Aquinas High School
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
MR. KEVIN ERICKSON
Educational Background
Bachelor of Arts: St. John's University, English Masters Degree in Education: Viterbo University
Educational Experience
+ years with Aquinas Catholic Schools
+ years total teaching experience
28
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I was born and raised in La Crosse, WI. I attended grade school at Holy Trinity. I graduated from Aquinas High School. From there, I graduated from St. John's University in Collegeville, MN with a degree in English. I earned my teaching degree from Viterbo University. I have been teaching at Aquinas for 25 years. I started in the middle school where I taught both seventh and eight grades. I moved on to the high school and have taught freshman, junior and senior English and a variety of elective courses. I live on the south side of La Crosse with my wife and two children. We also have a black Labrador puppy.
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MY CLASSROOM
I start the year trying to set students up for success by letting them know how my class operates. They get a clear view of the systems they need to understand early in the year. A typical class in my room goes from opening to closing bell. Students will be expected to listen, take notes, participate in discussions, and complete assignments. We cover a lot of material which means students have to study to do well on quizzes and tests.
COURSES
I teach freshman English, Debate I & II, and Holocaust . Freshman English covers the literary genres of short stories, plays, and poetry. There is also plenty of instruction in grammar covering parts of speech and sentences. We write several papers including a research paper. Debate I covers the basics of speaking and debate. Students learn about the argumentation process. They conduct research on a variety of topics in preparation for debates held in class. Holocaust class is a fairly in-depth look at the events of the Holocaust before, during, and after WWII. Students learn the causes, and lasting impacts of the Holocaust. The course also looks at poetry and literature written by victims and survivors.