This fall, English teacher Sean Nolan introduced “The Heroes We Choose,” a new AP English Literature course that joins four other junior English selectives at Townsend Harris.
The new selective focuses on exploring heroism through literary analysis. “We will analyze English, American, and Anglophone poems, song lyrics, short stories, plays like Macbeth, and novels like The Scarlet Letter,” Dr. Nolan said. “We focus on the literary elements that inform our understanding of typical and atypical heroes and antiheroes.”
“Selective” courses at THHS are required general education courses that have an elective-like theme. Dr. Nolan’s course focuses on heroism, while other courses focus on topics like fantasy metaphors or depictions of gender in the media.
Dr. Nolan said he encourages students to use the texts that they read in this class as examples for their own pieces. Junior Kristen Lee said, “We’ve read sonnets by John Milton, Shakespeare and many other authors, and we wrote our own sonnets based on these examples.” By writing their own sonnets, students are able to develop their analytical skills, which will help them when analyzing poems on the AP Literature exam.
Given that this course is an AP class, Dr. Nolan said he plans to spend a lot of time preparing his students for the exam in May. “Preparation will happen through writing essays, frequent multiple choice quizzes, recitations of poetry, group projects, and Socratic seminars,” Dr Nolan said.
Junior Caroline Polec said, “Dr. Nolan gives us different writing assignments and assessments which will help prepare us for the AP exam.”
According to Dr. Nolan, his teaching style is “constantly evolving” which allows him to work with students to help develop many of their writing skills.
“Dr. Nolan engages with the class and makes it fun to read and understand the texts,” said junior Jayla Leandré
With junior year being a critical period to prepare for college applications, Dr. Nolan said he hopes to spend some time after the AP exam to get started on personal statements, a key component of college applications. “Starting your personal statement at the end of junior year makes the madness of application season in the fall of senior year a bit more manageable,” Dr. Nolan said.
This course not only aims to prepare students for the AP exam in May and the college essay in the fall of senior year, but to also build upon their character. As Dr. Nolan said, “I want students to unlock their best qualities: independent thinking, teamwork, and leadership top the list.”
