Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Because it seems to me that relatively few people leave school with a love of mathematics, and carry on studying the subject for pleasure, and yet it's rare to see remarks that this indicates that maths teaching is failing. For some reason, though, many more people seem to believe that a goal of English Lit teaching should be to instil a love of reading, rather than simply a knowledge of English literature. I find it a slightly curious dichotomy.
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I think the point is not that English Literature should be taught so as to install a love of reading and further "study" for pleasure. The point is that the subject should not result in killing such love or any possibility of it, which in my experience it does seem to do to some.
Having said this, instilling such a love is a worthy goal for many school subjects, even maths and science, which some people also love. It should be one goal, whilst also recognising that we are all different and that not every student is capable of loving all of them. Some students will not love any!
But schools should at least make an attempt to foster a lifetime love of learning.