I really enjoyed this chapter because I think one of my biggest concern is what books I should teach. I understand that the classics are very important and I love many of them, but I'm afraid my students won't. This chapter basically defined what was considered a "classic." I agree with all of these, especially that you gain more from each re-reading, that you cannot remain indifferent and that it becomes the background music to everything else.
I liked that it gave lists of books that we could be teaching. It reminded me of my own high school experience. In both my Junior and Senior English class we have to complete 6 points of outside reading every nine weeks. There were different sections of books; there were 1/2 point, 1 point, 11/2 point and a few 2 point books. This part of the class was really challenging because it required us to do a lot of reading, but I also think it was really rewarding. I remember reading many texts from the list in this book; like The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Catcher and the Rye, Black Boy and The Joy Luck Club.
We never did literature circles in my English classes, but I think it would have helped us a lot. I know that many of my friends and I were reading the same books and it would have been very beneficial for us to discuss what we were reading instead of just taking a company created 50 question test over each book. I know I would have learned a lot more if we were able to talk about what was going on in the books as we were reading them.
I also had to read outside of class my freshman year. We were able to choose a book from a list and every nine weeks we had to write a four page paper on it discussing character, plot, theme, and symbols. We didn't have literature circles either. We also didn't talk about the books at all in class. It was sort of a free for all. I think it would have been very beneficial for us to talk and the books instead of just writing the paper. For me, it felt like busy work rather than actually learning. No one really knew what we were doing and we didn't really learn anything from it. I completely agree with you Angel. I think I would have learned a lot more if I would have been given the opportunity to discuss the book I was reading.
ReplyDeleteMy experience in high school was similar to most, I did not have the opportunity to participate in literature circles. I also never really had the opportunity to engage in pleasure reading as a means for classroom assignments. All we ever focused on was classic literature and it got really boring as a student. Moreover, I believe the reason it became so boring was because we never were made to try to make sense of the literature by drawing upon personal experiences. I believe if the lesson plans were constructed in a more meaningful way, students, as well as I, would have been able to enjoy the classics a little more.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading I too liked the idea of literature circles. I feel that students would learn so much more about a text by talking to each other. I too feel that literature circles would be more helpful to students then a company created 50 question test!
ReplyDeleteI really like literature circles because I think discussions are important for a rich understanding of text.
ReplyDelete