Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:27     Subject: Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:
I know you’re being helpful but trust me, I know all this. This (literally) what I’m trained to do and have advanced degrees in.


Fellow teacher here. If you know all this and are literally trained to do this with advanced degrees then why ask? You asked for input based on their individual children. She is telling you her feedback based on her child's education experience. No need to be rude.


I’m not being rude! I asked did their kids read and if so, what they did. I don’t need someone telling me there’s crossover books (like how would I not know this?) don’t make the kids take notes. I don’t do that.


DP here- You are, though. Her kid reads crossover books. She was suggesting them. And clearly plenty of English teachers do make their students take notes while reading, so how was she supposed to know that you don't? You didn't share your lesson plans or education philosophy or anything. She's telling you what their experience has been. If you're this condescending and patronizing to your students, no wonder they refuse to engage in your class.

Also I would bet money that you are within your first 5 years teaching, and either Teach for America, or some other SJW white woman.


Who said my kids don’t engage in my class? They absolutely do. wanting to teach them better doesn’t mean they’re not engaged. Asking their parents, the people who know them best, for insight into how they read at home, is a huge part in understanding how to teach them better.

Weird also you think giving your students choice instead of forcing Steinbeck on them = SJW. It’s just seeing the kids as humans with interests of their own.


DP- Why are you being so incredibly defensive? You asked for input, what our kids read and don't read, etc. But if anyone tries to give you honest feedback, you are going off on tangents about POC and being forcefed racism.

Some takeaways I have saved from a literacy conference this summer (I'm a reading specialist in a VA high school)...
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.


"To Kill a Mockingbird” is a revolutionary novel which exposed the large glaring fault of racism in our society in the 1960s. This novel is now more relevant than ever with our country still dealing with segregation and discrimination, but it has managed to survive hidden under the radar. Students should be trusted to read this novel, understand its intricacies and the historical importance of racism, because of the tremendous effect it has had on our society as a whole.


Why do you not have any faith in your students of color?

To Kill A Mockingbird is about discrimination – racial, economic and the fear of the unknown. It is about a child’s coming of age as she learns this lesson. Yes, the book depicts racism; it does not promote it or ignore it. As all literary works depict conflict, it would be impossible to suggest that we avoid any literary work that portrays evil. The true learning behind teaching literature comes from the study and discussion of these profound issues. To Kill A Mockingbird teaches the value of empathy and understanding differences. The novel offers excellent learning opportunities such as discussion, role-playing, and historical research, allowing students to delve into these issues and appreciate them and the work itself.

The historical context of the novel is crucial, as the book not only introduces teenagers to the problems of the past, but also leads them to make connections to the world in which they live today, making this decades-old work very relevant. Even the objectionable language decried by some is an excellent “teachable moment” and a chance to talk about why language evolves over time. Having an open and honest discussion about this is essential in understanding the context and providing an atmosphere of respect and trust.

An argument against the book is that students may feel uncomfortable with the topic. Obviously, we want our students to feel respected and physically safe. But it is becoming a disturbing trend, even in post-secondary education, to avoid issues that will provoke reactions. It is only by discussing these issues and reacting to emotions in a safe classroom environment, among students of different racial groups, and with a teacher’s leadership, that students will learn from the work itself, and from each other, and be able to make sense of such issues in a complex world.


You are so obsessed with pointing out "that's how things used to be taught" or how "recent research says xyz." That's great, but you also cannot force the concept of loving reading to kids. You can, however, prepare them for this world. Prepare them that sometimes tasks aren't 100% enjoyable, but bring great value - challenges bring growth.

You are incredibly patronizing and contemptuous. I encourage you to reflect upon this before berating a group of high schoolers and letting them somehow earn high school English credit when they read Twilight or The Hate U Give or The Fault in our Stars for an entire year. Your obligation is not only to "make them love reading" but to teach them, history is part of learning, context matters, language matters, literature is relevant in all aspects of the world. Maybe you don't do enough reading of these 'classics' to understand.
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:22     Subject: Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So...what do you do in class when everyone is reading a different book? Granted I was in MS almost twenty years ago at a private school, but as I recall we did a lot of discussing the plot, symbolism, character motivation, close reading, etc. Or is literary analysis now outdated as well? It seems like “read something you love to develop a sense of joy with the written word” is for SSR in elementary school, not middle or HS English class. What’s changed?

