Is it really all that beneficial to put so much emphasis on the classics? I like them, I’ve learned from them, but I’ve learned more from reading The Giver than I did from Crime and Punishment. I learned a great deal more from Ender’s Game than I did from fighting through Great Expectations. From these two examples it seems to me that more can be learned from YA lit than from the classics. Is this the case? I don’t really know for sure. I’ve read The Scarlet Letter twice now. All of the symbolism and everything we were taught in class about the book did nothing to help me. I’d go as far as to say that it hindered my reading process. It wasn’t until I had finished it the first time that I realized I had enjoyed it. The second time I was able to see what I enjoyed and learn from the book itself.
Perhaps teaching the classics is not what we really need. I enjoy discussing books that I read for fun and I even learn from it. Perhaps what we need for the classics is a guided discussion. Not the usual teacher led discussion about characters and symbolism and all that stuff that’s so specific that the focus is taken off of the story and is put on the minutia. These discussions need to be about the story itself. Just like a discussion between friends about a favorite book, only there is a teacher to help out with the more difficult portions of the classics. This makes reading more about the reader’s imagination than about the reader’s analysis. I believe that it is better to experience a book than to study it.
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
January 31, 2007 by Chris
The quotes in this entry are from an article titled “Classic treasures sometimes passed over for popular works,” by Ed Gebert, 1/22/07. This article was found on my Google news feed.
A lot of readers today aren’t really interested in the classics. They see them as works that you’re forced to read in school but aren’t entertaining enough to read on your own time. I know a lot of people think this way; I used to agree with them but my opinion has since changed. Ever since I was able to choose what classics I would read for a high school English class I have known that these books aren’t just for school. Classic works in literature can be both enjoyed and learned from. A reader can apply the knowledge gained to his or her own life. What’s better than being able to read and learn at the same time? Perhaps the learning isn’t as appealing as entertainment, which would explain why people today seem to be bypassing the classics in favor of newer releases. As stated in Ed Gebert’s article, “Few even consider picking up a book written before 1999.” Is the greater amount of entertainment worth losing the potential life lessons? Not to me. I find books that show me new things while helping me grow intellectually to be even more entertaining. I would like others to enjoy these classics as much as I do, but it appears that they are losing that opportunity.
Some libraries across the country have even tried to clear more shelf space for the latest from Danielle Steele or Dean Koontz by pulling classic titles from Mark Twain and Charles Dickens.
I can’t see any good coming from this change. The loss of such knowledge to the general public would be horrendous. I believe that it would be a great benefit to society if the classics were kept on shelf, and even better if there were book talks and literature circles on these classics to participate in. I enjoy the rare situations I find to talk about the classics I have read in my free time. It gives me hope that one library in the article, the Brumback Library, refuses to be rid of the classics from it’s shelves. As Ed Gebert says, “These classics are a part of the foundation of our culture and are worth reading.” This is why I believe it is important to teach this literature in our educational system. Not only can students learn directly from the teaching, but we can also stimulate a greater interest in reading the classics and thus cause a pursuit of knowledge outside of the classroom.
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
January 18, 2007 by Chris
Most of us have experienced the classics in high school. A lot can be learned from them and a lot is taught from them. I enjoy reading the classics, besides being educational they are also quite entertaining. I used to always shy away from them, thinking they were all boring, but when I was forced to read some classic literature for my senior English class in high school I realized that they weren’t all that bad. So what seems to be the ideal way to use these books that are both entertaining and educational? I’ve seen them fit quite well in a classroom setting and I can see why they do. They can be taught from, as they are in many english classes, but so can textbooks and anthologies. They are also entertaining, many anthologies and most textbooks aren’t. I’ve decided to dedicate this blog to teaching from the classics and how it’s beneficial. Of course, classics aren’t the only fiction that can be learned from, so I’ll include a bit on fiction in general. I believe that reading fiction is a great way to learn things, but sometimes that knowledge seems to be encoded in classics. A guided teaching of this literature can help students to decode this knowledge and get through the often difficult to read classics. I’ll probably include a few things about how knowledge and understanding gained from fiction can be applied to everyday life.
In a few less words, this blog will be about teaching from fiction, specifically the classics.
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
