The article I read, which discusses a teacher's need to find a balance between technology, books, and what interests their students within the classroom, was interesting for several reasons. As Alyssa discusses in her post, many teacher's are starting to rethink the material or reading lists they choose for their different classes in order to keep students interested, or even just get them interested, in reading. However, I think we need to start drawing out a more postmodern view on literature instead of only viewing things as "modern".
I think there is one most important concept within this article: change. I guess, where would education be if it didn't change to meet the needs of teachers and students? There is value in teaching classics to our students. Arguably, mythology is one of the biggest winners in classical literature that students enjoy. We can't just say, I think we should change our curriculum completely to newer pieces of work. But, we can say, why don't we offer courses that age with our students. Or, I think that the material we provide needs to more accurately match the age groups we teach. Students are learning about issues and problems at younger ages than ever before. So why not face these things with literature that backs up their fears and feelings? Let's give them material they can relate to, and most importantly, find ways to relate the classics to their lives. I remember reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and thinking, this is such a waste of time. I feel that this is one of the least valuable of his plays that we could be teaching our students. There is no reason to get away from Shakespeare, rather, we need to emphasize plays that really challenge and beg attention from our students. More so, I think that teachers need to stay in touch with what their students are interested in. I can't really see how bringing in a pop song about love is necessary to get the point of Romeo and Juliet across, as cute of an idea as that is. Rather, if we must, let students re-create parts of this well-known play. I feel we are truly misjudging the abilities of our students, especially in an age when all they have to do is look up sparknotes, or bookrags, to simply get an over view of a classical masterpiece. It is no wonder that students are not interested or are "bored" with reading, we just keep asking them for the same key concepts and thought processes on each new piece of literature WE give them. So, back to the idea of change, it's definitely time for one, but not one that so directly disregards the reasons we fell in love with English to begin with.
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3 comments:
I completely agree with "drawing out a more postmodern view on literature." I think that instead of always using modern literature to spark an interest in students, there are so many classic and interesting works of literature that still contain values and stories that are as pertinent today as they were hundreds of years ago. For example, last Fall I took a class called American Literature since 1877. We read a lot of first-hand accounts of historical events and time periods. The things that Americans were concerned about in the post - civil war era were extremely similar to to the issues of freedom and human rights that we are faced with today. This told us so much about history and about the present, and more specifically how people communicate to make their voices heard. I think that reading literature from a particular moment in history and being able to relate it to the present is an effective way to get students interested in literature, because they can relate to a past event or individual who they never would have thought had any relevance to their lives. Although this will not reach every single student, I think that learning through historical literature is a great way to show students that their experiences are not too far removed from experiences already had by countless individuals in the United States.
I may have gotten off topic, but I think that it is important for students to appreciate and learn from literature from the past, and that it can be more engaging than most people think.
Leah points out a very good argument in her post - the fact that students can just use google or sparknotes to get an overview of classic works. I am in no way saying that we should deviate from the classics - they make up a canon that have been studied for ages, and will continue to be studied. But it is nearly impossible to get students involved in reading this type of literature. Students these days are concerned with the here and now, not the there and then. They don't want to read old english, they want shorthand and txt speak. Think about Romeo and Juliet - aside from theater lovers, how many high school students do you know that liked the original work over the silver screen remake? My quesiton is: is there a way to blend classics and modernism, without losing the idea of the classic?
I would have to agree with Leah. Although I agree that education continues to evolve from year to year but I also feel it is necessary to use the classics as well. The classics like Shakespeare are what we learned in our youth and there is no reason that our students wont be able to understand as well.
When Leah talks about Romeo and Juliet she explains that there are more important plays to study. While I did enjoy very much reading R&J I do not understand why I needed to read it three years in a row. And if we must teach it, do so in a way different from what has been done before. I think Leah has given a great suggestion for this.
Teaching literature, especially literature that remains in the curriculum year after year, should be done in more interesting ways that relate to the students and the changing times.
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