(PS: we read Kindred in seventh grade and idk if it counts as a classic but it was great!)


They can still discuss all those in the context of their own book. Track YOUR character’s development. What motivates them? What do their words and choices reveal about them? How does YOUR book use imagery or setting to impact the story? They can do all that and have discussions around big questions (e.g., “Who or what determines whose stories get told?”) in the context of their own book. All books have plot, characters, dialogue, literary devices- they’re just applying their knowledge of those things to analyze how they work in their book and to what effect.


Right, but what does the classroom actually look like? One kid is talking about the hero’s journey as illustrated by Frodo’s character arc or whatever, how are any of the other students who aren’t reading LotR going to connect with that? “Hey, look at this cool way light and dark imagery shows up again in this climactic scene, reminding me of the scene where the protagonist was introduced...it’s on page 73 of a book I’m the only one who has.”

Look, cards on the table, I think there’s a certain corpus of material people need to be familiar with in order to engage productively with those big questions. Never mind with works of literature! You’re not going to understand what Derek Walcott is saying if you haven’t read the Odyssey, and frankly reading Ulysses helps too. “Whose story gets told” is, IMO, a question that you need to know a lot of history to answer and I’m not convinced you can provide appropriate context for students who are reading twenty five different books. I mean, fine, if you want to do the Harlem Renaissance not everyone needs to be reading Invisible Man, but I can’t imagine a productive classroom conversation between someone reading Invisible Man and someone reading the latest dystopian YA. This may be a failure of imagination on my part! So I’m curious how you envision it going.


I agree with parts of what you are saying. It IS more challenging to teach when students aren’t all reading the same book. However, great schools donthat all the time. Sometimes, they cluster students in discussion groups around books with a common theme. I don’t teach English, but in my SS class students work on individualized research topics, reading totally different primary and secondary sources, but manage to have group discussions about common themes. Part of the work that has to be done upfront is teaching students how to have this type of discussion. It’s a skill of lifelong real world value.


I’m OP and this is why I said it would definitely take a little more work on my part... it’s giving kids tools and a framework to lead their own learning and discussion without the normal training wheels in place.

Pp, imagine a topic or interest in the news. Gun violence let’s say. You mention to a friend one article you read. They say oh, here’s the one I read. You discuss the merits of each, how the author made the point, was it persuasive? Expository? Opinion? How do you know? Were the tools they used effective? You could have a very rich discussion having not ever necessarily read the other article. And you might even feel compelled during or afterward to go read that article because the discussion was that interesting. We do this ALL the time as adults! I believe kids can too. “I picked a book about poverty. Here’s how my book handles it.” “And here’s how my book handles that same issue.”
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:22     Subject: Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What district are you in that doesn't have mandatory books? You must not teach AP or maybe even not honors if you don't have to do some standards. I think you are focusing on the wrong thing. You should intermingle some classics, not just YA novels that don't require any skill in reading. The Hate U Give, for instance, is a phenomenal book, and a great topic - but in terms of difficulty or challenge it is severely lacking. They should have to learn how to conquer a challenging text, written in a different time period. Only being interested in today and today's specific type of dialogue / writing / vocabulary will not offer any growth.


I’m not going point by point but: no. You don’t understand literacy and education. Please don’t tell me how to do my job... just answer the question I asked.


I agree w/ PP
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:21     Subject: Question from a teacher about your kids...

We are bookworms and tend to read the classics, both in our native language and English. Obviously, classics are mostly by privileged white men, with all the attached baggage. We are aware of that.

I prefer teachers assign certain important works the class can discuss as a whole, before letting them choose texts for themselves.

Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:18     Subject: Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So...what do you do in class when everyone is reading a different book? Granted I was in MS almost twenty years ago at a private school, but as I recall we did a lot of discussing the plot, symbolism, character motivation, close reading, etc. Or is literary analysis now outdated as well? It seems like “read something you love to develop a sense of joy with the written word” is for SSR in elementary school, not middle or HS English class. What’s changed?

(PS: we read Kindred in seventh grade and idk if it counts as a classic but it was great!)


