English Composition

Course Description:

English Composition is designed to develop students’ abilities to think, organize, and express their ideas clearly and effectively in writing. This course incorporates reading, research, and critical thinking. Emphasis is placed on the various forms of expository writing such as process, description, narration, comparison, analysis, persuasion, and argumentation. A research paper is required. Numerous in-class writing activities are required in addition to extended essays written outside of class.

Outcomes:

This course taught me how to express myself in writing and present my ideas in an organized manner. I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge on presenting my arguments and point of view, in order to convince my intended audience or get them thinking. Below is a sample paper I wrote on my literacy journey:

How I Overcame Stuttering

As I peek through the curtain onto the stage, I am overwhelmed, afraid and terrified. How did I get here? I am not supposed to be here, after all I am just an indigenous farmer’s child, surrounded by the elite. Oh, here comes Ms. Cooper, she is coming straight at me. Why does she have a worried look on her face? “Greg it’s almost your turn. Now remember to breathe and look at the audience. I want you to remember you are a good reader,” she says in a reassuring voice. I do not say anything, I just stare at the stage, lost in my thoughts. I can read, for I am a good reader because I want to read, and I have something to say. But, I am afraid I might stutter.

 By some divine intervention, I had been chosen to read my story at the annual talent show. The announcer’s voice pierced my ears like a sharp object, “Ladies and gentleman please welcome to the stage Gregory Masuka from Form 1, in Ms. Cooper’s class.” Here is the moment I had worked hard to achieve, for me to be able to read in front of an audience. I hesitantly walk up to the podium, every step getting harder and heavier, I finally make it. As I stand at the podium, I feel like there is a construction site inside my stomach, bulldozers rearranging my insides. My brain has shifted into overdrive–How did I get here? What if I stutter? What if I cannot get the words out?

“Good evening ladies and gentleman. I am going to rrrrr.” I try again, “Ahh…. Rrrreeeaaddd a story abouuuuut…..” Why me God? I am stuttering–No! I quickly search the crowd for Ms. Cooper, there she is looking at me with a proud face. Her facial expressions saying you can do this, you deserve this, and you are good at it. In that moment as I stared at Ms. Cooper’s face and read her facial expressions like a book, the answer to the question “How did I get here?” came into my mind.

I got here because I had found books. Books gave me an escape from reality. My reality was a continuous struggle to fit in, to be normal. All my life I had stuttered and it was especially worse when I would read. The other kids made fun of me, and looked at me as if I was different. They did not pay attention to what I had to say because they could probably not understand me or I took too long to say what I wanted to say. So, when it came to reading in front of the class, I was embarrassed and I would refuse to do so.

That is until I entered Form 1, Ms. Cooper’s class, my life changed. My parents knew I had a special talent of telling stories; however, I did not see it or feel it. When it came to my stuttering my father always said, “Greg if God willing you shall speak without a stutter.” They worked hard to send me to Lomagundi College, an expensive private high school. My father always said, “Son, the best investment I will ever make is investing in your brain, which is worth more than any material things I might leave you when I die.” Ms. Cooper must have seen and sensed the same things my parents did, for she went above and beyond the call of duty when it came to nurturing my love for reading.

I would stay over after class and read to Ms. Cooper only; she did not mind my stuttering. If she did mind my stuttering she surely never showed it. I can only imagine how difficult it was for her to patiently sit in her mahogany chair and listen to me try to read. She would encourage me to continue on reading and reread until I could overcome the stutter. So, I did just that, I would read for what seemed like hours. She introduced me to the National Geographic magazine, which incorporated pictures into the text, this greatly improved my comprehension by helping me visualize what I was reading and learning. The stories, reports, and articles I read took me to places I could never imagine. I felt, smelled, heard, and touched the world through reading. I wanted to know and understand more about the world and all it had to over.

So, as I stood at the podium and shifted my gaze from Ms. Cooper to the rest of the audience, I see Joel whispering into Amy’s ear, probably saying something awful about me and gearing up to laugh at me. At that moment, I remembered how reading the National Geographic inspired me to dream of different places. I dreamed I would travel far, faraway and would write about my discoveries and tell people what I had seen. So, here I was about to fulfill my dream to tell an audience about my travel to Egypt.

“Good evening ladies and gentleman, I going to read you a story about my trip to Egypt. The title of this story is ‘The Pharaoh’s Kingdom is Alive.’” I found my voice which I pulled out from the depths of my stomach and I eloquently read my story for the audience. As I read my story describing in vivid detail what I had learned, seen, ate, and touched, I got a sense that the audience could visualize this magnificent place I was describing. All eyes were on me, attentive and fixated on every word coming out my mouth. I took the audience to a place far, faraway just like the reading of the National Geographic had done for me.

The construction inside my stomach comes to a halt—silence. I realize my story has come to its conclusion. The audience is standing, cheering, and looking at me with admiration. As I am searching the audience for Ms. Cooper’s face, looking for the all too familiar face amongst a sea of faces, I notice Joel standing and cheering. Is this the same Joel I know? Joel who laughs at me every chance he gets. There is Ms. Cooper, she is beaming with pride written all over her face. I start to breathe again, the air rushes in quickly filling my lungs, and I realize I did it. I conquered my deepest fears: the fear of not being able to read without stuttering, the fear of not being heard, and the fear of not being understood.

I felt several things after I was done reading to the audience: empowered, special and important. I felt empowered because being able to read to an audience without stuttering gave me the courage to tackle other things in my life. I felt special because someone like Ms. Cooper saw something in me I did not know I had and helped me bring it to life. I felt important because people actually listened to me and understood what I was saying.

I can read, for I am a good reader because I want to read, and I have something to say. Furthermore, I am no longer afraid I might stutter since I overcame stuttering through reading. I am left wondering was it my persistent will to read or my father’s believe that God willing I shall overcome this stuttering? I believe it is a little bit of both.