Master Teacher

Erin Brown Conroy, MA

MA, Western Michigan University
BA, Western Michigan University

Erin Brown Conroy is a professional writer who has taught composition and research for the Patrick Henry College Distance Learning program since 2007. She has authored five books (including Simplified Writing 101: Top Secrets to College Success) and published numerous materials regarding mastery education, parenting, and healthy living. Before teaching for Patrick Henry College, Professor Brown Conroy taught research, composition, leadership, and strategic management for nine years with Cornerstone University’s Professional and Graduate Studies Division, both online and in the classroom for associate, bachelor, and master’s students.

In addition to freelance copy editing, website text writing, and marketing/social media writing, for 18 years, Professor Brown Conroy has created curricula in academic and fiction writing, research, reading and spelling, study skills and school success, and American Sign Language. Professor Brown Conroy continues to write both nonfiction and fiction books, has coached fiction writers for ten years, and is a member of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the American Christian Fiction Writers Association (ACFW), and Romance Writers of America (RWA).

Professor Brown Conroy and her husband, Shawn, are parents of 13 children by birth, marriage, and adoption and live in Michigan, where they homeschool their four school-aged children still living at home.

Classroom Teacher: Aubrey Heki

Classroom Teacher

Aubrey Heki

BA, Patrick Henry College

Aubrey Heki is a graduate of Patrick Henry College with a BA in Political Theory, a major that furnished her with ample opportunities to sharpen her skills as a writer.

Through her studies, she has come to further appreciate capturing the beauty of transcendent truth through the written word. Prior to studying on campus in the fall of 2007, she spent two years in PHC’s Campus @ Home distance learning program, completing most of her required core courses online. Because of her experience as a distance-learning student, she is cognizant of the delight and challenge involved in replicating a “classroom” environment online.

With three years’ experience as the Classroom Teacher for the AP English Language
and Composition course, her passion is to equip students with the ability to formulate thoughts concisely, persuasively, and to glorify the Creator through writing. In previous years, she has taught and evaluated writing both in the classroom and online. While in high school, she gained classroom experience as a teacher’s assistant for a high school debate class. Additionally, she taught a junior and senior high writing class for homeschooled students, using writing curricula to develop the coursework. For one year, she participated as a writing mentor in PHC’s Writing Mentorship program, offering feedback to help students improve their writing.

Aubrey and her husband Jason reside in Virginia with their toddler daughter. During her spare hours, she enjoys reading, running, hiking, making sundry crafts, and chatting with friends over a cup of coffee.

Classroom Teacher: Shane Baker, EdD

Classroom Teacher

Shane Baker

EdD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
MDiv, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
ThM, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
BS, Athens State University

Shane Baker is a recent graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary with an Ed.D. in Christian Education. He earned a B.S. in Education from Athens State University, Athens, AL in 1997 and taught English in the public school system for three years. After teaching in the public classroom, Shane served as the Director of Financial Aid for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for seven years while earning both the M.Div and Th.M. He currently serves Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary as the Registrar and serves as an Assistant Pastor at a local church.

Shane’s studies and working in the theological education community for the past twelve years have provided him with various experiences and insight in understanding a Christian worldview. His passion is to serve as an educator in an administrative role while teaching. Shane’s focus in the classroom is to help students learn through writing, no matter the subject.

Shane resides with his family in rural North Carolina. During his spare time he enjoys playing the guitar, watching movies, reading, and studying.

Duration: Yearlong course offered in fall/spring (32 weeks)

*AP English Language and Composition Live Online Class Session Schedule, 2013–2014**
Class Section	Weekly Meeting Time	Instructors
Section 1 *Section Full*	Tuesdays, 8:00–9:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)	Mrs. Erin Brown Conroy; Mrs. Aubrey Heki
Section 2 *Section Full*	Thursdays, 7:00–8:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)	Mrs. Erin Brown Conroy; Dr. Shane Baker
Section 3	Schedule TBA	Mrs. Erin Brown Conroy; Classroom Teacher TBA
Additional class sections may be added to the available offerings for this subject at a later point in the course registration period. If you have any questions about class sections, schedules, or registration, please contact the PHC Prep Academy Staff.

Please Note: Scheduled, real-time sessions in the online classroom are not the only form of instruction available in a PHC Prep Academy course, but are offered in addition to lectures or other instructional materials that students are able to access online at their convenience. All sessions will also be recorded for later viewing. Registered students will be notified of any changes to the live session schedule.

Overview

The core of the English Language and Composition course is writing and reading for analysis, synthesis, and argument. Through immersion in a variety of sources, students will learn:

To think critically about a written text’s purpose, particularly in relationship to the Christian worldview,
To analyze a written text with rhetorical understanding for content legitimacy, context, audience, and purpose,
To synthesize ideas and integrate personal experience within a unique writing piece, for a specific purpose,
To analyze and synthesize arguments, including their appeals, with the purpose of demonstrating effective written communication skills while constructing effective arguments, and
To produce documents that effectively communicate with mature readers.

The purpose of the course is to acquire college-level rhetoric and composition skills for clear, effective writing, including:

Proper use of English grammar, vocabulary, and writing conventions,
Increased stylistic development through use of sentence structure, organizational techniques, illustrative detail, syntax, diction, tone, voice, and style,
Effective use of analysis, synthesis, and argumentation,
Ability to analyze and synthesize arguments, including their appeals, with the purpose of demonstrating effective written communication skills while constructing effective arguments, and
Integration of the dynamics of mature writing for effectual communication of the Christian faith.

Course activities will focus on:

Writing essays in several forms, proceeding through several stages with feedback from instructor and course peers,
Writing in informal contexts (journaling, imitation exercises),
Assignments in effective sentence and paragraph construction, literary techniques, figures of speech/devices, organization strategies, and writing contrasts,
Analyzing visual media in relationship to written texts and as alternative forms of text (advertisements, streaming media, photographs, political graphics/cartoons),
Reading and analyzing a wide variety of prose forms, styles, and genres for the author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques,
Writing expository, analytical, and argumentative assignments based on readings representing a variety of prose forms, styles, and genres,
Researching library and internet sources using specific strategies,
Citing sources using the Turabian/Chicago style of citation, and
Rewriting text based on feedback.

Am I Ready for this AP Course?

This is a rigorous, college-level course. To succeed, students should already have strong reading and writing skills. PHC Prep recommends that students complete at least one high school English course at an advanced or honors level before enrolling. Please visit the College Board’s AP English Language and Composition page for more information about the material and skills students will study in the course and will need to master for the AP exam in this subject.

AP English Language and Composition

Master Teacher

Erin Brown Conroy, MA

Classroom Teacher

Aubrey Heki

Classroom Teacher

Shane Baker

Class Section

Weekly Meeting Time

Instructors