They can still discuss all those in the context of their own book. Track YOUR character’s development. What motivates them? What do their words and choices reveal about them? How does YOUR book use imagery or setting to impact the story? They can do all that and have discussions around big questions (e.g., “Who or what determines whose stories get told?”) in the context of their own book. All books have plot, characters, dialogue, literary devices- they’re just applying their knowledge of those things to analyze how they work in their book and to what effect.


Right, but what does the classroom actually look like? One kid is talking about the hero’s journey as illustrated by Frodo’s character arc or whatever, how are any of the other students who aren’t reading LotR going to connect with that? “Hey, look at this cool way light and dark imagery shows up again in this climactic scene, reminding me of the scene where the protagonist was introduced...it’s on page 73 of a book I’m the only one who has.”

Look, cards on the table, I think there’s a certain corpus of material people need to be familiar with in order to engage productively with those big questions. Never mind with works of literature! You’re not going to understand what Derek Walcott is saying if you haven’t read the Odyssey, and frankly reading Ulysses helps too. “Whose story gets told” is, IMO, a question that you need to know a lot of history to answer and I’m not convinced you can provide appropriate context for students who are reading twenty five different books. I mean, fine, if you want to do the Harlem Renaissance not everyone needs to be reading Invisible Man, but I can’t imagine a productive classroom conversation between someone reading Invisible Man and someone reading the latest dystopian YA. This may be a failure of imagination on my part! So I’m curious how you envision it going.


I agree with parts of what you are saying. It IS more challenging to teach when students aren’t all reading the same book. However, great schools donthat all the time. Sometimes, they cluster students in discussion groups around books with a common theme. I don’t teach English, but in my SS class students work on individualized research topics, reading totally different primary and secondary sources, but manage to have group discussions about common themes. Part of the work that has to be done upfront is teaching students how to have this type of discussion. It’s a skill of lifelong real world value.
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:17     Subject: Re:Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: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.


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. 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. They don’t need to be forced into Gatsby or Mockingbird.


Thank god you teach at public. I was worried that you might be my kid's teacher. I'm sorry, but any English teacher who doesn't understand why kids should be "forced" to read classics like Gatsby, Mockingbird, and Grapes of Wrath--even if those books make them uncomfortable--is not a good teacher. Life is uncomfortable, and all kids need to learn that. I'm pretty sure a book like Mockingbird makes everyone who reads it uncomfortable. That's why it's such a good book. I honestly feel sad for your students that you're depriving them of that opportunity.


Mockingbird is harmful to students of color. It gives students the idea that Atticus is a White savior. Tom is entirely dehumanized. Nobody is deprived of reading any book... they can choose Mockingbird if they want. They can also always read it at home with you. But I won’t MAKE kids read a book that is harmful to them.


Hey OP, sorry for the naysayers (although, it's DCUM, so not sure we can reasonably expect anything else). I'm not dissing your approach to your class at all. I'm sure many kids will benefit from more opportunities to choose their reading material and especially for the opportunity to branch out from the classics if they choose to do so. I just want to offer a word of caution. Please do not lump all of the students of color together. I'm AA and Mockingbird is actually one of my favorite books of all time. I identified with Atticus, and although I'm first in my family to go to college, am now an attorney. Don't make the mistake of thinking we are all the same or think the same, or will have the same reactions to this book or that.


You’re right and this in particular is a very nuanced discussion. However I as a teacher have a REALLY tough time making my kids sit there and read the N word over and over in a text, or reading a story where a Black man is lynched by the justice system that still fails AA people to this day. I have no way of knowing which students that’s emotionally harmful for and which are ok with and enjoying the story. It’s a risk that feels inappropriate for me to take when students’ well being is on the line.

I am not disagreeing with that, nor am I suggesting you assign this (or any) book. I just don't think that you should assert that Mockingbird is harmful to students of color.


Point taken and I agree. Thank you for pointing that out.
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:16     Subject: Re:Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: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.


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. 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. They don’t need to be forced into Gatsby or Mockingbird.


Thank god you teach at public. I was worried that you might be my kid's teacher. I'm sorry, but any English teacher who doesn't understand why kids should be "forced" to read classics like Gatsby, Mockingbird, and Grapes of Wrath--even if those books make them uncomfortable--is not a good teacher. Life is uncomfortable, and all kids need to learn that. I'm pretty sure a book like Mockingbird makes everyone who reads it uncomfortable. That's why it's such a good book. I honestly feel sad for your students that you're depriving them of that opportunity.


