gwcs ENGLISH Senior Seminar

TEACHER:  Mr. Pereira

One of the greatest things about being an English teacher at GWCS is the Senior Seminar. This class, taught every two years, focuses on an area of literary interest and covers it in depth, more like a college seminar than a typical high school English historical survey course. Over the years, I've had the opportunity to teach classes on Hamlet, Sea Adventures, Postmodern Literature and even a glorious class on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As a teacher I appreciate Senior Seminars because they allow me to explore my own passions and interests with my students. They also allow me to construct classes based on the interests of my students. 

This year I am teaching Honors African-American Literature; although this is a subject I have long been interested in, the reason I'm teaching it is because, over the last few years, I noticed students responding with particular enthusiasm to the African-American authors we read in American literature. In fact, I had some students specifically ask for this class, so it's been such a privilege to be able to teach it to them! We have been diving deep into the history and different varieties of African-American literary and cultural expression, from song lyrics to philosophy, short stories to speeches.  

Something special happens in a classroom when students know not only that the teacher has a personal connection to the material, but the class was created with them, specifically, in mind. Every class at GWCS affords possibilities for that kind of engagement, but Senior Seminar is my personal favorite. 

GW Community School
English Senior Seminar
Daniel Pereira, Teacher
January 4, 2018