Quote:
Originally Posted by anamardoll
I think a lot of people are turned off of reading through education. I have a degree in literature, but I HATED "literature" in middle and high school because my teachers taught it so poorly. (I *was* an avid "reader", but what I was reading was what we'd now call genre lit instead of general lit.) It wasn't until I got to college and was lucky enough to have a stellar English teacher that I realized that fancy literature could be fun and thought-provoking.
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I don't think I came across the concept of "literature" until I found myself at secondary school (normally 11--18 in England) and "English Literature" was one of the subjects we were taught. I found it pretty boring, and looking back I think it was the lowest-common-denominator mode of teaching. I "did" a couple of Shakespeare plays, some assorted poetry and
Pride and Prejudice for O-level Eng Lit. There may have been other stuff, but I don't remember at this distance in time. I don't think it was ever explained that these weren't contemporary works. At the same time I was reading any books I could get my hands on, with no particular pattern.
When I was 14 I went into the sixth form (normally 16--18) and started to do A-levels. A-levels represent specialisation and one does only a few subjects. My subjects were Pure Maths, French and Art. But then I changed schools and for inexplicable reasons my subjects were changed. My A-levels were at first Pure Maths, Applied Maths and Physics. The Head then decided that I was in danger of turning into "an illiterate scientist", and A-level English was added to my quiver. By that stage I was having more English lessons than anyone else in the school. I also had classes in Use of English (one had to take an exam in this to get something called a State Scholarship), something else called English for Scientists and A-level English.
A-level English for me was like Alice's passing through the door into Wonderland. Suddenly I was presented with a whole world I hadn't known existed. The syllabus was split between one competent teacher and one brilliant teacher. I immediately fell in love with Chaucer -- I still can't say why -- and I read through and round the syllabus. It started me on a path of autodidactism that I am still following today. I had read avidly from before I started school at the age of 5, but it was systemless and inchoate reading. From starting A-level English I had goals and aspirations.