Cross Case Features: Teachers

Evans High School: Language Arts

Ginny Cross, World Literature, Literature and Composition

Ginny Cross, who teaches English, including Advanced Placement (AP) World Literature, has introduced new novels by Asian writers to her tenth-grade World Literature students and to her AP Literature and Composition class. In one class she led a discussion about a story from China involving themes of filial piety and the clash between Imperialist and Communist ideals.

Ginny Cross said the information and materials provided in the seminar were most useful: “It opened my eyes up to a lot of the literature that is already out there. What I like to do with a piece of literature is to hook some history onto it, because they are so connected you just cannot take the history out of the literature and the literature out of the history. [The seminar] has given me a lot more background to work with and to build on.” She specifically mentioned the usefulness of an anthology of Asian literature, which includes pieces she hasn’t found anywhere else, and the Cultural Atlas of China because her students “like the trivial facts....They do not have a visual picture of China so for them to hook onto a little bit of the culture helps them out with the reading of it.”

William Kaufman, Communications, Video Production

William Kaufman took the NCTA seminar last year. He is a Communications teacher and a former professional photographer. His Video Production students made a video about Evans High School, which Principal Burke took with her to China. She showed it to prospective exchange schools. William also plans to have his students produce a video based on their research on China (e.g., relating Confucius and the Samurai Warrior Code of the Shinto to today’s society) and also a video of the school’s exchange experience. William envisions placing copies of both videos in every media center in the district.

William Kaufman said that “just about everything” in the seminar was useful: “My knowledge of China before the seminar was almost nil.... China was a closed society. None of us could ever remember even discussing China when we were in school. It has opened me up. My ear is there when I hear something about China now. I’m thinking, ‘How can I incorporate that into my Video Production classes?’”