Aurora Alternative High School, The Phoenix, 1996, Page 16

Description:	ENLIGHTENENINGENGLISH AT AURORAFor Janet Johnson, EnglishTeacher at Aurora Alternative School,this first year has been an exciting one.She believes that at first it was achallenge to become accustomed to theatmosphere here. Now she reallyappreciates the closeness to the kids andthe mutual respect between teacher andstudent. She also likes being called byher first name by everyone here.Janet says, “ I wouldn’t have itany other way!”Casey Blough, a studentteacher from Indiana University, hasalso enjoyed helping out within theEnglish Department this year. Some ofher favorite class activities were thepoetry readings in Sophomore Englishand the discussions in Creative Writing.This year, Janet enjoyed theGender Roles class the most. Shebelieves that it is important to talk abouthow men and women are portrayed insociety, and how our lives are affectedby w hat we see in the media. Janetencouraged group discussion often inher classes. In most cases, the discussions ranged from the rebellion againstauthority to discrimination of race andgender to political views. Janet likedhearing all of the different perspectivesof the kids. She appreciated the kids’enthusiasm, interest, and participationin the discussions.Thanks for listening and beingopen to our opinions Janet! (Even ifsometimes we swerved a little off the road.)Janet believes that the progress ofthe students in her classes has greatlyimproved since the beginning of the year.Fewer people are failing, participation isenhanced, and people are more interestedand willing to talk. She thinks that the kidshave learned how to deal with each otherbetter and feel more comfortable in thisenvironment.Next year Janet is looking forwardto a new Beat Generation class, ThemeLiterature, and doing portfolios in CreativeWriting. She is also looking forward tocontinuing Film Class and starting newprojects.“l am investigating various teaching methods to improve learning. Plus, thecourses I’m planning should be fun!” saidJanet enthusiastically. Maryellen MayHeather Sample displays herclaymation boy in ThemeLiterature.Leo Tyree and English teacherJanet Johnson collaborate on theadvertising project duringMedia Class. Leo and his partner Rooth Farnsworth createdtheir own company for thisprojectScott Simanton studies hisclay turtle in Theme Literature. Scott is interested inHerpatology.SPEEDLIMIT
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-aurora/id/124
Collection:	Aurora Alternative High School

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