"'Classic': A book which people praise and don't read." --Mark Twain
In a former life, I was a high school English teacher. I chose English because I loved to read. Yeah, I liked to write, and writing came easy to me, but I was a book nerd. When I was in elementary, jr. high, and sr. high school, I was the kid that always carried a book with her to read. I read on the bus. I read at night rather than watch TV. When I finished homework, I read my book. On the two hour ride down and back to the lake, I read. Babysitting? When the kids were in bed, I read.
I read classics, such as To Kill a Mockingbird or All Quiet on the Western Front. I read short stories by Poe, Hawthorne, and Twain. I enjoyed historical fiction, historical non-fiction, biographies, autobiographies, and pop culture, such as the VC Andrews Flowers in the Attic series or Steven King books.
In college I became introduced to the wonders of American and British lit. Yes, in high school we read Shakespeare, but in college, we READ Shakespeare. I loved it! I got it! It spoke to me, as dd Cotton Mather, Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, Virginia Woolf, Chaucer, e.e. cummings, George Elliot, the Bronte sisters, Hemingway, Steinbeck, and many more. Oh, the wonder of these writers and the stories they wove! the symbolism! the allegories! the drama!
So when I became a high school teacher, I vowed to introduce the students to the classics. I crafted book lists that the students could choose from to read a book a month. On this list were a combination of classics and Newberry winners.
One parent asked me why I didn't let the student choose the book. Well, what did they know??? I went to college! I saw (or was taught) the marvels of The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, The Scarlet Letter, Hamlet (though secretly, I HATED The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath).
Unfortunately, the students didn't. And rather than encouraging students to become avid readers, I think I turned them off.
But these were classics and the students needed to read them. Why? Because they were classics... And the students needed to read them.
Today schools are beginning to move away from this trend. Teachers recognize that there are too many distractoins to keep students from reading. Students game. They IM and Facebook each other. They surf the web, tweet, download music, and watch tv shows and movies. The bookworm nerd is a think of the past.
So a shift in education is happening. Harry Potter is replacing the Little House books as favorites. The Twilight series replaces Romeo and Juliet's tale of star-crossed lovers. Manga and Anime, or comic books in book form, such as those by Neil Gaimon hold the interest of both male and female teens.
So is letting students choose their own books valuable? The question is what is the purpose for the students reading? Are we trying to create a situation of life-long learning? Expose the students to broader themes of humanity and culture?
I'm not sure. The thought that now one will ever read Atticus Finch telling Scout "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view" saddens me. That students will never see the humor in biting one's thumb, or the double meaning as Young Goodman Brown laments his Faith is gone saddens me.
But I also have a 20 year old son and 20 year old niece who both hate to read. Perhaps if they had more leverage to choose what to read, the may not be "anti-reading."
Besides, at one time, Macbeth, Moby Dick, and Silas Marner were popular texts.
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ReplyDeleteI was a struggling reader all through elementary to high school. I wanted to read so much. I can remember all my friends reading the BabySitter Club books and I really wanted to be part of their conversations. I checked out the book from the library and stared at the pages. Nothing made sense. I said all that to say, I do not think students today are at the same reading levels that the classics are written in. When I was a sophomore in high school my English class read Shakespeare and I loved it. However, I did not read it, it was read aloud to us. We all had the book and followed along as our teacher read with passion. The class mapped out on paper the characters and the events so we could refer back to them. So to conclude, I think students still need exposure to the classics but maybe not in the traditional sense. Maybe using audio books or having the teacher read aloud the classics. Then for homework allowing students to choose a book at their level to read for pleasure.
ReplyDeleteI actually chose to write on this article too but for a different reason. Mrs. McNeil from the article was my seventh garde teacher and because of her I love reading. She was inspiring and never overbearing about reading in her classroom. She believes in the students right to read something that interest them even if that means she has to do the extra work of reading those book herself.
ReplyDeleteI think that by letting students choose the books they read in class, we let them take part in their education. By giving students an active role in their education Mrs. McNeil let them take charge of their grades. Granted there were always those students who did not want to read, but she tried to suggest books that would interest them. I am still friends with many of the students from her class and we are all life long readers.
I went to high school during the early 1970's. During my elementary and junior high years, I didn't develop an enjoyment for reading, because everything was prescribed by a teacher. I am a very slow reader, so had little time to do recreational reading because I spent most my time reading what was assigned. I did enjoy reading some during the summer, because I was able to choose what to read and read many sports biographies and stories because that was what I enjoyed. I never developed a desire to read the classics, because they were difficult for a slow reader and most teachers over-analyzed them in my opinion. I was able to enjoy reading mythology when it was offered, and especially enjoyed the pop culture of the time, things like Alas Babylon, 1984, Farenheit 451, Brave New World, the Doc Savage series, and the like.
ReplyDeleteI was able to finally develop a love for reading when I had an English teacher for a semester who allowed us to choose our own reading material as long as she approved it. That was when I discovered Stephen King, and I have been a huge fan ever since. I enjoy his style of getting your attention early and keeping it throughout every book. I also appreciate his ability to insert in every book some reference to another of his books. It makes you feel like every story is related. Like you, I did enjoy immensely the Flowers in the Attic series, but I always come back to Stephen King.
Is it bad to allow students to choose their own reading material? I agree there may be a risk that students will lose the value of the classics, but they will never develop an appreciation for reading if all they ever read are books they can't enjoy. If they don't develop an appreciation for reading, we will quickly lose them to the other distractions in their lives. Then the video games, IM, graphic novels, anime and such have won.
To be quite honest, I never liked reading. I found out that there were a few books that captured me in college and again a few years ago while living here in California. Another thing I found was that if I was captivated by a book, I'd come home as soon as possible to read 8-10 hours at a time. I finished half of a series in a few weeks and realized I had to stop this trend or forever be lost to the world of books. I was obsessed.
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt that students sometimes have trouble finding a happy medium. Often, my students have been told to put books away and I've seen kids sneaking a peek at novels during class periods. Even dissecting frogs can't pull some away from the urge to read more of their selected novel.
An acquaintance of mine at UND had to drop out of school on account of his book obsession. You would have thought, man, this guy is going to go places with his desire to read and read for knowledge. His was a testimony to me that all the knowledge or book smarts in the world won't get you anywhere if you can't apply it and/or not be obsessive about it.
I seek a happy medium and hope my students do the same. I give them a choice of 8 books a year and 8 from a prescribed list that numbers in the dozens. If I didn't, they'd read nothing besides entertainment value books. Some of which they can learn from, but few that offer a wealth of educational value. Kids these days think everything has to be entertaining and few know what it means to make a commitment and fulfill that commitment through effort. Effort you'd not otherwise put forth if you had a choice. Kind of like beginning a difficult journey in a masters program after years of being out of college. If we succeed at things we'd rather not do, just imagine the success we'll enjoy with the tasks we do choose in life.