Not Sure What’s Best
January 2, 2011 at 11:14 pm 3 comments
I’m an English teacher, and I love books, and I actually enjoy analyzing books. I think that being able to read between the lines and grasp the greater themes, the symbolism, the connections to the rest of the universe, is a valuable skill for humans. I don’t think it’s going to prove especially useful to every one of my students; some people don’t and never will enjoy thinking for themselves. But being able to appropriately decipher literature will open intellectual doors for many of my students.
That being said… I have doubts. I became an English teacher in great part because I thought it was a tragedy to hear people say that they’d never read a book, that they hated reading, that they couldn’t write. I thought that I could do some small part, in my small corner of the world, to change that. And I bring passion and enthusiasm to our examinations of literature; I show them why it’s fun, I hold open the door and shine a flashlight inside.
But am I just reinforcing the very thing I wanted to fight?
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal – Jan 2 2011
Entry filed under: BRAINCLOUDS, CLIPPINGS. Tags: .
1.
Angela | January 3, 2011 at 9:53 pm
I worry about that too.
2.
M | January 3, 2011 at 10:09 pm
I saw this comic yesterday and it actually made me laugh, mostly because we’re starting Gatsby next week. I think there has to be a fine line between discussing a novel and analyzing it to death. I would hope that I do more of the former, rather than the latter. There are obviously books that need to goes into the symbolism stuff, Gatsby for example, but part of me always wonders what we’re reading into and how much of what we discover is true and intentional.
3.
Rachel | January 4, 2011 at 8:32 am
I worry about that, too. In fact, this spurred me to reflect a little on why I do what I do, so I will probably have a little blog reflection of my own. Cross-post/credit will be given if so