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Jim Miller Dean of Students Seventh Grade Honors English
I am in my tenth year at BGA. During my tenure I have taught English and grammar in seventh and eighth grades, re-founded the middle school theatre program and coached BGA's nationally competitive Lincoln-Douglas debate team. Prior to my arrival at BGA, I graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy, and attended Belmont University, where I received my BA in Literature, and completed teacher certification training. In 2004, I completed my MA in Literature from Middlebury College's Bread Loaf School of English. The Middle School Dean of Students is a new position for 2008-2009. The dean works with the counselor in organizing the advisory program, and the middle school head in a number of student cultural afairs. Additionally, the dean arranges the assembly program, chairs the honor and discipline committees and oversees the Greer/Plato competition. Honors English is a comprehensive course that includes the studies of literature, writing, grammar, and vocabulary. Students will develop critical thinking skills to come to a greater understanding of literary elements at play within the reading and work to make personal connections with the writing to enhance their understanding of themselves, their community, and the world at large. We build upon previous grammar and writing skills through review, practice and eventual mastery. New grammatical concepts are introduced gradually and throughout the year the student will work to further develop strong paragraph writing skills. Each quarter the student is required to memorize an assigned selection from the literature. Writing is a weekly activity that explores journaling, peer editing, original compositions (essay and poetry), and a formal research project. The student will further develop his or her independent reading skills through an Accelerated Reading program and a specialized reading list of new and old "classics" of literature. |
