I Wanna Read What I Want

I am convinced that student choice belongs in my classroom. At the college level, no. At the high school level, yes. Is it so terrible that I just want my students to read?

One of my strongest students admitted today that he has not completely read any of the novels from this semester. Of course, I took this comment personally, which is silly. That student probably would not finish a book, even if he were given the choice.

But I gave an online anonymous survey today, and across the board, students agreed that the way to improve my class would be to add more student choice in the books that they read. I find this surprisingly because English teachers rarely do this in high school, yet I gave two "free" reading assignments this semester. And they still want more!

Ramona

My students' persuasive essays had waited a month, and they were going to be graded over Thanksgiving Break. When I packed everything to take to Mom and Dad's, I also included a box of essays. I didn't start grading until Friday. I set small goals for myself and accomplished a lot. I also needed a reward to bribe myself to keep grading: reading. That's right. I bribed myself with the chance to read a chapter from a hilarious book after I had graded two or three essays. The chapters never lasted long enough. My books of choice? The Ramona Quimby series.

In my last post, I wondered why people would want to re-read a series (or just a book in general), but now I am eating my words! I had so much fun reading the Ramona series. In the span of three days, I read the six books that I owned of the series. Once I finished grading my allotted essays for the day, I feverishly read another Ramona book. I even read part of one while I watched the Bedlam game!

If you aren't familiar with Ramona, let me bring you up to speed. Ramona is a creative, thoughtful, determined, and sometimes defiant little girl who lives with her dad, mom, and all-too-perfect older sister in Oregon. Ramona invariably gets into trouble at home or school and must suffer the consequences. She can't stand it when her friend Howie remains calm because she likes people to be excited. She does not like goody-goodies and demands accuracy from all people.

The series begins when Ramona starts school in kindergarten. Ramona always wants her teachers to like her and has a great amount of respect for them. Perhaps I subconsciously remembered this when I chose to become a teacher. I knew I would have the love and respect of younger people. Ha! Probably not, but it's a funny thought. Anyway, the books blaze by quickly, so you should check one out from your local library.

"Required" Novels

Do you like being told what to do? For me, it depends. Most teenagers, though, don't like to be bossed. That's why you have to order them around in nice, creative ways. Ha! :)

I'm thinking about this subject because one of my students in Reading for Fun talked about this today. He said, "I actually like the books that we are required to read in English class. But just knowing that I'm being forced to read a book makes me not want to read it. I know I can still pass the test--even if I don't read it."

"Oh yeah," a female student chimed in. "I made a 100 on The Life of Pi quiz, and I haven't even read it yet."

"And I easily passed the test on The Scarlet Letter," the male student continued.

I found this information to be fascinating. "So you'd rather be reading a book of your own choice?" I asked them. The students agreed with me quickly.

This makes me want to experiment in my English class. What if I tossed out all the "required" novels and simply asked students to read ten books of their own choice in one semester? I could have the students do a creative project with each book to show that they had read it. We could get our literature analysis through short stories that we read in class. There's actually precedence for this. An English teacher from Arkansas wrote about doing this assignment with her students in the most recent issue of English Journal.

What do you think? Do students need to be "forced" to read the classics or "literary" n0vels?

Second Time Around

Do you ever make time to reread a book? I hardly do. There are so many good books to read that I feel rereading a book is usually a waste of time. It blows my mind that my high school students sometimes reread the Harry Potter series. I'm all for students reading for fun, so I don't stop them from going back to Hogwarts. But rereading a series indicates to me that a reader is immature. Why not try something new?

All the same, I recently reread The Kite Runner because I was teaching it for the first time to my sophomores. I had read Kite Runner while I was in college, but I could not remember all the details, thus the reread. I added this acclaimed novel to the curriculum this year after I cut out The Natural. I don't like to use pre-made quizzes and tests. I write my own. Plus, I wanted to lead discussion on the novel based on my own reading experience, and not on an online summary.

I know some English teachers do not reread a novel each time that they teach it. They just reuse their notes from the past, which is understandable. Not every teacher has time to reread a book year after year. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed my second go round with this novel. I picked up on the foreshadowing this time--there was a lot of it--and I understood the characters better. There was even one small part of the plot that my students explained to me during discussion that I had never understood before!

What novel(s) do you like to reread?

Twilight

Have you heard of Twilight? It's a teen book series about a girl who falls in love with a vampire. Twilight, the first book in the series, was published in 2005, and now it will release as a movie in about two weeks. There's a lot of buzz about this movie, so I hope that fans are not disappointed.

Except that they all will be in at least one aspect.

