or something. (Although it’s not even clear to me that the new graduates are capable of that.)

Both of my kids have read Shakespeare and Steinbeck.

MS students should be reading texts like these, and not excerpts.

I liked reading Steinbeck and Shakespeare in public MS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's the best way to advocate for improved English curriculum in MS and HS? Feels like coming from ES, that English is the weak link in MS.
MCCPTA, local PTA, both, neither? TIA!

Vote with your feet. Private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree English is the weak point.

I think there’s one easy fix which is to assign more books and better book. Basically everything my kids read was written after 1950 and most of t was written after 2000. They don’t read Shakespeare, dickens, Britney, Steinbeck, Hawthorne, Wharton, Austen etc.

The second one, which is probably impossible to solve, is more feedback on their writing. They just aren’t staffed for that. They would need to give all the English teachers at least one or two more additional planning periods to give them time to really read and edit and provide substantive feedback on writing. Or give them TAs or something. (Although it’s not even clear to me that the new graduates are capable of that.)

Both of my kids have read Shakespeare and Steinbeck.

My kids have read Shakespeare in MS and HS. Didn’t enjoy any of the ones chosen. Read some “classics” and didn’t enjoy most.

[Anonymous]

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/news/mcps-news/2025/02/math-curriculum-nights-scheduled-for-march/

Have you reached out to your school PTSA? ELA Resource Teacher? Secondary ELA Supervisor.

MCCPTA has a curriculum committee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree English is the weak point.

I think there’s one easy fix which is to assign more books and better book. Basically everything my kids read was written after 1950 and most of t was written after 2000. They don’t read Shakespeare, dickens, Britney, Steinbeck, Hawthorne, Wharton, Austen etc.

The second one, which is probably impossible to solve, is more feedback on their writing. They just aren’t staffed for that. They would need to give all the English teachers at least one or two more additional planning periods to give them time to really read and edit and provide substantive feedback on writing. Or give them TAs or something. (Although it’s not even clear to me that the new graduates are capable of that.)

Both of my kids have read Shakespeare and Steinbeck.

My kids have read Shakespeare in MS and HS. Didn’t enjoy any of the ones chosen. Read some “classics” and didn’t enjoy most.

Not into Shakespeare either. But I went to a public school that emphasized classics and they were great.

I don’t understand MCPS’s approach to English. At my child’s ES, I rarely see work returned home. How are they supposed to learn if they don’t know where they made grammar and spelling errors? I don’t think some teachers even read the essays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree English is the weak point.

I think there’s one easy fix which is to assign more books and better book. Basically everything my kids read was written after 1950 and most of t was written after 2000. They don’t read Shakespeare, dickens, Britney, Steinbeck, Hawthorne, Wharton, Austen etc.

The second one, which is probably impossible to solve, is more feedback on their writing. They just aren’t staffed for that. They would need to give all the English teachers at least one or two more additional planning periods to give them time to really read and edit and provide substantive feedback on writing. Or give them TAs or something. (Although it’s not even clear to me that the new graduates are capable of that.)

Both of my kids have read Shakespeare and Steinbeck.

My kids have read Shakespeare in MS and HS. Didn’t enjoy any of the ones chosen. Read some “classics” and didn’t enjoy most.

Not into Shakespeare either. But I went to a public school that emphasized classics and they were great.

I don’t understand MCPS’s approach to English. At my child’s ES, I rarely see work returned home. How are they supposed to learn if they don’t know where they made grammar and spelling errors? I don’t think some teachers even read the essays.

+1 - rarely get returned work in 5th grade reading/writing. Got more returned work with grammar/spelling/content commentary in 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

I taught MS and HS English in the county for a decade. At the HS level, I had 150(+/-) students at any given time. We were expected to enter at least 2 grades into the gradebook weekly. Even a minute per assignment would take me hours beyond the duty day. For essays, I'd try to keep it to about 4 minutes per student (and no, of course every assignment wasn't an essay). Still, there is a reason why work may be returned without overly detailed notes. A very detailed scoring rubric can be helpful. None of this is best practice, though. Best practice is hard to put into place with the sheer numbers teachers are dealing with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I taught MS and HS English in the county for a decade. At the HS level, I had 150(+/-) students at any given time. We were expected to enter at least 2 grades into the gradebook weekly. Even a minute per assignment would take me hours beyond the duty day. For essays, I'd try to keep it to about 4 minutes per student (and no, of course every assignment wasn't an essay). Still, there is a reason why work may be returned without overly detailed notes. A very detailed scoring rubric can be helpful. None of this is best practice, though. Best practice is hard to put into place with the sheer numbers teachers are dealing with.

