BlogHer - required reading - Comments

I guess I was lucky...

potspoon — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:12:31 -0500

We definitely dissected books, but we really didn't spend too much time on them. I read Catcher in the Rye in middle school as To Kill a Mockingbird. I am glad not to have had to reread them in high school. We did Shakespeare but as Othello and Julius Caesar. I did have to read Beowulf which bored me to tears, but Their Eyes Were Watching God is still one of my favorites. I did learn to hate The Scarlet Letter, however! Overall, I learned about so many genera of American and Western Literature that I never would have known existed otherwise, I think the experience was rather pleasant.

Potspoon!

Agreed

KatieBeez — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:54:37 -0500

There were some books in high school that I hated but that I'm sure I would like if we hadn't dissected them to the nth degree, I completely agree.

What I'm not sure about though, is that we were *supposed* to love the dissection. Critical thinking and other skills aren't necessarily fun but are important nonetheless.

I think I got pretty lucky in high school. English wasn't my favorite subject, and I always put my love of reading and what was taught in English class in two separate categories. Even so, we read many novels that impacted me. And some dark ones also: Sophie's Choice. The Bell Jar, The Crucible. The Scarlet Letter. To Kill a Mocking bird too (which I loved even through the dissection).

Some good news about high school reading

lauriehalseanderson — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:46:24 -0500

Thanks for the terrific post!

I thought I would add some good news to the discussion. At last count, my novel SPEAK was being taught at hundreds of middle schools, high schools, and colleges around the country. It is most frequently assigned as summer reading book between 8th and 9th grades, and is then used as the opening text for 9th grade English classes, but I've seen it in plenty of other grades.

There is a new generation of incredible English teachers who are dedicated to developing curriculum that will keep teens enthusiastic about reading. These people are truly angels. Many of them are members of ALAN (http://www.alan-ya.org/about/), an affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English.

There is change a'happening!

Laurie Halse Anderson

http://halseanderson.livejournal.com/

www.writerlady.com

Hear Hear!

jessica.schafer — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:33:58 -0500

I totally agree with you! I love reading, but I hated almost everything I read in English class because analyzing it to pieces took all the fun out of it. It took away the mystery, the "what if". Plus I always found it ridiculous when teachers used the phrase, "What the author intended..." as if we could ever really know! The worst was The Old Man and the Sea in Grade 10. I went to a Christian high school and no kidding, our teacher would not stop going on about how the old man was a Christ figure. Anything that could be read remotely as symbolic was and it just totally killed the novel for me. Thankfully, I got into the AP English class in grade 12 and got to escape the end of chapter quizzes and book reports. We actually got to talk about how what we were reading related to our lives and what themes were universal. It was a much much better English class experience.

I was doing some research on gender differences in learning about a year ago and read about one English teacher at an all boys school who has his students create an exact replica of the Island from Lord of the Flies, rather than doing the quizzes and discussions on theme. It forces his students to read the book really carefully to get details on the Island. His theory is that in reading that closely, the great themes and metaphors of the work will be absorbed as well and eventually come in handy.

In Between Words

http://jessicaschafer.wordpress.com

yep.

kazari — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:03:38 -0500

When I started highschool, i got a real kick out of reading Mid-Summer Nights' Dream with the class. But then the teacher tore it to bits! There was no enjoyment of the language, the rhythm (and the fairies set pieces can be precious close to rap when it comes to rhythm). Just a dissection of the symbolism of the moon, and the forest... I did really badly with the comprehension exercises, and the teacher told me i should read more, maybe Judy Blume.

I was actually reading 'A Christmas Carol' for fun at that point, so I just looked at her like she was an alien. Then I realised that the comprehension was supposed to be a recitation of facts, no opinion. i did better after that.

I think I have a recipe for that...

Preaching to the choir

GingerW — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:39:24 -0500

I have long held this exact belief. I'm an avid reader, have been since I was about 6. But even for me, who would rather read than do anything else during my school years, English class was painful. I remember questioning a teacher in middle school or thereabouts about why we had to know what someone else said we should think of the book, and why it wasn't enough to discuss what we as readers had gotten out of the book. (And boy did I catch it for that one!)

But we've made reading in our education system something to be dreaded, a recitation of facts and symbolism, of dates and plot points, and removed the elements that all readers love--that personal connection to a story or to characters, the ability to lose yourself in another world.

I'm right there with you, let kids read whatever they want--just so long as they're reading!

--Ginger

RambleRamble.com

Amen, Sister

Candelaria Silva — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:09:33 -0500

I have always firmly believed that everyone enjoys reading if they are allowed to read things that are relevant to them at least some of the time in school.

I think having students select what they read and share it in a # of creative ways - i.e., creating a commercial about the book; blogging about their reading; using virtual bookshleves like shelfari and library thing, etc. - can get them excited about reading. Allowing kids to share graphic novels, comic books, scripts, how-to books, bios can open up their minds.

We had a saying back in my activist days - read and be freed!

blog.candelariasilva.com

Good and plenty!