To become an engaged, active participant in society, one must first be able to communicate effectively. Webb's English program trains students to read insightfully, speak with conviction, and write eloquently, whether about their own experiences or the world around them.

Our curriculum, coordinated with the History and Fine Arts departments, draws on a diverse array of material from different eras and cultures, linking the canonical with the contemporary and exploring key themes from multiple perspectives. Throughout, we challenge students to tie literary ideas to their own lives, whether it's analyzing classical allusions in pop songs, or applying creative nonfiction techniques to their own observations of the local community.

Webb teachers try to bring lessons from literature to life through creative projects that help students experience the material first hand. Here are some examples...

Seeing the World Through Joan Didion's Eyes

Whether in novels like Play It As It Lays or essays like "Slouching Toward Bethlehem," author Joan Didion is renowned for her razor-sharp insights on the cultural politics of her native California. After reading Didion's essay "Los Angeles Notebook" and examining the ways she uses journalistic observation to fuel social commentary, Webb AP Language students apply those techniques to their own literary portraits of Claremont Village. Didion's work becomes a springboard, allowing students to find new insights into their community and the world around them.

Reinventing Walden at Webb

In 1845, Henry David Thoreau left civilization behind, searching for a more meaningful existence. More than 160 years later, Webb American Literature students reading Thoreau's Walden temporarily set aside their laptops, iPods, and cell phones, conducting their own experiment in simpler living. Along the way, the students confront their own relationships with technology, reexamine their connections to each other, and rediscover the pleasures of a life without text messages and MP3s.