The Scholarly Convict
March 18, 2016
Analogous to the Alma Mater of Malcolm X, the anthem of English teacher Ms. Kasner is books, so much so that after reading a chapter from Malcolm X’s autobiography, she confided in her AP Language and Composition students her clandestine fantasy to one day be incarcerated. That way she could dedicate every day to becoming erudite and meritoriously pursue a bucket list wish to read one novel written by every Pulitzer prize-winning author.
“When I was a kid my dream was to be –by accident– locked in a library overnight and just to be able to sleep in a library,” Ms. Kasner said, “so now I’ve graduated from that to becoming a criminal.”
Teachers deserve a tranquil period of leisure time every so often, away from the hustle and bustle of teaching the members of America’s future populace- what better atmosphere to achieve said serenity than the confines of a jail cell? While in a jail cell, one’s physical parameters are circumscribed, however the ability to increase one’s mental intellect is not subject to any boundaries but time itself, which is why it appeals to the weary English teacher.
“I’ve always had this goal of reading at least one piece of literature from every nobel prize winner in literature,” Ms. Kasner said, “and I am so far away from reaching that goal.”
Although a rather idiosyncratic endeavor, this dream is not far-fetched once considered from the point of view of an assiduous English teacher.
However, not all of Ms. Kasner’s students agree with such a precarious longing, one of which being junior, Jorge Serrato, who has been under the tutelage of Ms. Kasner for nearly three years.
“I think that’s a little too far; I mean she doesn’t have to go to jail or be incarcerated just to read a lot of books,” Serrato said. “She could just make more time from herself apart from work.”
Along with Serrato, Brian Chavez, 11, has also been under Ms. Kasner’s guidance since freshman year, and unlike some of her attentive APLAC students, Chavez does not share the same predominant perspective that they do. Chavez explicates that he did not perceive Ms. Kasner’s ambition literally, but merely as an eccentric hyperbole that she concocted to express her innate desire to pursue her literary endeavour.
“I think the solitude that she refers to is respectable because a lot of people today don’t read as much as they should,” Chavez said. “She’s one of the most avid readers I’ve known my whole life and I respect her a lot for that”
Having worked with Ms. Kasner for over a decade, APLAC and ERWC teacher Ms. Hill discerns the desires of her dear friend as artless and germane to the lives of every industrious English teacher.
“I think it’s a pretty typical English teacher dream because that’s one of the things we lament the most because during the school year we don’t have time to read for pleasure,” Hill said
“I think we’d have no grading in jail, so maybe we’d have time to read!”
In theory, the actions of every human increases the entropy, or disorder, of the universe. Therefore, Ms. Kasner’s aspiration will merely serve this doctrine by allowing her to organize her thoughts while being self-isolated and at the same time enriched with the literature that engulfs the peripheries of her future prison cell.
“Nobody in this school really knows each other,” Fregoso said. “I mean there are so many students now, so I believe it is possible to have them get to know one another by getting to read each others’ stories on Downey Legend.”
If she is able to promote newspaper to the students, then those students can read stories about others’ lives and view them differently.
“Many people, many stories,” Fregoso said, “and when students pass each other without knowing who they're walking by, mainly because of how they dress or how they talk, it's kind of sad, because one can't simply judge a book by its cover.”
She knows how it feels to walk past students and not know who they are. During her freshman year, Fregoso moved to Downey High from St. Emydius, a private middle school, that only had about 250 students.
“That school was so little,” Fregoso said, “almost everyone knew each other.”
During the middle of her sophomore year, former newspaper writer, Akhila Nalamilli, mentioned the Downey Legend newspaper with Fregoso.
“Angelica is a very nice girl,” Nalamilli said. “Her writing is amazingly done and a great use for newspaper.”
Fregoso's love for writing came to her when she was in first grade; as she started taking tests on The Magic Treehouse: Age of Dinosaurs, she loved the idea of being able to write her own stories and include her own characters and make her own world.
It is not really a goal to write those kinds of stories to this day, Fregoso pointed out. Joining newspaper was to become open-minded and to write actual stories of actual people rather than typing fiction.
“Although it seemed interesting to write what I want my characters to say and how I want my world to work out,” Fregoso said, “I think it's better to write what real characters say and how their worlds work.”
Knowing how she had a flowing passion to accomplish this goal, Norma Fregoso, mother of Angelica, agrees that she can do it.
“My daughter has always been a creative writer,” Mrs. Fregoso said. “Ever since she was a young child, she has expressed interest for writing stories.”
Fregoso's writing also inspired her friends to improve on various things like essays and CQTs.
“Angelica's very passionate and puts all her emotions into her work,” Carolina Marin, Fregoso's best friend said. “Not everyone has the ability to express themselves correctly, and I feel that she is capable of conveying her point thoroughly and emotionally without confusing or misleading the reader.”
With much more to experience, Fregoso patiently waits for what stories she will be writing about in newspaper, and to obtain knowledge about the lives of students, teachers, and the citizens of Downey.
“I want to improve my writing,” Jimenez said, “not only for high school English, but for college as well.”
Jimenez chose to take AP Language and Composition because she wants to rectify any mistakes she has in her writing before she writes her prompt to apply to college.
“I chose to take AP Language and Composition because I felt with my experience in Honors 10 and the skills I developed that I would succeed in the class,” junior, Victoria Lopez said. “I like to challenge myself.”
Lopez and Jimenez feels comfortable in her AP class because she is surrounded by students who are passionate to learn and motivated to pursue the same goal.
“I like to write and I enjoyed Honors English 10 with Ms. Kasner,” junior, Andrew Bilodeau said, “so an opportunity to become a better writer in a subject I enjoy was to hard to pass up.”
Bilodeau has taken three years of AP/Honors English classes at Downey High School, similarly to Jimenez. AP Language and Composition includes more discussion of themes and broader concepts, making the class more interactive, rather than a traditional English class. In Bilodeau’s and Jimenez’s opinion it is a more productive learning environment.
Jimenez hopes to develop her writing skills on her writing because she believes writing is a central skill of everyday life and will be useful for her in the future.
“I learned how to become a leader,” Mandujano said, “through photography I learned not to be afraid.”
His passion for photography influenced him to take three extra curricular activities: ASB, Yearbook, and Newspaper. For these classes, he is required to shoot pictures of events. While shooting a swim meet at Downey High School, Mandujano captured one of the Santa Fe High swimmers during the 50-meter butterfly event. He entered the photo to the Stay Gallery Stay Young competition and placed second.
“It felt pretty cool to win second,” Mandujano said. “I didn’t expect to win that night.”
He is not the only one that had doors open his way.
Joaquin Oropeza,12, is able to connect with his emotional side better. He is taking AP Lit and Yearbook. With these classes, he is developing skills that he will pursue in writing.
“It helps me express myself in a way I couldn’t do so before,” Oropeza said. “It also allows me to be creative and to tell a story.”
Downey High School’s Yearbook adviser, Mr. Nunley, enjoys having Mandujano as a student and understands him well because they both have a lot on their plate.
“I’m inspired by how involved he is with this school and how he’s willing to help not just Yearbook, but dedicate his time anywhere he can to make Downey High School a better place,” Nunley said.
Mandujano’s long-term goals include continuing his photographic journey into University of California, Santa Barbara and major in communications. Once he majors in communications he will go into journalism and broadcasting. He stays positive through his work, so he hopes that more doors will keep opening his way.
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