Mr. Paolozzi has taught The Canterbury Tales for 22 years. For most of those years he showed students the reliquaries located in the main part of the Catholic Church, but only learned of the hidden relics after the pastor, Rev. Joe Constantino, S.J., offered a special tour to Xavier students. The opening of the Church vault to reveal its reliquaries quickly became an academic tradition for students as well as faculty members in history and religion. “You can tell students what a relic is, but now they’re actually seeing it,” Mr. Paolozzi commented. “It makes it a little more real and tangible. It’s a good thing for them to do.”
4. How the Classics Stack Up The study of classics at Xavier is an integral portion of all students’ English studies throughout their high school careers. Each year, students read and reflect upon one Shakespearean play, while the works of Dante,
on books they will encounter in the future during both academic and personal study. “We want students to understand the larger questions of life, like the definition of a happy life, or what makes a person good, or the meaning of faith,” said Margaret Gonzalez, chair of the English department. “These are questions that authors have wrestled with forever, and studying great works serves as a guide with which to talk about these topics, learn new perspectives and experience individual epiphanies through the revelations of great characters readers can relate to.” The study of classic works is made into an active process at Xavier, with discussions, creative writing and group work that supplements weekly reading. Detailed lessons on historical and social context before and during readings, and reflection sessions afterward allow students to have a multidimensional perspective on literature. Critical analysis and response take that perspective even further. Nick Bellone ’12 says that he has been able to transfer this reading approach to his studies in other
“For my AP Literature and Composition class, the motto is to not just read between the lines but also go outside the box. Whenever I read something, I don’t just read the words on the page, I read it and apply it to different aspects of my life. ” Faulkner and Joyce provide the foundations for cultural literacy and an awareness of literary tradition. More contemporary works like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye continue to engage students, proving that classic works weren’t only written hundreds or thousands of years ago, while informing their outlook 14.
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areas. “For my AP Literature and Composition class, the motto is to not just read between the lines but also go outside the box. Whenever I read something, I don’t just read the words on the page, I read it and apply it to different aspects of my life,” said Bellone. “It’s something you don’t forget.”