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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Oh, and also, I would never try to have a conversation with a friend about the specific merits of a given article without reading the article. The content, sure — “oh yes, Charles Mann argues that the population of the Americas before Columbus was much larger than we thought” but not “Charles Mann has this beautifully lyrical description of Amazonia...” (I’d immediately go “ooh lemme see.”) [/quote]

And what if- hear me out- this exact thing happens to kids and they go “wait let me read that” and then they too are doing extra reading just because they were curious. [/quote]

I mean, great, but you’re making it sound like the best thing that could come out of your class are kids reading on their own, which as the kid who would have preferred to read her own book in the library than go to English class  (and whose kid is the same!) makes me wonder why it should be a required course. But that’s cool, I was already pretty sold on a classical curriculum for my kids. [/quote]

I think you are missing the point.  English class is not about reading the book.  One can do that on their own.  It's about dissecting and discussing the book. You know, critical thinking.  That's why it's a required course.  It has never been about the reading part.[/quote]

No, I don't think PP was missing the point.  I think OP is missing the point.  To OP, the point of English class [i]is [/i]to read the book and 'love reading.' [/quote]

No, the books are actually beside the point which is why I don’t need to control what they pick. The point of English class is to connect with humanity, honor someone else’s voice and lived experience, hone your own writing and voice to tell your story, understand your world. [/quote]

Are you OP?

Because you are contradicting yourself.  [quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Another teacher here just chiming in to say that you sound like a very good and thoughtful teacher. I imagine you work at a private school? Since you seem to have flexibility in what you teach.[/quote]

Nope, public. But a great school and a great department which means my colleagues and I get a lot of freedom to teach the kids in the way we think is best and we are constantly collaborating. [b]Current research shows that students read more when given choice. My classes are built around readers and writers workshops - it’s just that this year I would like to move away from free choice independent reading during class to doing all our literature study around books of choice. If that gets them to read more, that’s the important part.[/b] They don’t need to be forced into Gatsby or Mockingbird.[/quote]

[b]Getting kids to read for pleasure is a huge struggle and I’m tailoring my curriculum to hopefully help them do more of that without the whole “we are going to read this tedious old book from 1945 and beat it to death” thing. It’s a good jumping off point for me to know whether the kids are reading books of their choice when they’re able or if they’re not reading at home either since getting them to think of reading as a valuable pastime they should consider doing for enjoyment is, well, hard.[/b][/quote]

It’s not a contradiction. In order to fulfill the purpose of English class, which is all I stated above, done through the vehicles of reading and writing, I need them to read books. If kids don’t enjoy reading, they don’t read the books. When they like reading but don’t enjoy the assigned book, they don’t read the books. So if I need them to read to get what I want them to get out of English, I need to find a way to make reading if not enjoyable, then bearable for them. Hence giving them the choice to pick a book they can, if not love, tolerate and maybe have some slight interest in.

I’d encourage you to ask all your kids if they truly read the books assigned in English class. I’m thinking a lot of you see Gatsby on the reading list and think “great, my kid is reading classics.” But really- ask them if they read it. My students are honest with me... they flat out do not do most assigned reading unless it’s done when we are in class and someone reads aloud and they have to take it in. For any English book they’ve been assigned since about 8th grade they’ve told me they just Sparknote  it because the book is boring and they don’t want to read it. So as I see it, the binary here is not “classic” literature vs. “garbage they picked.” It’s “not doing the reading at all” vs “maybe at least doing some reading.”  [/quote]

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