Dressed head-to-toe black and every inch a beatnik cool cat, Amanda delivered her poems to the crowd assembled in the Poetry Café. The crowd, hip to the scene taking place in Marymount of Santa Barbara’s Tea House, snapped its approval beatnik-style.
This exercise, spearheaded by associate teacher Katie Jepson, was the culmination of an intensive poetry section in which second-graders studied different styles of poetry: haiku, limericks, cinquains, Shakespearean sonnets, and couplets. Amanda wrote several poems and recited them for the group — one modeled on a Shakespearean sonnet, and another titled “Child from the Wild.”
With all the attention paid to new programs such as the design thinking and innovation labs at Marymount, it has been easy to take what Marymount calls its core subjects for granted. In the school’s curriculum literature, Marymount talks about a “mastery of core subjects.”
A few minutes with the school’s second-graders shed light on what mastery of core subjects actually looks like, and why it should not be taken for granted. When asked about her language arts class this term, Lilly, a second-grade girl, remarked, “I love studying poetry because it improves a person’s writing skills and gives us the chance to learn about different kinds of poetry.” Caroline, another second-grader, chimed in, “It’s fun getting the chance to read what you have written out loud and it prepares you for bigger stuff.”
Poetry Café, it turns out, is just one of the several occasions when second-graders can engage in writing that they then share in oral presentations to a crowd at Marymount. Earlier this year, the students hosted an Author’s Tea, an event at which they shared their personal memoires.
Second-grader Nika described this writing experience as “very challenging, but it kept getting easier the more you did it.”
A walk up to Marymount’s middle school and a conversation with sixth-graders illuminated more on what Marymount’s “mastery of core subjects,” specifically in writing and language arts, looks like at Marymount.
Cebastian, a sixth-grade boy, shared his feelings about a book he is reading in class: “We are learning about American civil rights right now, and I like learning about the differences already made and how far we have come.” Katelyn, another sixth-grader, explained, “We improve our writing a lot in this class because we write so much. It’s cool how our books connect with history.” Her friend Riley added, “It’s like history and English class in one.” Adelia also talked about the writing process in sixth grade: “I’m liking learning different styles of writing. Right now we are working on persuasive writing, and I’m looking forward to learning the next style too.” Another sixth-grader, Zoe, may have a future as an editor: “I think I like the editing process best.”
Teacher Kate Burris describes sixth-grade English at Marymount as “writing boot camp.” She explained that “this is the year that students really learn that writing is about a lot more than simply putting words on paper. We write, edit, revise … The students learn that real writing does not begin until the editing process begins.”
When asked how her son was liking his language arts class this year, Marymount parent Annette, responded, “My child has really developed his own voice in this class this year.” In response to this comment, Burris replied, “Writing is inherently personal. I hope the real reason we read and write is to understand ourselves and others better.”
In seventh grade and eighth grade at Marymount, students work with English teacher Jen Hogan, who continues to refine students’ writing and ability to interpret what they read. Hogan introduces debating to push students’ thinking. She also gives each student a lot of individual focus. In a video on Marymount’s website, Hogan says, “Writing is an art. Having an individual conference with a teacher helps a student unlock the mysteries of this art. Each term, Marymount students write two writing process pieces and a part of this process is meeting with a teacher one-on-one to talk about their writing. This individual attention helps our students fulfill the promise of their potential.”
Now a senior in high school, Serena, a Marymount graduate, nodded her head when asked if she understood the concept of mastery of core subjects. She explained, “My first high school writing assignment was assigned before I stepped foot on campus as a freshman. We were asked to read The Odyssey over the summer and had to come to our first day of class with our paper in hand. I remember thinking, ‘It’s going to be OK. I know how to do this.’”
It’s a comment that sums up the reason behind Marymount’s commitment to the mastery of core subjects and why both current students and alumni don’t take it for granted.
Marymount is an independent coeducational school, junior kindergarten through eighth grade, on a picturesque 10-acre campus nestled on the Santa Barbara Riviera. For more information, please contact Molly Seguel at info@marymountsb.org.
— Molly Seguel is the admissions director for Marymount of Santa Barbara.