Quote:
Originally Posted by Keryl Raist
Assuming they actually read the books, this would be bad why?
I've got a buddy who teaches HS English now, and has taught JRH English in the past. The breakdown goes something like this: 50% of the kids don't read the assignment at all. 25% read the Sparknotes. 23% read the book and resent the hell out of it. 2% read and enjoy.
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For me, the bad one was Of Mice and Men, which put me off Steinbeck forever, and off the whole genre too. On the other hand, a different class and teacher had us read 1984, and I didn't have any problems (I told the teacher, read that already, and she had me read something else...)
The difference is all in the class presentation. Because those 50% don't bother to read, the teacher had a lot of class time devoted to plain reading. Then you add all the dissection and investigation of deeper meaning, and I was ready to walk out of class. The other class? The subject was SF, and only about 3 days total was spent on 1984, with intelligent discussion instead of rote dissection. (Then, I had to give a book report to the rest of the class about the book I read instead.)
The bottom line for me, it wasn't *Just* about a particular book with annoying language, subject, and story, but because the rest of the class was so slow that I was *BORED*. Move through the material at a pace that holds interest, and much can be forgiven about a particular book.