• Welcome to Mr. Wesley Phillipson's webpage.
     
    Mr. Wesley Phillipson
    English Teacher / Grades 10, 11 Honors & Words + Images   
    Contact Information: wphillipson@scarsdaleschools.org
     
     
    Assignments are through Google Classroom. 
     
    You can book office hours with me here: https://wphillipson.youcanbook.me/
     
    CLASSROOM: 207
    OFFICE: 2N1 (1ST OFFICE IN THE NEW WING, 2ND FLOOR)
     
    If you have a question, please email me. If you need a different meeting time than what's offered on my "youcanbookme" page, then contact me for an alternate time and we'll make something work. 
     
    Have a great year!
    wp
     
    Classroom & Philosophy
     
    THE ART OF COMMUNICATION
     
    The study of English is a means to improve all forms of communication. To that end, at all levels of English, I emphasize rhetorical structures, performance, presentation, and activities that develop students as "speakers" and performers in myriad ways. 
     
     
    ARGUING
     
    My classes are geared towards refining the argument. The noted trial lawyer Gerry Spense once said that "everything is an argument." Whether working with sophomores, or students in my Junior Honors class, I emphasize how to use a variety of rhetorical frames with which to write, debate, and persuade. Throughout the year, I give multiple exams on "thesis patterns," and - in the end - students leave the class able to both construct sophisticated and clear thesis statements and topic sentences, and to conduct substantive "peer editing" of fellow students' work that reflects a knowledge of structure and development.
     
     
    AMBIGUITY
     
    No great work of art exists without the presence of ambiguity. At all levels, I work hard to push students to engage challenging works of literature (especially non-fiction and long-form journalism), poetry, film, and fine art. The goal is to make students comfortable with the uncertainty that great art will inevitably bring, and to help students make meaningful observations and conclusions about the great narratives of our time, and beyond.