Before given this assignment, I have often pondered the question “Why are we required to take an English course all four years of high school?” and every time I ask a teacher or guidance counselor this question, I am told “Well, what language do you speak?” suggesting that because English is my first, or primarily used language, I am therefore required to take the course all four years of high school. I understand that it is preferred that we develop our use of the English language further, however, I have taken Academic or University level English all throughout high school and I feel that there is only so much that can be improved on with grammar, phrasing, formal compared to informal pieces of writing, etc. before the content of that courses get a little repetitive.
That being said, I am a perfectionist and I prefer to have my pieces of writing to be as accurate as I can make them in terms of grammar and such, but that is solely in classes such as an English or French class. Outside of these classes, I am often told that proper grammar, to the extent that one might use when submitting a formal piece of writing, for example, an essay, is not necessary in things like written labs in a chemistry or biology class, or when stating your final answer at the end of a math problem.
The point I am getting at here is that maybe we should start considering grade 12 University level English as a required course for those who are going into a Bachelor of Arts in English studies or Language studies of some sort because those fields of studies are focussed on the language while in other studies like a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, the focus is not whether or not you can put a comma in the right place, but what exactly you’re examining and your conclusions. I mean, when choosing your courses for grade 12, math is not a required course anymore, only if it is required by the undergraduate program you are applying for, so why can’t we treat English as the same? Therefore, I believe that grade 12 University English should become an elective so that, if the course pertains to the field of studies you are planning on going into, you have the option to take it but it is not required for everyone.
I would love to hear the different perspectives of my fellow classmates! What do you think?
ENG4U 
This blog is very interesting. You have a very different view than I do but you’re points back your opinion up. I can agree with a lot of what you said but there is also some things I disagree with. I agree with you fully that this course can get VERY repetitive. That’s one of the reasons I took it online, because I personally think this course is already a lot different then it would be in class. The one thing that really stuck out to me in your blog that I respectably don’t agree with is when you said that English should only be a requirement for a Bachelor of Arts in English Studies or programs related. Taking a program like a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, you need to be able to write lab reports, or state you conclusions or your opinion on a lot. I am a science nerd, I have probably taken every science course available to me at my school. From having all this experience with science, I firmly believe that ENG4U is actually extremely important to have as a prerequisite. Although you may not be writing essays on shake spear you actually do a lot more writing then you think, just in different forms! If you don’t mind me asking, do you take science classes? Just curious because that would definitely tamper with your opinion.
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Hello Avery,
Thanks for responding you my blog post. To answer your question, I do take science courses and am going to University for a Bachelor of Science. I appreciate that you have shared your perspective on this question and I understand that English courses in the past have helped us develop our writing and analytic skills. However, what I am saying and I was trying to point out by stating the English courses can get repetitive through the years is that, what is so special about having a grade 12 English credit compared to the rest? We basically do the same things; practice writing essays, analyzing novels, etc. just to a greater extent and of higher quality than the previous year, so I feel that we have gained enough literary skills to be able to write the things you have listed such as labs, why is the grade 12 credit necessary? Is everything up to and including grade 11 English not enough?
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I suppose.
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