Roxbury’s English department believes reading allows students to access ideas and worlds beyond their own, to gain perspective of themselves and others, and in the process grow compassion, gratitude, and empathy.  Reading helps students find interests and improves their understanding of topics.  While we live in a world of dizzying and infinite information, we strongly believe that the most insightful and productive reading, particularly of literature, requires students to “slow down,” to take the time required to carefully consider the complexity of a topic.

Reading serves as a model for sentence structure, vocabulary, and author’s craft, and improves one’s ability to write.  It is paradoxically individual and communal, relaxing and challenging.   An essential skill for success in school and life, reading is often far more.  Thoughtful reading allows the reader to see beyond the wisdom of the author to arrive at one’s own.

Roxbury's English department believes writing is an essential life skill that allows students to explore their own thoughts while developing an awareness of the world and their place in it.  Students write to communicate thoughts and perspectives, to persuade, to inform, and to express feelings and beliefs, all in an effort to connect with a wider audience.  Writing is a process that requires reflection, introspection, and revision in order to clearly and effectively express oneself.  To engage in the act of writing is to participate in an ancient tradition, to leave a record of one’s existence, and to proclaim that your voice matters.