There are many classes offered at Newton High School with new classes being offered all the time. One of these newly offered classes this year is a senior English class, Rhetoric of Horror. This class is taught by Ryan Kopper and Kynda Faythe.
While the class is new it is still very similar to a regular English class.
“The class is looking at arguments which is rhetoric and these topics can be brought to light through horror which can bring out things a lot of people enjoy. The students still have writing assignments, discussions and just everything that you would do in a normal English class just all coming from the horror perspective and horror genre,” Mr. Kopper said.
Students explained more about the class as a whole.
“It’s a basic senior English class but with horror movies and horror centered writing instead. We’re learning all the same skills as any other English class but with different material that those English classes wouldn’t get the chance to use,” senior Axel Collins said.
The class does do things that would be typical in an English class, there are also many things that are different and new.
“We just finished talking about exorcisms and we got to go and talk to a real priest and ask him questions about it, it was just really cool,” said senior Adyson Pardew.
Even though the students get to do many interesting things there are many reasons the students really enjoy the class.
“I think my favorite thing about the class is the content, we get to watch movies and learn really interesting things and read all this new material that the regular English classes wouldn’t read” Pardew said.
This class helps to offer something different to students and uses something many students enjoy.
“I’m just really into horror and creepy things like that and this class just seemed like a fun alternative to normal senior English,” Pardew said.
While some students enjoy the horror elements of the class some just wanted something different from the traditional English class.
“I just don’t enjoy English, especially regular English classes and this was a fun different option,” Collins said.
Rhetoric of Horror is a class that is only currently offered as a senior English class.
“I think the class only being offered to seniors was a good decision, because underclassmen might not be able to handle themselves and really understand the class,” senior Kinsley Peterson said.
Many students in the class agree and share the same sentiment about the decision.
“I think the idea to only offer it to seniors was a good idea, I think underclassmen wouldn’t take the class seriously, but I think it could also be offered to juniors and it would still be fine,” Pardew explained.
There are many reasons why this new class was created and only decided to be offered now.
“We just wanted to create a class that would be fun and a class that seniors would actually be interested in taking for their last year of high school,” Kopper said.
