• Mr. John Phelan
     
    Welcome to my teacher page. You will find information here about my education background and my teaching philosophy. Click the hyperlink immediately below to watch my back-to-school video message.
     
     
    Education 
     
    University of Delaware, M.A., English
    Ursinus College, Teaching Certification, English Education
    West Chester University, B.A., Literature
     
    At the start of the 2022-2023 school year, I will be entering my 24th year as a teacher. 
     
    English class 
     
    My goal is to help students deepen their reading, develop their writing, and strengthen their thinking. To this end, we will read with an analytical eye, trying to sift deeper meanings from texts. Students in all English classes will read extensively, including the American novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, and a variety of additional pieces (many from the textbook The Language of Literature). Academic English classes will read the novel Speak, which examines its narrator's troubled 9th-grade year. Honors English classes will read Life of Pi, Catalyst, or Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. 
     
    Throughout the year, students will write in response to readings, occasionally mimicking the style of established writers or combining it with their own in order to expand their control over the resources of language. My hope is to create a classroom where students are comfortable sharing their thoughts while exploring powerful ideas from literary works that have had a profound impact on the world. 
     
    Vocabulary and grammar skills also will be worked on throughout the year.
     
    Philosophy 
     
    I believe a classroom should be an exciting place where ideas are explored, refined, and developed in a collaborative, respectful manner, one that cultivates a passion for learning that lasts a lifetime.