BSC Receives Grant for Language Arts
Balboa City School joins the Old Globe and La Jolla Playhouse in receiving one of three grants from the English Speakers Union
Balboa City School would like to thank the English Speakers Union for supporting BCS and our approach to English language development. Their grant and support means a lot to our students and staff. We place great emphasis on the development of expressive writing skills because they are increasingly important for success in today’s world.
Our middle and high school students write every day at school. This is in addition to their regular English class. The results are highly gratifying to parents and students alike. When our students go to college, they do very well on the English placement exams. The San Diego Union Tribune reports an average failure rate for college freshman of over 50%! So, we beat the average. It’s not just that we have intelligent students. Work plus intelligence equals talent. That is a tried and true formula. In a sense, we have been following and benefiting from the mission of the English Speakers Union (that is, to promote the knowledge of English to facilitate communication throughout the world) before we even knew of its existence.
This summer, as always, we are participating in the annual Old Globe Shakespeare Festival. It is a highlight of our school year. Adolescents introduced to Shakespeare in the right way develop a life-long love of his work and the English language in general. We have found this to be so even if the students are dyslexic and struggling with the written text. We read the text together aloud, and learn to appreciate Shakespeare’s language and vocabulary. We write about what we think of the play we are studying. We meet the actors. We attend a workshop and tour the Old Globe. Then, our entire school attends the Old Globe performance along with their parents.
This year, with the English Speakers Union’s donation, we are also going to purchase a set of books called Chew on This and Fast Food Nation (both by Eric Scholsser) so that our students can learn about the horrors of fast food, study the construction of a non-fiction book, learn a bit about nutrition and why they should not be eating in fast food restaurants. Leftover money will be used to purchase additional Shakespeare texts, as we always need them!
To be included in the company of the La Jolla Playhouse and The Old Globe as one of only three grantees by the English Speakers Union is an honor. We sincerely thank them!
"I come to wive it wealthily in Padua;
If wealthily, then happily in Padua"
Petruchio, Act I, Scene II
Last night, BCS's summer school Shakespeare class enjoyed an evening at the Old Globe Theater. Before viewing the performance of The Taming of the Shrew, which the class has been reading and studying all summer, students were treated to a private acting workshop led by a member of the play's cast. The workshop consisted of several theater games and a preview of the play. Students also learned what goes into a professional performance, including a backstage tour of the theater, costume shop, and dressing rooms.
Reviews of the modernized play were definitely positive. One student called the play "outrageously funny," and others were impressed with the incorporation of song and dance into the production.
Once again, Balboa City School students spent a entertaining, educational, and memorable night at the Old Globe. We would like to thank the theater for their continued involvement with our program. Thanks as well to the parents and family members who attended. We look forward to doing Shakespeare in the Park again next year.