Wow how obviously important is this chapter? Choosing what to read is the most critical element of teaching literature. What you teach shows what you and society value as important and what the students should value as important. Also, because reading is what provides much of your vocabulary, you are choosing what words to teach the students. I must say I love the classics, but I find myself in a deep disagreement with many of the ways Jago is portraying as good techniques or choices. After looking closely at Young Adult literature last semester I cannot agree that these books offer nothing more than a mirror image of a student or their situation. I do agree that they shouldn't be the only thing taught but they should be taught. They are worthy topics for classroom discussion and can offer many occasions for teaching things such as vocabulary. While these books are certainly easier for students to read, they still offer words and not all of them are known. They may even be an easy connection to a classic novel. Much like the project we are doing this semester I believe a classic can and should be paired with a classic to lead to a better understanding of both novels. A good novel to choose for classroom discussion according to Jago is one that a student needs your help to get through, I agree. But can't all books be taught and looked at in different lights? And can't they mean different things to different people? So why is it not important to convey these differences and analyze why and where these differences lie? I believe this can offer just as much of an experience and knowledge as a classic taught in Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. The key is to teach anything in this area. That's the great thing about novels, they can always offer new avenues to explore and new thoughts on life situations.
Also in this chapter I really liked the idea of giving the students a way to record the books they have read. This would be wonderful to look at each year and see how much you have accomplished. To know that you had expanded your knowledge with each novel read and to see all the novels on that list, you know you must have accomplished something. Finally there was one quote in this chapter that really meant something to me: "'Your' classic is a book to which you cannot remain indifferent, and that helps you define yourself in relation or even in opposition to it." Because of this I believe everyone should have a favorite classic, "their classic." If a novel defines or relates to you, so will others. And if you can find other novels relate to your classic you can understand it better. Sooner or later through this process you have a lot of books to call yours and to define the world in which you live, not just the classics.
I agree. I think Y.A. lit should be taught in the classroom, so long as it is relevant and not just as a filler or because it is easier. There are definitely ways were we can teach Y.A. lit books that are meaningful and can encourage student learning. I don't think they should be completely ignored in a classroom, but pairing them with a canonical text is a really good project.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the idea of recording books and if I ever have the opportunity to suggest this to my department, I would. I think not only would it be beneficial to students, but also to teachers. We would be able to monitor in another way to make sure the difficulty is actually increasing, no one is falling behind, and there is not someone being too hard.
Also so there are no repetitions in reading assignments throughout the grades!
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