☃ Although I enjoyed the points of chapter one and agree with them, I wish this chapter would have given readers suggestions on how to teach these to principles she suggests. I think some ideas would be great for future teachers to help teach classical literature.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Classics in the Classroom Ch 1
☃ I just finished chapter one of Classics in the Classroom and it has a lot of valuable information. I liked all of the points that author Carol Jago points out, especially point number 2: Don't confuse reading for pleasure with the study of literature. The reason I liked this point so much is because students need to read on their own about topics, themes, and characters that relate to them, but at the same rate they should be reading the classics that have stood the test of time. Jago brings up good points such as "students' reading lives should include two very different books" (pg 5). "One kind acts as a mirror [...] students also need books that act as windows" (pg 5). I like the analogy Jago uses to show the difference between pleasure reading and classical reading. I agree that it is a teacher's job and responsibility to help teach classical readings to help students see the themes, relationships, characters, and plots of these stories. I love that Jago made reference to Oprah's book choice of "Traveling with the Classics." I think this is a great way to bring back and show readers the classics that have been popular for many years.
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I agree - confusing reading for pleasure and studying literature are separate things, and I think sometimes students miss the distinction and write reading off altogether. I disagree with Jago, though, when she says only the classics should be taught in a classroom. I think YA lit can be very beneficial, especially for reluctant readers or as a supplement to a canonical text - drawing parallels, making connections, etc.
ReplyDelete- Holly Stefanoff