I'm gonna use this for both my EPS blog here and my ELNG reflective assignment, because the topic is pretty relevant to both I suppose... at any rate...
I'm also going to use proper indentation for paragraphs... whoopie...
My big consideration is what to teach students in English courses. Could there be more questions surrounding this topic? I mean... I'm going to come right out and say that I think it's a bit funny that I didn't get a whole lot out of my English class in terms of writing, and what little exposure I did get came in Academic writing. However, my teacher did such a poor job of it that I basically had to forget it all in order to survive English 100. That's besides the point though. I find it strange that academic writing is much of a focus at all in high school. For starters, what percentage of students head on to university? Secondly, it sends a funny message: "If you aren't going to be spending your twenties dissecting literature, there's not much of a point to you learning how to write." Now, I don't know if this has changed, and I think it has a bit, as my high school experiences are getting a bit more stale by now, but like, I don't entirely know where the balance lies. Should kids be writing to express their thoughts? Just to communicate? Hell, lately, by what I've seen on facebook, I'd be satisfied if my students didn't make fools of themselves in their status updates for god's sake. How would that be for a lesson? "Your facebook updates SHOULD contain the following: Capital letters when appropriate, punctuation..." I mean, it feels like the lesson should be "You SHOULD care if you look like a big fool!" Oh well, back on topic... But yeah, should they write to express their thoughts? to dryly inform? To argue? To create? To entertain? Well, to be honest, I think entertainment might be a cornerstone of most any writing, but writing is so damned multifaceted. Maybe students should be given some choice. Does expressive writing sound like a good class? Actually, I'm pretty sure my one prof has a good solution in the idea of a broad writing portfolio, giving students the freedom to write what they want. Even still, that doesn't leave much room for intensive instruction on any specific faction of writing.
On to reading, now... I really disagree with shoving canonical literature down students' throats. I, as a college student, find Shakespeare tough to approach, and even tough to relate to. While I agree that the stories are pretty timeless, and hold insightful commentary, they are just tough to get through. It's like eating a loaf of bread. I mean, it seems a bit sticklerish to hold students to something that I, as a university student, don't enjoy approaching, and in which I don't see the value. Maybe we should get students reading, and enjoying it, before we hand them a network of stuffy old works by dead British authors. Mind you, I do see that happening as well in classrooms. My literacy group teacher gives her students a pretty broad array of relatively new books to choose from, so I'm glad for that I suppose.
End Transmission....
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These last two posts were extra interesting... lots of intriguing ideas!
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Just got around to reading this today... lots of good ideas. Your facebook status lesson you were telling me about sounds like a good way to teach "practical" literature..combining life skills with technical writing instruction, sort of. I think it depends a lot on the teacher, and the way the teacher was taught. If the teacher had a positive experience with Shakespeare and essay-writing there is no reason for them to NOT teach that. But if the experience was negative, they are more likely to empathize with students who might not get a lot out of that, and more likely to teach in a different way or teach something else. I agree with you that what's important to teach and how are changing. Look at what they're doing in the advisory program at Balfour for a good example. nothing like that existed when I was in high school, just four years ago. The times they are a'changin'.
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