You see, the author, Stephenie Meyer, describes the heroic, hunky vampire Edward as so perfect that no human could realistically portray him. This was my biggest beef with the book: Edward's perfection. I got tired of hearing about his alabaster skin, his tight muscles, his copper hair, his amber eyes. Edward's god-like body (Stephenie's words--not mine) was mentioned a lot. Probably 70% of the book is comprised of a description of Edward's body or Bella's reaction (fainting, staring, lusting, etc.) to it. Not much action or suspense going on.

I have other issues with this book as well, but I will not bore you with them. I read Twilight because so many of my students were reading it, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I mean, I jumped on the Harry Potter train, and I was soon thrilled to be riding the Hogwarts Express. However, I am jumping off the Twilight bandwagon. The series, for me, will remain unread.

Twilight rating: 4/10

Miss Allford's Class

I am currently re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird. I don't always have time to read what I have assigned my students to read. After all, I've already read all the novels that I'm teaching this year. I do think it's good to re-read a novel you're teaching, though, if time allows.

I am a little more than 2/3 of the way finished with Mockingbird, and Tom Robinson has just been found guilty. I'm trying to remember how I felt when I first read this book in high school in Mrs. Allford's English III class. Did I really expect Tom to be found innocent? I'm a pretty optimistic guy--I get that from my dad, but I'm pretty sure I realized that Tom was going to be found guilty, despite all the evidence. I think at this point in the novel during my first read-through, I was wondering what could happen next. It seemed that the major plot was over with.

A side note: I still remember Mrs. Allford telling us that Tim Johnson, the crazy, rabid dog in the novel was a symbol of Maycomb's racial tension. I don't know why that has stuck with me, but it has. It makes me wonder what my students will remember about me. How I act, or what I say. Mrs. Allford had a favorite saying, which was, "Fake it 'til you make it." Ha. I can't say that's the best advice I've ever heard, but I sure liked it when I heard. Maybe I should develop some catchy phrases for my students.

Anywho, I really like how the Boo Radley and Tom Robinson plot lines come together at the end of the novel, just like a good Seinfeld episode. Ha!

Ruined Surprise

This school year I have written every essay that I have assigned my English students. Just as a sort of "I-did-it-so-you-can-do-it-to" credibility thing. I think it's gone over very well, and the end result for me has been rewarding. I had forgotten what it was like to write for fun. I really enjoy the writing process, and narrative writing is one of my favorite kinds of writing, which, coincidentally, was our first essay to tackle this year.

I wrote one essay about my grandparent's farm and all the memories connected to it. These mainly involve my sister and my cousins and all our crazy adventures, which include: crazy billiards, leeches from the creek, forming a chain and grabbing a hot wire fence, and my foolish choice to jump up and down on a pseudo-frozen pond.

I was so pleased with how this essay turned out that I decided I would give it to my grandma (Ma-ma, if you must know her "real" name) for Christmas. Today, my parents and I visited Ma-ma down in Hobart. We were down there because Dad is preaching a revival at the church where he grew up.

While we were visiting, we were talking about school. I told Ma-ma that I was writing example essays for my English students.

Then Mom opened her mouth.

She asked, "Did you ever get to read that essay about the cousins?" She turned to me. "Now, where were you showing that essay before?" (I had shown this essay to one of my cousins at a wedding earlier this month.)

Ma-ma looked confused. "No, I haven't," she said.

I decided not to make a scene. "Well, Ma-ma, I'll have to bring that essay and show it to you at Thanksgiving," I said nonchalantly, hoping that she would forget between now and Christmas.

Meanwhile, my dad was in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen where he was getting a cup of coffee. He started to chuckle because he realized Mom had ruined the surprise.

"What?" Mom asked.

"Nothing," Dad smirked.

Mom and I had a good laugh on way out of Hobart. The good thing about this situation is that I get to hold this over her head for a couple weeks.

Told any more secrets today, Nancy?

Empathy

Taking master's classes helps me relate to my own high school students so much more. I'm still not that far removed from the classroom; I'm only ten years older than my students. I can remember plenty from high school: classes, assignments, tests, group work (shudder), etc.

But since I am currently both a teacher and a student, I have a lot more empathy for my students. I have assigned reading just like them. I have essays to write. I have projects to complete by a certain deadline. And it's fun to share this with my students. I tell them that over the weekend, I have work to do on my UCO class, so their essays won't all be graded. They commiserate with me: "Oh, how long does it have to be?" "What do you have to write about?" A few students are less kind: "Ha! Now you know what we feel like."

This week's assigned book in my American Fiction since World War II class, Fear of Flying, has been very difficult for me to read. I just don't like it. The narrator is annoying. When she is not going off on wild, seemingly pointless tangents, she is describing her sexual encounters / fantasies / desires. I used to be a prude, but I got over that in college. However, the narrator uses so many foul words related to sex, I have become so offended that I am feeling like the church lady. I just don't see the point or value in this book. So Isadora Wing is a feminist and wants to have sex with whoever she wants. Okay. Fine. But don't go on and on for 400 pages about that (plus all the other tangents).

