Welcome to your AP English Literature and Composition blog for the 2010-2011 year

My name is Mr. James Cook. I will be teaching the AP English Literature and Composition course during the upcoming school year. Forty-one of you have signed up for AP English, and, fortunately, Gloucester High School can offer two sections of AP English Literature and Composition next year, which means that there is room for everyone. However, before the English Department finalizes the roster for the course I want to make sure you understand the demands of AP English Literature and Composition.

During the summer you are expected to read the "GHS AP English Summer Anthology" by various writers, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (581 pages), Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (171 pages), and a book of your choice. You will also be expected to keep a quotation response journal for each work, participate in four AP English summer sessions at Gloucester High School (pending approval of the funding), post analytical comments on the AP English blog (apenglishghs2011.blogspot.com), and write analytical and personal responses to the summer reading. This list is not intended to scare you off. However, I want to be honest and upfront about the expectations. If you are seriously committed to reading, writing, talking, and thinking at a college level, I promise that you will find the summer experience to be fulfilling and rewarding.

During the school year you will read between 500 and 1000 pages, write between twenty and thirty pages, and participate in several graded discussions each term. You are expected to be self-motivated and genuinely engaged; and, since one goal of the class is for every student to do well on the AP exam, it is important that you are willing to work with classmates in small groups to analyze texts and evaluate peer work. You will learn from the texts, your teacher, and each other. The class atmosphere, therefore, must be collegial rather than competitive, and you must do your share of the work.

Please consider this information and make a decision about whether or not you are committed to fulfilling the requirements of AP English Literature and Composition. Please complete the "commitment form" (on the back of the letter given to you) and attend a brief but mandatory meeting in room 2207 on Wednesday, June 9 immediately after school. If you have questions about any of the expectations please stop by 2207. I am looking forward to seeing you.

Sincerely,

James W. Cook
English Teacher
Gloucester High School