Some may see taking English in their senior year before going to university for sciences, or any other STEM program for that matter, as useless as taking calculus when planning on being a history major. But I believe that it may be more applicable to anyone’s future career – and life overall – than one may think.
In general, no matter what job someone might be considering for the future, all of them have one thing in common: the employee must be able to communicate with other people. More specifically, they need to know how to ace their interview. I personally wouldn’t want to hire anyone who wrote, “What are you’re expectations of me, as an employee, on a day-to-day basis?” It sticks out like a sore thumb, reads unprofessionally, and it gives the appearance that the person applying is a lot less intelligent than they actually are. “(Typos) are a major faux pas, and a mistake that might have your resume in the trash before it makes its way to the second round. (L. Higgins, HerCampus)”
In addition, almost all professionals are required to read and write for a significant portion of the workday. Even if they teach grade ten academic math, they will be sending emails as well as giving feedback on students’ report cards. If they are a biologist, they have to write proper lab reports and even publish their own research findings. Point being, nearly every job one can imagine has an aspect of what they learned in English class to it. As said by Darla Himeles on the Classroom website, “Learning to express yourself concisely, accurately and convincingly is not simply a box to check on an assessment test or a grading rubric; if you hope to write emails that earn respect, to enter any career in which communication is essential or simply to speak with authority, learning to write well is important.”
Finally, how impressive would the ability to quote Baudelaire and astound friends at dinner parties be? Wouldn’t the love of one’s life swoon if the other’s heart was poured out into a card on Valentine’s Day (with the correct uses of “your” and “you’re,” of course), or if they wrote them a beautiful poem complete with alliteration and metaphors “just because?” Yeah, that.
Overall, I may be a bit biased because I have always been an “artsy” kid and loved this subject, but I truly believe that these reasons why English class is important justify my opinion – and hopefully sway or consolidate others’!
To read about the sub-categories of English class in high school, click here.
English With Eden 
You and I share the same stance on this subject! I too believe that English should be a requirement in all university courses. I like the points you made about learning proper grammar (knowing the difference between your and you’re is basic but an excellent example) as well as developing proper communication skills. Do you believe that taking this course would have any benefit, outside of the classroom or wok experience, in everyday life?
LikeLike
That’s great! Thank you, and I believe that taking this course would have a benefit in everyday life because you will be able to be a better communicator with you friends and family, you would be able to write proper and emotion-evoking pieces (like letters/emails to a loved one as mentioned in the blog post), and again – it is always beneficial to look more intelligent to others than you actually are (even outside of work and school) if possible. English class teaches you how to have a way with words which is viewed by most as impressive and grows this illusion – imagine being able to quote a sonnet by Shakespeare in front of a group of your peers at a get-together!
LikeLike