So when my students tell me that they don't like a book, I will seriously consider their opinions. Life is too short to read bad books. Granted, some students are always going to complain because they like to whine or they are lazy. However, some students are being truthful when they tell me how much they DON'T like a book. In fact, last year, so many of my sophomores disliked The Secret Life of Bees and The Natural that I decided to cut them. Besides, the literature during sophomore year at DCHS is supposed to focus on multi-cultural literature anyway, and both of those books are written by Americans and are set in America. I replaced those two books with The Kite Runner and an assignment in which students select their own book.

Unlike Isadora Wing, I don't have a fear of flying. I do have a fear of losing empathy for my students.

Book Club

I started a teacher book club at Deer Creek HS in spring '08. I enjoyed discussing books with my friends in college, so this was a natural step. I like discussing novels with my students as well, but I also like to bond with my peers over a good book. Our membership is quite low, but I'm not complaining. The people in the book club are all great. And all women--besides me--I might add. So far, we've read four books together: A Long Way Gone, The Long Run, Early Bird, and Salem Falls. Our next selection is The Last Lecture, which we will advertise when the school year starts. Maybe we can get a few more members. Any male readers out there?

I want my students to know that, as their English teacher, I still enjoy reading. I still enjoying devouring a good book. For the sheer fun of it. Case in point: I stayed up past 2 a.m. last Saturday night finishing the final pages of Salem Falls. I couldn't put it down. I felt like an elementary student all over again--when I was finishing another Romona Quimby adventure or Boxcar Children mystery. There was no stopping the turning of those pages.

Does reading keep me young? No, I can't say that. But it does keep me plugged into life, the world, and the human race. Students, I hope, can tell the difference between a teacher who reads for pleasure and one who does not.

Reading Rant

It's been a while since I've had a taste of my own medicine. I am supposed to read a book, and I don't want to. I promised a student at the end of the school year that I would read one of British novelist Terry Pratchett's hilarious fantasy books, The Colo(u)r of Magic. And here it is, middle of June, and I have yet to finish it. That's not to say I haven't read any books at all--because I have. It's just that when I pick up The Color of Magic, I know that I am going to be bored. I don't care about the magical land of Ankh-Morpork. (If that's even how you spell it "correctly." I don't even care enough to get out of my chair to get the book to double-check the spelling.) I don't care about the characters. It's only sporadically humorous. My time would be better spent taking my dog for a walk. But I promised my student I would read it, so I'm trudging through it.

I do the same thing to my students, though. I tell them that they must read a novel on which they will be quizzed and tested, and they sometimes comply. They read out of a sense of "have to," not "want to." Usually, some students grumble and complain, even if it's a book that I think is great. But I want to read CoM, so I can tell my students that I've read a book I didn't enjoy. How silly is that, though, really?

Shouldn't students be allowed to read what they want to read? Who can they complain to if they don't like the novel that THEY have selected? Usually, students read faster when it is a book they have a vested interest in. Students need to be reading, and that's exactly what they will be doing in my English class this coming fall. Aside from the required novels, I will provide opportunities for students to read books of their own choosing. And I will provide daily class time for silent reading. How I spend my time in the classroom demonstrates what is important to me. Teachers can say reading is important, but if they never model it for their students and if they never provide time in class, when will high school students rediscover the joy of reading?

I also expect my students to constantly be reading outside of class. And text messages don't count. I think 30 minutes each school night is reasonable. Just turn off MTV or VH1 for one episode.

Now, I've procrastinated enough for today. I need to take my dog for a walk. And then I need to read a book. Maybe one that I actually want to read.

Hyperlink example

In her novel The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison argues that each race should be satisfied with its physical features. Through the story of Pecola Breedlove, a young African American girl, Morrison raises the problem of racial self-hatred. Pecola innocently believes that she could be considered attractive, if only she had blue eyes. Morrison writes, “It had occurred to Pecola some time ago that …if those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she herself would be different” (35). Although Pecola is physically ugly, the only thing that Morrison finds repulsive with Pecola is her desire to obtain the eyes of a white girl.

Summer Assignment

My summer assignment for Pre-Ap English II has changed over a couple months. Initially, I planned to use Lord of the Flies as the required summer text, but I changed my mind so students could have more freedom in what they chose to read during the sweltering months of June and July. Don't worry, we will study Lord of the Flies, but it will be during the school year. Since students are so literature in technology, I decided that blogging would be a great way to talk about literature. In fact, my goal is to continue the use of blogs throughout the 2008-2009 school year. This educational adventure contains challenges, but I believe that the benefits will be outstanding.