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Because we learn to read - in large part - by reading, write by writing, speak by speaking, and listen by listening, the English/Language Arts Curriculum centers on the use of literature, not only to accomplish traditional goals of literature itself (such as development of cultural awareness, critical thinking, empathy and imagination), but also to facilitate the acquisition of skills necessary for successful communication in school and beyond.
The curriculum offers students instruction and extensive practice in reading, writing, speaking and listening, presenting them with a progressive series of challenges in their encounters with and use of the English language.
It aims to cultivate creative capabilities along with logical and rational faculties; to acquaint students with major works in the literary traditions of the United States and Britain while at the same time exploring nontraditional voices; and to begin their acquaintance (in Matthew Arnold's phrase) "with the best that has been known and said," while simultaneously creating thinkers able to discern meaning and express ideas cogently in an increasingly complex, diverse and changing world.