Mockingbird is harmful to students of color. It gives students the idea that Atticus is a White savior. Tom is entirely dehumanized. Nobody is deprived of reading any book... they can choose Mockingbird if they want. They can also always read it at home with you. But I won’t MAKE kids read a book that is harmful to them.


Hey OP, sorry for the naysayers (although, it's DCUM, so not sure we can reasonably expect anything else). I'm not dissing your approach to your class at all. I'm sure many kids will benefit from more opportunities to choose their reading material and especially for the opportunity to branch out from the classics if they choose to do so. I just want to offer a word of caution. Please do not lump all of the students of color together. I'm AA and Mockingbird is actually one of my favorite books of all time. I identified with Atticus, and although I'm first in my family to go to college, am now an attorney. Don't make the mistake of thinking we are all the same or think the same, or will have the same reactions to this book or that.


You’re right and this in particular is a very nuanced discussion. However I as a teacher have a REALLY tough time making my kids sit there and read the N word over and over in a text, or reading a story where a Black man is lynched by the justice system that still fails AA people to this day. I have no way of knowing which students that’s emotionally harmful for and which are ok with and enjoying the story. It’s a risk that feels inappropriate for me to take when students’ well being is on the line.

I am not disagreeing with that, nor am I suggesting you assign this (or any) book. I just don't think that you should assert that Mockingbird is harmful to students of color.
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:14     Subject: Re:Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: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.


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. 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. They don’t need to be forced into Gatsby or Mockingbird.


Thank god you teach at public. I was worried that you might be my kid's teacher. I'm sorry, but any English teacher who doesn't understand why kids should be "forced" to read classics like Gatsby, Mockingbird, and Grapes of Wrath--even if those books make them uncomfortable--is not a good teacher. Life is uncomfortable, and all kids need to learn that. I'm pretty sure a book like Mockingbird makes everyone who reads it uncomfortable. That's why it's such a good book. I honestly feel sad for your students that you're depriving them of that opportunity.


Mockingbird is harmful to students of color. It gives students the idea that Atticus is a White savior. Tom is entirely dehumanized. Nobody is deprived of reading any book... they can choose Mockingbird if they want. They can also always read it at home with you. But I won’t MAKE kids read a book that is harmful to them.


Hey OP, sorry for the naysayers (although, it's DCUM, so not sure we can reasonably expect anything else). I'm not dissing your approach to your class at all. I'm sure many kids will benefit from more opportunities to choose their reading material and especially for the opportunity to branch out from the classics if they choose to do so. I just want to offer a word of caution. Please do not lump all of the students of color together. I'm AA and Mockingbird is actually one of my favorite books of all time. I identified with Atticus, and although I'm first in my family to go to college, am now an attorney. Don't make the mistake of thinking we are all the same or think the same, or will have the same reactions to this book or that.


You’re right and this in particular is a very nuanced discussion. However I as a teacher have a REALLY tough time making my kids sit there and read the N word over and over in a text, or reading a story where a Black man is lynched by the justice system that still fails AA people to this day. I have no way of knowing which students that’s emotionally harmful for and which are ok with and enjoying the story. It’s a risk that feels inappropriate for me to take when students’ well being is on the line.
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:12     Subject: Re:Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: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.


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. 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. They don’t need to be forced into Gatsby or Mockingbird.


Thank god you teach at public. I was worried that you might be my kid's teacher. I'm sorry, but any English teacher who doesn't understand why kids should be "forced" to read classics like Gatsby, Mockingbird, and Grapes of Wrath--even if those books make them uncomfortable--is not a good teacher. Life is uncomfortable, and all kids need to learn that. I'm pretty sure a book like Mockingbird makes everyone who reads it uncomfortable. That's why it's such a good book. I honestly feel sad for your students that you're depriving them of that opportunity.


This does a great job of unpacking the historic context of the racism in Gatsby and showing what Fitzgerald was attempting to do:

https://teachingpals.wordpress.com/2018/11/19/the-master-race-xenophobia-and-racism-in-f-scott-fitzgeralds-the-great-gatsby/
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:09     Subject: Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:I’m a mom to three voracious highly advanced readers. My kids will often read 8-10 hours a day for fun on a weekend or summer day and typically 4-6 hours a day on a school day. I think some choice is good but I also think there’s a lot of value in having limits on those choices. I understand your saying the research shows that encouraging reading is better than defining what they should read, but I think that research is primarily directed at reluctant readers and doesn’t fully meet the needs of enthusiastic and advanced readers.


