BRUNSWICK SCHOOL
Academic Update
FA LL / W I N T ER 202 2
As Brunswick strives for the fullest intellectual development of every young man, our academic programs seek to instill in each student a desire to learn, to challenge each boy to fulfill his unique potential, to foster critical-thinking skills, and to develop the creative and independent qualities of mind necessary to reach intellectual maturity and increased self-confidence. This new e-newsletter, to be published twice yearly, offers parents a top-line view of the latest happenings and curricular initiatives in selected academic departments. For greater detail, please refer to the Course Catalog.
English Department P H I LO S O P H Y & G O A L S
The English department challenges students on several levels of perception and understanding. Upon graduation, a student will not only have made significant strides toward developing reading and writing skills, but will also have gained the less quantifiable yet arguably equally essential ability to enjoy literature’s power to reveal both the wider cultural landscape and the nuanced interior of his own self.
▶ GREAT SPEECHES , a new Upper School English
elective, is offering students the chance to learn about some of the great oratory of the last hundred years while they also practice some of the most valued skills in today’s work environment: public speaking. Now in its second year, the course explores how great oratory has often served both as a vehicle for change and as an articulation of cultural values and aspirations, such as John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address or Margaret Chase Smith’s plea for decency on the floor of the Senate in 1950. Students closely examine a set of important addresses delivered by Franklin Roosevelt, Margaret Sanger, Steve Jobs, Elizabeth Glaser, Nelson Mandela, and Jon Stewart. The course is taught by Taryn Petrelli, who is in her 10th year at Brunswick after having taught Middle School English.
“The great thing is I love teaching this class,” Petrelli said. “I really enjoy it. What I love about it is that it has value. Students can take these skills and use them in other classes and beyond.” Students deliver two large speeches as part of the course, and they also practice the kind of impromptu, off-the-cuff speaking that they might encounter down the road in a job interview. A Greenwich Academy and Middlebury College graduate, Petrelli also works with all senior boys on their Senior Voice; she finds this work especially enriching. “I get to meet and get to know every senior in the senior class,” she said.
▶ ANDREW LAUDEL is a new seventh grade English teacher at the Middle School.
Originally from Missouri, Laudel has a background in musical theater and attended the University of Michigan. He is also a Teaching Fellow with continued on page 2