If that's advanced, then I wonder what remedial is.
"Okay, kids, today we're learning about the letter 'AAAAaaaaaaa.' Say it with me, now!"
There's next to no difference in the classes. The standard English classes just have more tolerance (or, rather, know better how to deal with) students that don't know and don't want to try. The name itself makes the biggest difference in the classes.
Currently, most of the advanced are reading The Scarlet Letter, while the standard are reading The Crucible. That's the biggest difference there's been since I entered the school two years ago.
It is really sad that English is an "easy" subject to teach. No, it isn't. It's a craft, an art, and we're losing it. That blank sheet of paper or computer screen, how're you going to fill it and how well? At first everyone laughed at me when I showed up to lecture with colorful markers and a huge sheet of paper. I showed the kids stuff like this (look at the [tagged] and multicolor parts):
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=85981.msg2543831#msg2543831
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=63660.msg2621658#msg2621658
And everyone thought I was a god damn wizard.... [headdesk]
Yep. It seems as though no-one cares about
how to write anymore. The most instruction I have received, since elementary school, on how to write / writing structure was in my history class, last year. That was good, because we had some very large essays in there, but that sort of stuff is what we should be learning in English class. Instead, we read Shakespeare, and translate our own language.
Speaking of English writings, I've never understood the purpose of a thesis statement in most essays. Isn't that what most of the introductory paragraph is for?