Thank you for this context! It’s very helpful. There should absolutely be more support and admin time for teachers.

[Anonymous]

They do have a new HS curriculum. I'm not sure it's at all schools. The authors are very diverse. I don't know whether DS just has a good teacher but he likes it so far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They do have a new HS curriculum. I'm not sure it's at all schools. The authors are very diverse. I don't know whether DS just has a good teacher but he likes it so far.

Wanted to add that it's much more challenging than the one older child did two years earlier. There's a lot more writing. There may be the same number of longer pieces per quarter but there are a lot more shorter writing assignments, maybe even 2-3 times a week. DS's teacher often grades or provides feedback on the spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree English is the weak point.

I think there’s one easy fix which is to assign more books and better book. Basically everything my kids read was written after 1950 and most of t was written after 2000. They don’t read Shakespeare, dickens, Britney, Steinbeck, Hawthorne, Wharton, Austen etc.

The second one, which is probably impossible to solve, is more feedback on their writing. They just aren’t staffed for that. They would need to give all the English teachers at least one or two more additional planning periods to give them time to really read and edit and provide substantive feedback on writing. Or give them TAs or something. (Although it’s not even clear to me that the new graduates are capable of that.)

Both of my kids have read Shakespeare and Steinbeck.

My kids have read Shakespeare in MS and HS. Didn’t enjoy any of the ones chosen. Read some “classics” and didn’t enjoy most.

irrelevant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree English is the weak point.

I think there’s one easy fix which is to assign more books and better book. Basically everything my kids read was written after 1950 and most of t was written after 2000. They don’t read Shakespeare, dickens, Britney, Steinbeck, Hawthorne, Wharton, Austen etc.

The second one, which is probably impossible to solve, is more feedback on their writing. They just aren’t staffed for that. They would need to give all the English teachers at least one or two more additional planning periods to give them time to really read and edit and provide substantive feedback on writing. Or give them TAs or something. (Although it’s not even clear to me that the new graduates are capable of that.)

Both of my kids have read Shakespeare and Steinbeck.

My kids have read Shakespeare in MS and HS. Didn’t enjoy any of the ones chosen. Read some “classics” and didn’t enjoy most.

irrelevant

Okay…. Actual teacher and students don’t want to have 4 years of hated English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree English is the weak point.

I think there’s one easy fix which is to assign more books and better book. Basically everything my kids read was written after 1950 and most of t was written after 2000. They don’t read Shakespeare, dickens, Britney, Steinbeck, Hawthorne, Wharton, Austen etc.

The second one, which is probably impossible to solve, is more feedback on their writing. They just aren’t staffed for that. They would need to give all the English teachers at least one or two more additional planning periods to give them time to really read and edit and provide substantive feedback on writing. Or give them TAs or something. (Although it’s not even clear to me that the new graduates are capable of that.)

Both of my kids have read Shakespeare and Steinbeck.

MS students should be reading texts like these, and not excerpts.

I liked reading Steinbeck and Shakespeare in public MS.

Mine touched on Shakespeare in MS. But I'm glad they won't get Steinbeck til later. I know their mental maturity level will be a better match then even though they could handle the reading now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I taught MS and HS English in the county for a decade. At the HS level, I had 150(+/-) students at any given time. We were expected to enter at least 2 grades into the gradebook weekly. Even a minute per assignment would take me hours beyond the duty day. For essays, I'd try to keep it to about 4 minutes per student (and no, of course every assignment wasn't an essay). Still, there is a reason why work may be returned without overly detailed notes. A very detailed scoring rubric can be helpful. None of this is best practice, though. Best practice is hard to put into place with the sheer numbers teachers are dealing with.

I appreciate your insight into this. Genuine question: why do you think teachers in the 90s able to provide more corrections and feedback? I’m pretty sure they taught at least four classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree English is the weak point.

I think there’s one easy fix which is to assign more books and better book. Basically everything my kids read was written after 1950 and most of t was written after 2000. They don’t read Shakespeare, dickens, Britney, Steinbeck, Hawthorne, Wharton, Austen etc.

The second one, which is probably impossible to solve, is more feedback on their writing. They just aren’t staffed for that. They would need to give all the English teachers at least one or two more additional planning periods to give them time to really read and edit and provide substantive feedback on writing. Or give them TAs or something. (Although it’s not even clear to me that the new graduates are capable of that.)

Every book my kids have read in MCPS for the last 20 years makes them want think life is nothing but abuse, murder, betrayal, violence. Sick selection of books. Then they wonder why they need suicide intervention counseling sessions during home room.