This year, the Lexington High School English Department added many new electives for 12th grade English. Among the growing list is the Monsters as Metaphor course.
“The thesis of the class is that all monsters are metaphors for something else, whether that is a reflection of a creator, of ourselves, of society, of politics, of time periods, or of cultures,” Dakota Durbin, who teaches the Monsters as Metaphor course, said.
The course takes students through various monster-related topics, beginning with an introduction to monsters and the concept of fear, then going on to a deeper dive into subjects such as vampires, zombies, and aliens. Though graded, the course’s focus on monsters keeps it fun.
“We also have a dinosaur unit. It was funny, [Mr. Durbin] was talking about all the units, and they sounded kind of scary, and then suddenly it was just dinosaurs,” Yi Ling Sha, a senior taking the course, said.
One of the main features of the course is its final project, in which students design their own monster and create a project around it, similar to the Freshman Capstone.
“This project articulates how that monster represents or is metaphorical of something that the student feels is important or needs to be talked about at this time,” Durbin said.
As a new and more unique class, creating the curriculum required balancing both the more interesting aspects of monsters with the required English skills that students had to learn.
“We wanted to bring in a passionate niche that wasn’t really being met anywhere else, and to make it a multimedia course. English is an interesting subject where the content is important, but you can apply the skills that you practice in English class to any particular medium.” Durbin said.
Aside from the entertaining areas of monsters, the class also dives deeper into the concepts that inspire the creatures.
“We tend to avoid uncomfortable fears, but horror sort of slaps you in the face with that. Monsters, in some way, are vehicles used to express elements that are perhaps difficult for us to engage with in other ways, ” Durbin said.
Though the unique central theme of exploring the deeper meaning of monsters drew students to sign up, some have also found unintended benefits
“I’m meeting different people in the class too, which feels strange, but even with just the get-to-know-yous, it seemed like we all had the same interest in the class and in general,” Sha said.
As one of the final English classes taken in high school, Monsters as Metaphor not only adds variety to the English classes at LHS, but also provides a unique opportunity for students to dive deeper into what monsters truly are.
“I think being able to pick your own course is really beautiful because you get to pick something that you’re passionate about. And this class feels like it’s carving out a place for the students who don’t see themselves in the curriculum,” Durbin said.
