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Great Works Competition Produces Two New Additions to English Curriculum
Since 2013, St. Andrew’s sophomores have been challenged to read a book of their choice and, in less than three minutes, convince their peers the text is a great work that should be read by all tenth graders.
This year, a classic coming-of-age story and a new novel that traverses time and place were the ultimate winners of the annual Great Works competition.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Sallinger, presented by Cameron Reeder ‘19, and Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, presented by Nicole Daoust ‘19, will be read in 10th Grade English classes later this year.
Cameron said she chose The Catcher in the Rye, the 1950s fictional story of a young man named Holden Caulfield,because she believed it was a book her classmates would want to read. She said it was nerve-wracking to stand up in front of her classmates and vouch for her book, but the experience was a good preparation for the finals, when she made her pitch to a panel of judges that included previous Great Works winners and Head of School Robert Kosasky.
Being chosen as the Honors English Great Works winner has shown Cameron how far she’s come.
“It means I’ve grown a lot over the years in terms of public speaking in that I know how to play to an audience,” Cameron said. “When I’m older I want to be a filmmaker. I want to invoke emotion and I want people to watch my films.”
Nicole said she considered several different titles before settling on Orphan Train, a novel published in 2013 about the friendship forged between an Irish immigrant who, as a child, was sent from New York by train to live a new life in the Midwest, and a 17-year-old who is tasked with helping her sort through her past.
“I’m not a big reader, but I like to read historical and realistic fiction and this was the perfect crossover of things I can relate to, being a 16-year-old girl,” Nicole said. “It was a match-made-in-heaven kind of book.”
She said she enjoyed giving her speech to her classmates and, when she was chosen to move on to the finals, was encouraged by her peers that she would win the competition.
“I went in feeling pretty confident,” Nicole said. “I think my classmates could see the passion I had for my book.”
Still, she said she was surprised when she was named a winner.
“It was an overall exciting experience,” Nicole said. “Knowing people are going to read my book…I think it’s a great book for all of us to read.”
She said the Great Works project is an important part of the 10th grade curriculum because it helps expand both students’ and teachers’ definition of what could be a great work.
“It gave me insight into other books people like to read, and it gives teachers insight into summer reading,” Nicole said. “Some of the books people talked about I might like to read now. I think it exposes us to wide (genres we) might not normally think to read.”
She and Cameron agreed the opportunity to choose a book to read and present it—not just in a speech, but also visually and verbally through the project’s poster and essay components—is reason enough for students to dive into the assignment.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School is a private, coeducational college preparatory day school for students in preschool (Age 2) through grade 12, located in Potomac, Maryland.