English Department

2023-2024 High School English Department School Supply Lists

Grade 8

** see Grade 8 general supply list

Grade 9/9H

- Composition OR single-subject notebook

- Pencils (with erasers) and blue or black pens

- Highlighters

- Several packages of Post-it notes

- Students must have their CHARGED Chromebook and charger with them in class every day!

Grade 10/10H

- Composition OR single-subject notebook

- Pencils (with erasers) and blue or black pens

- Highlighters

- Several packages of Post-it notes

- Students must have their CHARGED Chromebook and charger with them in class every day!

Grade 11

- CHROMEBOOK-COMPATIBLE HEADPHONES

- 3-ring binder (2”) with dividers

- Loose leaf lined paper

- Pencils (with erasers) and blue or black pens

- Highlighters

- Several packages of Post-it notes

- Students must have their CHARGED Chromebook and charger with them in class every day!

Grade 11 AP Language

- CHROMEBOOK-COMPATIBLE HEADPHONES

- Notebook (any kind) for note-taking if you wish to keep notes on paper instead of online

- Folder with pockets

- Pencils (with erasers) and blue or black pens

- Several packages of Post-it notes

- Highlighters

- Students must have their CHARGED Chromebook and charger with them in class every day!

Grade 12/12 AP Literature

- CHROMEBOOK-COMPATIBLE HEADPHONES

- Composition notebook

- Pencils (with erasers) and blue or black pens

- Index cards

- Folder with pockets

- Highlighters

- Several packages of Post-it notes

- Students must have their CHARGED Chromebook and charger with them in class every day!

Creative Writing (elective)

- Paper journal of your favorite kind if you wish to handwrite instead of type

- Favorite pencils or pens for writing with

- Highlighters

- Motivation to write EVERY DAY

English Department Policy on Sensitive Language

The Cazenovia HS English Department is committed to creating a respectful community that is inclusive of all groups, not only in the classroom, but everywhere in school. No member of the community should feel unwelcome or unsafe on campus or in the classrooms. Respectful and inclusive language is crucial to this mission. 

Teachers come from a variety of backgrounds and recognize that they do not understand the lived experience of students who present to the world differently from them. With a commitment to engaging in meaningful and open dialogue, teachers encourage students to see them when they have concerns about the language used in their classrooms.

Avoiding offensive words in speech

Some words are slurs designed to disrespect and marginalize others. These words are highly offensive, and, in order to create a safe community for all, and in accordance with school policy, we should never say them out loud. This includes the n-word used against Black people, the f- and d-slurs used against LGBTQ+ people, the r-word used against people with intellectual disabilities, the ch-slur used against Asians and Asian-Americans, the k-slur used against Jewish people, the b- and s-words used against women and girls, and, unfortunately, many others. If you’re unsure whether a term is acceptable, the simplest path is to not say it. Later, if you want, you can do some research to educate yourself (do not ask a person from that group!), but be aware that some terms are hotly debated, and the judgment of a random person on the internet is no guarantee you won’t hurt someone. Make kindness, respect, and inclusivity your guiding principles. 

Some groups choose to reclaim offensive terms used to disrespect them, and people disagree about whether this is okay. Regardless, the Cazenovia High School English Department policy is that staff and students won’t say these terms, even if they are a member of the group

Adapting to changes in language

Sometimes words were not originally slurs.  For example, the terms “Oriental,” to refer to Asians and Asian Americans, and “Negro” and “Colored,” to refer to Black people, arose in times of more widespread and virulent racism to distinguish from slurs such as the ones discussed in the section above. Members of marginalized groups themselves used such terms, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a civil-rights organization started in 1909 by a group of Black leaders. For some people today, however, saying these terms out loud may feel disrespectful and unkind; some may even consider them slurs. You may occasionally hear these words out loud in class–for example, in speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King–but we’ll use them sparingly and with sensitivity, generally only when directly quoting from the author is important.

A term that may sound archaic is “Orientalism,” which is used to critique stereotypical representations of Asia and the Middle East. This term has not been replaced and is still used in discussions of that issue in academia and in the media.

Sensitive language in classroom texts

Cazenovia High School English teachers are committed to an anti-racist, anti-bias curriculum. In the English department, this often means reading and discussing works of literature with an explicitly anti-bias focus. Those that are written prior to recent history often include language in the two categories above. Such works of literature are too important to the department’s anti-racist, anti-bias mission to omit from the curriculum. In the classroom, English teachers are committed to treating discussion of such literature with the greatest sensitivity to avoid hurting others. 

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963), for example, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. writes of the suffering of his “twenty million Negro brothers,” including a young Black girl asking why “white people treat colored people so mean.” He also describes the humiliation of being called the n-word, contrasting the respectful terms that he and his community use to refer to themselves with the disrespectful slur racists use to demean them. While some teachers may have their own documents in which they can remove or alter the offensive n-word, in a textbook or PDF version of King’s important letter, the offensive term would likely not be replaced. In either scenario, neither the teacher nor the students should say the n-word out loud. Classroom discussion that includes the terms that have been replaced by more current terms (“Negro” and “colored”) should be carefully grounded in the historical context of the text. King’s words are carefully chosen, and this text is too important to eliminate from the curriculum.

Other writers use this language because it’s used in their environments, often against them, but also frequently by people in their own communities. For example, in Zora Neal Hurston’s 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the n-word is used a couple of times by white characters, but far more frequently by Black characters, for a variety of reasons, ranging from internalized racism to a form of self-defense against racism. Seeing such words in print can be painful, but removal of them would mean a missed chance to discuss Hurston’s world and her message about how language alienates people. Discussions such as these are a valuable part of an anti-racist classroom.

The speaker of Sandra Cisneros’s 1994 feminist poem “Loose Woman” uses offensive language directed against women, including the b-word, to empower herself, listing the terms and powerfully reclaiming them. Because the poem is explicitly about directly confronting and disrupting the power of sexist language, it includes language that must be discussed in a sensitive manner. Such discussions of sexism and how it can impact an individual are an important part of an anti-bias classroom.

Replacing offensive words when quoting

Sometimes, when writing about texts like the ones discussed above, students may need to quote this kind of language. They should replace offensive terms with first initials, as modeled above, or something similar, indicating with brackets that they’ve changed a direct quote. As for the terms that have changed, like “Negro,” while they may be quoted in discussions and in writing, students and teachers should use them only when quoting.

If students have further concerns

Ideally, students will talk to classroom teachers about concerns they have with classroom discussions of sensitive topics. If a student feels uncomfortable or unwilling to approach their teacher, they may speak to the English Department leader, Ms. Chiarello, or to the principal, Mrs. Hagan.  

The school practices restorative justice, with an aim to repair any harm to the community that was done, and all of the adult staff want to ensure that the school and the classrooms are safe spaces for all. This is why we hope that students will bring any concerns they have to their teachers in order to start this process.