Holyoke High School offers its students a social commentary and satire class which focuses on current events for any student interested in learning about society and gaining valuable skills on how to analyze and understand why the events and issues occurring today are what they are.

The course, created and facilitated by Holyoke High School English teacher Shaylyn Fitzell, has existed for almost three years now and is offered as an elective to students by the school.

The class focuses on analyzing issues that exist in society and the world today. Students research and look at different forms of media that connect to issues in order to become informed on them. Mrs. Fitzell likes to pair in pieces of fiction, like films and music, in the research process in order for students to identify what types of commentary modern artists are doing about these issues.

“I really enjoy teaching the class and getting to see students be able to look at things they’ve maybe seen before in a new light and see that kind of growth,” said Fitzell.

The goal of the class is to encourage students to become critical thinkers. Media platforms are something that are consumed everyday and they’re always making some sort of statement about the world we live. Students should be able to enjoy these forms of media while thinking critically about what is being said. Hopefully, they gain a better understanding of what is occurring around them and formulate ideas to advocate for change.

“I think it’s a good class and people should take it because she bases it off of current problems happening in the world today like obesity, world hunger, and pollution, said Shannon Dion ’17. “Mrs. Fitzell designed the class herself it’s a well built course.”

As of this semester, the class is taught G-Block in Mrs. Fitzell’s classroom number 105 and consists of twenty-seven students. Anyone interested in enrolling in the elective for next year should see their guidance counselor when scheduling.

In last couple of years, there’s even been larger groups of students and hopefully, in the future,  more students decide to take as they continue on with their high school careers and become more aware of the issues society is facing nowadays.