For the first time in M-A history, Russian Literature/History is an elective option. In this jointly run class Mr. Florio, a social studies teacher, will be teaching the history behind the course while Mrs. Otsuka, who usually teaches English, will focus more on the literary aspects of the culture. They are only offering one period of this class and are expecting up to 30-35 students to sign up.

When asked about the amount of homework, Mrs. Otsuka replied, “We are trying to acknowledge this is an elective class and are keeping the homework load light.” Workload aside, however, Mrs. Otsuka says Russian Lit.  is an honors level course and will be appropriately “challenging and exciting.”

“I want my students to consider important questions about the literature, the world and themselves,” she explains in the syllabus for the course.

During the semester, students will have regular quizzes and tests. They will also have regular writing assignments, including six to eight papers. So if you are looking for an easy “A”, this is not the class for you. Grades will be based on performance over a range of different subjects including personal essays, group presentations, quizzes, exams, etc.

The course is not focused on just one type of literature or history. Students in the class will go through a poetry unit, read multiple novels, write research papers and give in-class presentations.

Although many of parts of the class have yet to be worked out, Mrs. Otsuka has high hopes for its success. She and Mr. Florio are  trying to plan a trip to Russia, where they will visit many of the places they read about. The trip is planned to start in St. Petersburg and to continue to other parts of Russia. The trip is expected to last about ten days and would offer a great “hand-on” way to learning about the finer aspects or Russian culture and literature.

For more information on the class you can visit Mrs. Otsuka in C-11 or Mr. Florio in B-10.