Running Header: The Power of English

The Power of English

Seema Shah
Manhattan College

Abstract

The Power of English

In this paper the importance of the English language and English classes will be
discussed in a greater length. It will be compared to various literary articles and will be related to
various other subject areas. These other subject areas will assist in providing a larger insight into
why the English classes will assist students in their everyday life and future careers.
Keywords: English, Class, Language, Importance

The importance of English lies within a deeper realm, where its presence may not be
identified immediately but will result in becoming the foundation for any sort of further
education. It encompasses attributes that without, a child would struggle to succeed not only in
other classes but in any career path they choose to follow. Underneath the constant grammar

The Power of English

lessons and required reading lies an education that awakens the emotional intelligence within a
student and provides them the critical thinking and analytic skills required to succeed in the life
they choose to live. To understand how vital English class is to the the education of an average
student, it is consequential for one to glimpse into other subject areas as well as any career a
student may want to take on in the future. The lessons taught in English classes implemented
throughout the common core provides not only an adequate education in grammar and spelling,
but creates the foundation for further critical thinking and analysis. It provides the essential
training required for a student to succeed in Math, History, and Science. Through the lessons
taught in an English class, students begin to learn the basics on how to be active and intelligent
citizens.
The skills taught in an English class provide the skills to,think problems through to a
logical conclusion (Rowland, 1948, 541) making them more valuable than those who only carry
the manual skills. . Even when it comes the mechanical skills, studies show that men with a
higher education in English studies were more adaptable even in mechanical skills. They were
able to learn skills and trades faster than those who were not as trained in English studies. While
learning Literature can make one renowned in the world of Arts,Literature also covers every
aspect of life, and to assure that it is taught in a proficient manner the teacher must have a wide
cultural background, insight into human nature and a lively personality. For if one does not have
a proper English teacher, the student can be turned away from literature and then English
language forever. It a student is unfortunate enough to have a poor teacher in English, or any
subject across the board, they are more than likely to lose interest in that subject for the rest of
their life. In the English Journal takes time to make an emphasis on the fat that there is a large
real world application of english classes. While they do seem to generalize it into an overall

The Power of English

education, it is important to understand that every other subject relies on the English Language,
and the author of the article was correct in stating that if one is stuck with a insufficient english
teacher, then the subject can and will be ruined for them and all possible interest that may have
been there will dissapear.
Along with that, English literature makes the past come alive. Pieces like Beloved, or The
Scarlet Letter places the reader in the mind of a character experiencing the reality of the past.
Novels like Beloved to this day has become a way to address the corrosive legacy of the slavery
that haunts America (Simmons) . It forces students to experience the pain and struggle of our
country and ancestors and understand that our history books are not telling myths but rather real
life tragedies. The Great Gatsby, places the reader in the minds of an elite in a time right before
the Great Depression. It gives them a chance to live the life of a character who is living through
important parts of history without even knowing it, something that we may be doing today. With
the help of literature and English classes, history lessons are able to come alive and take a new
shape in the student's mind.
Math and Science classes rely on English as much as history. The importance of English
in Math and Science classes lie in the close reading skills that are developed through one's
middle and high school years. A proper definition of close reading would be constituted as the
careful sustained interpretation of a piece of text. Through word problems that require students to
process all of the given information before forming their response, a skill like close reading is
crucial. Similarly, for one to conduct the simplest of experiments, a close reading of the lab must
be done to assure the student that the procedure is understood.Continuing with that, many
students believe that because they want to pursue a career in engineering or scientist, that english
classes are useless and a waste of time for them. This is because the students are not able to

The Power of English

understand that the the power of English class lies not only in the written language but the verbal
skills required to communicate with others. Students will be terribly handicapped if they
cannot succeed in the written and verbal cognition of the English language. Therefore, as an
engineer if they wish to communicate with capitalist, public commissioners, or anyone who
requires the service of an engineer, they will be able to do so in an eloquent and intelligent
manner (Butler). The author of the listed article is a professor of Science in a proclaimed
University and understands how critical knowledge of the english language is. While Butler does
not express similar views in regards to the importance of critical thinking and analysis, he does
believe that without a proper education in grammar and presentation, the chances of success are
less than slim. Several people will attempt to denounce the importance of the English language
and its need to be taught in classrooms, but articles such as this one and the others listed prove
that the English language is necessary and vital to succeed anywhere.
There are several factors of an English class that embody the overall curriculum, one of
the obvious ones being literature. While the common core pushes students to become clinical
crafters of arguments and masters of academic language (The Atlantic), literature provides a
sense of intelligence not listed in the Common Core. The importance of literature lies somewhere
beyond the common core as well. The standards appropriately state that through the help of
various pieces of literature, students will become clinical crafters of arguments and masters of
the academic language. However, with the help of Literature students learn how to be human.
They observe a multitude of characters all of which who are on a different path in their life, all
exhibiting an exquisite range of emotions. With the help of these novels, as a teacher, I hope to
help students cope with real life- even the portions of reality that may seem disturbing and
morbid. The common core requires teachers to pick books that hedge toward personal, political,

The Power of English

and societal tragedies, books similar to the Great Gatsby, The Bluest Eye, and The Scarlet
Letter. The underlying point of this common core requirement is to introduce students to various
aspects of reality, and incidents that they are bound to come across, even though it may not be to
the same extreme. Its through the help of literature that students are introduced to sympathy and
empathy. Stronger citizens are born in English classes, all of whom will reach the understanding
that everyone is on their own path in life, that everyone has their own form of tragedy, so the best
thing to do is to treat someone with respect and kindness. This article mentioned in the renowned
journal The Atlantic expresses common but not-often-voiced opinions in which I firmly agree
with. The other articles mentioned focus on the common core and place little effort into looking
beyond it.
The importance of english goes beyond the classroom of a small classroom and spreads
far past the walls of a high school. These lessons will carry one for years to come and assist them
in their future career as well as personal relationships. The power a language holds is mystical
and is capable of taking you extremely far in life. As a future english teacher I hope to make sure
that my students realize and comprehend this important fact. The day they do is the day that my
role as a teacher would have been fulfilled.

The Power of English

Work Cited

Rowland, V. (1948, December). The Importance of English. The English Journal, 37(10),
539.
Butler, G. M. (1921). Orientation of the English Class. The English Journal, 10(7), 401
Phillips, V., & Wong, C. (2010). Tying Together the Common Core of Standards,
Instruction, and Assessments. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(5), 37-42.
Simmons, A. (2016, April 5). Literatures Emotional Lessons. The Atlantic.
Porter, Andrew, Jennifer McMaken, Jun Hwang, and Rui Yang. "Common Core
Standards: The New U.S. Intended Curriculum." Educational Researcher 40, no. 3 (2011): 10316.