Dublin School

Fall Comments
Sunday, November 22, 2015
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Student: Taya Kerwin Advisor: Bernarda Del Villar Course: English 10

Exam Grade: A Trimester Grade: A Academic Engagement Grade:
Exceeds Expectations
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Students in English 10 have been given the daunting task of learning to contextualize their understanding of
literature through the eyes of writers who are often on the fringe of the Dublin student experience. This course
is designed to develop deeper reading, writing, and critical-thinking skills through encounters with texts by
authors who hail from many countries, many cultural traditions, and many literary genres. Thus far, 10th
graders have been challenging themselves with the intricacies of Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima and Good
Morning Midnight by Jean Rhys. By considering, in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies terms, the danger of a
single story, students have been working to expand their understanding of how power, knowledge, and
literature circulate on a global scale. Together, we have begun to address the essential questions of the course:
How does literature add texture to or erase the realities we live in? Who has the power to write these stories?
What are the political and artistic roles of the author in society? Who decides who is included in the literary
canon? How do these decisions impact our sense of what "English Literature" is? How is our sense of the value
of non-canonical perspectives altered or impacted by these choices? Why do voices that are different from our
own matter? How are we made better by their existence in our lives? Through daily poem responses in their
Writing Notebooks, essays honed through many drafts, and student-led classroom discussions, English 10
students are working diligently to gain confidence in the art of personal expression and to form empathic
connections to non-canonical texts.

Taya is off to a wonderful start in English 10. Her dedication to her work, her willingness to share her thoughts,
and the ease with which she works with others makes her an incredibly positive and calming presence in the
classroom. Her Spring Snow essay was beautifully written and demonstrated not only her willingness to think
deeply, but also to explore her poetic side by expressing her thoughts and feelings creatively and vividly. If
Taya continues to demonstrate the work ethic, empathy, and willingness to maintain an open mind I have come
to expect from her, I have no doubt that she will continue to shine in English 10 throughout the winter and
spring.
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Alexander Scalfano