Quote:
Originally Posted by MSWallack
I think (sadly) that a lot of the dystopian literature speaks to the fears that kids face (just as other sorts of books focused on fears that those of us who grew up during the cold war faced). I think that there are a lot of YA books that approach teen romance and sexuality in a much more open (and hopefully honest way); at least that's the impression that I get from my teenage daughter.
As to the purpose of English Lit classes, I guess it depends on what the class really is. In high school, at least, the classes aren't really English Lit classes at all; rather they are "English" (at least in the sense that English is the language being used) and more properly described as "language arts". Kids are taught to write essays and research papers in English, they read classics and sometimes modern works (though far more of the former and less of the latter). They learn to engage in public speaking and to create projects around ideas gleaned from their reading. So I don't view English Lit, at least at the high school level, as being about "the classics" or about learning shared heritage.
I also bristle at the notion that the body of literature being taught to our kids should be limited to English language classics. Few of our ancestors originated from England, yet the inclusion of German, Russian, Italian, and Spanish literature is very rare, let alone literature from Japan, China, India or other languages or cultures.
As I said before, I think kids have plenty of time to read the classics, but at least in high school when we're trying to teach kids critical thinking skills, I think that we need to find ways to make reading something that they will want to continue doing rather than a chore to be avoided once school is finished. Just witness recent studies that show just how few people will ever pick up a book once they've completed school. I think that force-feeding "difficult" reading (I'm looking at your Mr. Shakespeare) that doesn't really speak to kids is a sure-fire way to make sure that many of those kids won't become readers as they mature. And then, when they have kids, those kids, growing up in a home without active readers, will be raised with a disdain for books rather than a love for books.
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Exactly.
It's a "Do no harm" thing.
They're not expected to make kids like reading--but they shouldn't kill whatever interest in reading the non-bookworms might have.