“…this year in honors English I learned how to write an essay much better and more efficiently with the help of Mr. Viskanta. All the paragraph outline worksheets helped me a lot. I used to not really know in what order to put my sentences; sometimes I didn’t even know how or what to write what I wanted to say. The outlines helped me to guide me in the right direction to a better essay and/or paragraph.”1
Los Angeles Teachers’ Strike
Background
As the negotiations between Los Angeles teachers’ union, UTLA, and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) were nearing an impasse at the end of 2018, the media in Los Angeles was trying to diagnose what the main issues were in the negotiations.
Based on my experience as an English teacher in the district for nearly two decades, I wanted to highlight something positive in the district that did not get enough attention, nor did the issue I wanted to bring to the fore get enough support from district leadership. My goal in pointing out the existence of success in the district was to highlight the availability of solutions that exist within the district. Duplicating that success would require district management to listen to teachers, a gap responsible for so many ills in bureaucratized institutions such as LAUSD. My independently submitted editorial was most directly in conversation with the above articles in the Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times allows limited articles before enacting a paywall. Additional less restrictive articles below.
Here is additional reporting about the strike from open access sources.
https://calmatters.org/education/2018/12/los-angeles-unified-teachers-strike-lausd/
https://edsource.org/2018/los-angeles-teachers-plan-to-strike-jan-10-union-says/606282
https://www.kqed.org/news/11718384/3-reasons-to-pay-attention-to-the-l-a-teacher-strike
https://www.vox.com/2019/1/13/18181010/los-angeles-teachers-strike
Testimonials
“I have learned that what we learn in English happens in every day life. During the time we were reading 1984, the conspiracy of Edward Snowden was happening and even a couple weeks ago, with the injustice of Donald Sterling while reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Many things have influenced the way we learn English.”1
RA 2014
“…I’ve really tried to make my writing more than just the assignment. I enhanced it with variations of sentence structure and word choice. I think the Kreuger Park paper was a turning point for me this year. … This assignment helped me to create realistic descriptions and setting. … I know there is still room for me to improve in my writing, but I feel that I made major strides this school year. … Overall, this class helped me to acquire skills in English that I didn’t learn earlier on in school. I feel better prepared to take AP Literature next year. Thank you.”1
GI
“My experience in English class this year has been unforgettable. I will always remember the novel “Tortilla Curtain” for I enjoyed reading it the most out of all the books this year. Also, I had a pleasure being involved in our classroom discussions and contributing different ideas on the board especially for “Life of Pi.” Overall, I enjoyed Honors English and I am looking forward to AP Literature next year.”1
SJ 2014
“Writing different prompts, at least once a week, has helped me improve my writing skills and also made me a better writer. Reading the book “Tortilla Curtain”* by T.C Boyle; helped me with the concept and the use of compare and contrast which benefitted me to have a better understanding of the book.”1
ES 2014
“My honors English class has taught me to flourish immensely as a writer. … I gained confidence in the way I was writing. I learned how to successfully analyze a book as well as a short story to great depths. Writing and analyzing a piece of work weather it is a poem or an article has become second nature to me. I was taught that a story may not only have one main idea or purpose, but in fact have several.”1
MK 2014
“…I’m most proud of learning how to use details and sensory language in my writing. The prompts I wrote in class every Monday allowed me to expand my imagination and include the detail my writing needed in order to improve. … I used to keep everything nice and simple but from this class I have learned that detail is very important in writing. … This year has been very fun and I’m looking forward for your AP Literature class next year.”1