I’m curious and would like to go further here. How do you think this would not benefit your kids, who are voracious readers? Let’s say they came to me and said I’ve read XYZ, I hate ABC books, my favorite authors and books are L, M, N. What can you suggest?” I could give them some options. They know this about themselves because they have rich reading lives already, which is great. But what if I assigned a book to the whole class that they had read already, or was way too easy/simplistic for them? Would they not feel bored and maybe even disengaged? How could I convince them that book mattered and HAD to be read? I’m not pushing back, I just am interested in how you perceive choice could hurt your kids. If anything, I think the highly advanced ones are some of the few who would particularly benefit.
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:08     Subject: Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So...what do you do in class when everyone is reading a different book? Granted I was in MS almost twenty years ago at a private school, but as I recall we did a lot of discussing the plot, symbolism, character motivation, close reading, etc. Or is literary analysis now outdated as well? It seems like “read something you love to develop a sense of joy with the written word” is for SSR in elementary school, not middle or HS English class. What’s changed?

(PS: we read Kindred in seventh grade and idk if it counts as a classic but it was great!)


They can still discuss all those in the context of their own book. Track YOUR character’s development. What motivates them? What do their words and choices reveal about them? How does YOUR book use imagery or setting to impact the story? They can do all that and have discussions around big questions (e.g., “Who or what determines whose stories get told?”) in the context of their own book. All books have plot, characters, dialogue, literary devices- they’re just applying their knowledge of those things to analyze how they work in their book and to what effect.


Right, but what does the classroom actually look like? One kid is talking about the hero’s journey as illustrated by Frodo’s character arc or whatever, how are any of the other students who aren’t reading LotR going to connect with that? “Hey, look at this cool way light and dark imagery shows up again in this climactic scene, reminding me of the scene where the protagonist was introduced...it’s on page 73 of a book I’m the only one who has.”

Look, cards on the table, I think there’s a certain corpus of material people need to be familiar with in order to engage productively with those big questions. Never mind with works of literature! You’re not going to understand what Derek Walcott is saying if you haven’t read the Odyssey, and frankly reading Ulysses helps too. “Whose story gets told” is, IMO, a question that you need to know a lot of history to answer and I’m not convinced you can provide appropriate context for students who are reading twenty five different books. I mean, fine, if you want to do the Harlem Renaissance not everyone needs to be reading Invisible Man, but I can’t imagine a productive classroom conversation between someone reading Invisible Man and someone reading the latest dystopian YA. This may be a failure of imagination on my part! So I’m curious how you envision it going.
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:06     Subject: Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What district are you in that doesn't have mandatory books? You must not teach AP or maybe even not honors if you don't have to do some standards. I think you are focusing on the wrong thing. You should intermingle some classics, not just YA novels that don't require any skill in reading. The Hate U Give, for instance, is a phenomenal book, and a great topic - but in terms of difficulty or challenge it is severely lacking. They should have to learn how to conquer a challenging text, written in a different time period. Only being interested in today and today's specific type of dialogue / writing / vocabulary will not offer any growth.


I’m not going point by point but: no. You don’t understand literacy and education. Please don’t tell me how to do my job... just answer the question I asked.


DP. This is an incredibly rude response. The pp's point about kids needing to be able to handle challenging texts seems valid. It's fine that you choose not to have any mandatory books. As a parent of a teen who will pick easy books every time, I see validity in pp's point. Also, if you come on a forum like this to ask questions, you're going to get opinions about how to do your job if you given details on how you plan to do your job. I've never seen a thread that only stuck to answering the OP's question. I'd love to know why you think pp's point isn't valid, based on your understanding of literacy and education.


It’s just an old fashioned way to approach reading. Do we want kids to just read “challenging” texts or so we want them to connect with a story, ENJOY reading, learn more about the human experience, realize that they too have stories worth sharing? Some kids will gravitate toward texts that are written in challenging language but are emotionally empty for them. Some kids will gravitate to books that are written more simplistically but grapple with some really big ideas. The amount of big words in a book doesn’t determine its value for learning. Books are about stories, about helping kids refine their own writing style, about making them ask questions and realize truths about life and humanity. Books don’t have to be a “challenging text” for that to happen and very often the challenging texts directly hinder those things. The beauty of choice reading is if your kid DOES want or like the challenging text or classics- they can pick those. For the kids for whom those will shut off a joy of reading, they have other options.

