Would you consider yourself a reader? most definitely
What do you enjoy about reading? I enjoy being able to emerge myself into a new world.
When did you begin reading? Was it strictly for school or did you read for pleasure? Well, I will assume that I learned to read prior to and in Kindergarten for school purposes. However, I can remember that I have always enjoyed reading.
What books did you choose to read as an adolescent? List titles if you can remember them. Walk Two Moons, Night, The Great Gatsby, Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Awakening, Crime and Punishment....
Which genres/topics were you drawn to? I was/am drawn to fiction (novels) that deal with historical events as well as currently living authors such as Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult's literature.
How did you respond to the literature taught in your classrooms? What type of literature were you exposed to in your middle/high schools? All of the titles previously listed are novels that have been in my school's curriculum. I thought many of the novels were interesting; however, I got annoyed that we solely focused on "the classics." I understand that classics are important and are classics for a reason, but we never had any room to read anything that we could select or anything other than classic novels. Also, many of the novels that I have read in high school have been re-visited in my college classes. I look back now and can say that I honestly did not understand all of the parts (symbolism, character development, etc.) of these novels when I read them in high school. I am glad that I was able to reread them again though, because each time I reread something, i learn so much more.
Would you consider yourself a motivated/reluctant reader? I am a motivated reader--I enjoy reading and learning while reading.
In what way do you hope to inspire your own students to value reading/literacy? I hope to be able to have the students who are the least interested in reading/literacy be able to enjoy, or at least find my class inspiring when they have completed it. I hope to do this by finding create, and not alway conventional, ways of presenting literature. I want a very interactive class that supports a free thinking environment, and need to evolve my lesson plans on this.
Thank you for your minor "classics" rant. I appreciated that. I do think that we focus far too much on the classic literature throughout our growing years in middle school and high school. However, I will say it was truly a blast to reread Beowulf in American Literature. Because I was introduced to it in high school, I had "enough" background knowledge, but not a great understanding of the story. So this time (reading is 11 years later), I was able to appreciate the story so much more.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I think that it is sad that it seems that the American schools are stuck in a rut. There doesn't seem to be new literature developing or making its way into the curriculum. I couldn't tell you any new authors from the 21st century that have made their way into the school system. It just seems that there is far too much literature out there for us to keep reading the same things.
This is definitely one focus area for me as I pursue my career as a teacher. I really want to stay current and use not only the classics, but current events, magazines, and current adolescent culture to unlock the otherwise mundane litary world that sometimes is education today.
I agree that sometimes the "classics" can be overplayed in education. I believe when teachers limit their classrooms with one particular style of literature, it limits what the students can learn about. In order to have a better understanding of books, students need to read lots of different materials including modern literatue.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed reading all of the teacher experiences in the introduction of this book. I love hearing about different teaching experiences in the classroom.
ReplyDelete"Which genres/topics were you drawn to? I was/am drawn to fiction (novels) that deal with historical events as well as currently living authors such as Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult's literature."
ReplyDeleteI love Jodi Picoult's book. One of my suggestions would be reading, "The Pact" if you haven't already. It gives a completely different view of rape and teen love.
That was the first one of her's I have read! And it is still my favorite of Picoult's! Have you read Plain Truth? I think this one was my least favorite :/
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