Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The Change of Books
I really enjoyed this chapter. As an avid reader I always find it interesting to see what other have to say about a book I've read, how they see it. Right away I noticed that The Outsiders was considered a high school book, but that was a book I read, and greatly enjoyed, in the 8th grade. Times are changing and the content in which we give to our students is changing as well. When it comes to choosing novels that students should read it got me thinking; what is appropriate and what is not? Some titles that were given as examples as to the many new situations kids are face with today made me realize that I had read many of those books, and would never want to participate in a school discussion about them. As a teacher how do you find books that are non-offensive to everyone? Although Lesesne noted that novels today are dealing with many "new" topics, literature has been dealing with these issues all along, although more covertly. Personally I like classic novels best, because they deal with many similar situations that students are going through, perhaps just harder to understand.
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Yes, good questions. My response about text selection is usually to default to the readers - the students themselves: What types of books and content do they most connect with? If they aren't willing to read, then we can't do anything more. On the other hand, there maybe good or required reasons to read other texts too. I think an effective teacher uses a nice balance with text selection and makes smart connections between Classics and YA lit.
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