I get why people who were in high school 20-30 years ago think school should still look like that, but education research particularly related to literacy shows that this is the better approach for kids. Look up Kylene Beers and Penny Kittle- they are some of the big name pioneers of this newer approach to reading and literacy.


No one is saying to force kids to only read "challenging" books. The point is that, in addition to connecting to books, they also need to be prepared for the more challenging reading assignments they will get in college. You clearly don't think preparing them for challenges beyond your class is a part of your job description. I'm not sure why as an educator (with multiple goals to fulfill) you would be so resistant to interspersing a few challenging books with books of the student's choice. There are multiple parents telling you that their kids will always pick the easy books. Those kids will be unprepared going forward if they are never exposed to challenging books and required to unpack what they've read in those books.
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:06     Subject: Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:I’m a mom to three voracious highly advanced readers. My kids will often read 8-10 hours a day for fun on a weekend or summer day and typically 4-6 hours a day on a school day. I think some choice is good but I also think there’s a lot of value in having limits on those choices. I understand your saying the research shows that encouraging reading is better than defining what they should read, but I think that research is primarily directed at reluctant readers and doesn’t fully meet the needs of enthusiastic and advanced readers.

So how will your kids be negatively impacted by having a choice?
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:06     Subject: Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So...what do you do in class when everyone is reading a different book? Granted I was in MS almost twenty years ago at a private school, but as I recall we did a lot of discussing the plot, symbolism, character motivation, close reading, etc. Or is literary analysis now outdated as well? It seems like “read something you love to develop a sense of joy with the written word” is for SSR in elementary school, not middle or HS English class. What’s changed?

(PS: we read Kindred in seventh grade and idk if it counts as a classic but it was great!)


They can still discuss all those in the context of their own book. Track YOUR character’s development. What motivates them? What do their words and choices reveal about them? How does YOUR book use imagery or setting to impact the story? They can do all that and have discussions around big questions (e.g., “Who or what determines whose stories get told?”) in the context of their own book. All books have plot, characters, dialogue, literary devices- they’re just applying their knowledge of those things to analyze how they work in their book and to what effect.


I agree with this. Kindred is a great example of a non-classic, but challenging text. We couldn’t get it approved, but it would be a great option. I don’t know if I’m a SJW —on DCUM that seems to mean you are simply someone who doesn’t ignore poverty and bias— but I think The Grapes of Wrath is worth reading from a social justice standpoint. A twist would be to read Hillbilly Elegy, which is both refreshing and challenging.
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2019 09:04     Subject: Re:Question from a teacher about your kids...
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: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.


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. 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. They don’t need to be forced into Gatsby or Mockingbird.


Thank god you teach at public. I was worried that you might be my kid's teacher. I'm sorry, but any English teacher who doesn't understand why kids should be "forced" to read classics like Gatsby, Mockingbird, and Grapes of Wrath--even if those books make them uncomfortable--is not a good teacher. Life is uncomfortable, and all kids need to learn that. I'm pretty sure a book like Mockingbird makes everyone who reads it uncomfortable. That's why it's such a good book. I honestly feel sad for your students that you're depriving them of that opportunity.


Mockingbird is harmful to students of color. It gives students the idea that Atticus is a White savior. Tom is entirely dehumanized. Nobody is deprived of reading any book... they can choose Mockingbird if they want. They can also always read it at home with you. But I won’t MAKE kids read a book that is harmful to them.


Hey OP, sorry for the naysayers (although, it's DCUM, so not sure we can reasonably expect anything else). I'm not dissing your approach to your class at all. I'm sure many kids will benefit from more opportunities to choose their reading material and especially for the opportunity to branch out from the classics if they choose to do so. I just want to offer a word of caution. Please do not lump all of the students of color together. I'm AA and Mockingbird is actually one of my favorite books of all time. I identified with Atticus, and although I'm first in my family to go to college, am now an attorney. Don't make the mistake of thinking we are all the same or think the same, or will have the same reactions to this book or that.