WHY?
“Why do you we have to do this?”... and other questions
Why do we have to take more English classes than any other?
Why do we have to look for the “deeper meaning” in a story? I already know how to read.
Why do we have to write so much? I already know how to write.
Why do we have to learn new vocabulary? I already know enough to get by.
If you ask any of those questions, then you are half-way to the answer. This class is not teaching you how to read & write, you already know how to do that. This class teaches you how to think about the world around you and your place in the world in a more complete way.
George Orwell, British author of texts you might have read--Animal Farm and 1984-- thought a lot about language and here’s the conclusion he came to:
THE PERSON WHO CONTROLS LANGUAGE CONTROLS HOW OTHERS THINK
The ultimate purpose of this class is to help you gain more control over language so you can better control your thinking (and maybe control others’ thinking; just be sure to use your new powers for good, not for evil).