As I was reading You Gotta BE the Book I started to look at myself as the teacher in that scenario. Is it true that I would get a group of students who hated school (Wilhelm 19)? Who hated reading?! I guess I had always thought that all my students would come to class with smiles on their faces, hungry brains for reading, and a number two pencil...naturally. I never really thought of the worst case scenario and never really thought that I might be sitting in a general english class teaching disconnected students. Mr. Wilhelm, however, seems to really understand kids and really care about their future (Wilhelm 2). That is the kind of teacher that I want to be. I, however, do not think that I will be focusing all the time on Rosenblatt's theories (Wilhelm 27). He makes a good point when he tries to decide what makes some students understand deeper meaning of texts when some do not (Wilhelm 8). I have always thought of that too. I find reading pretty simple and that the meaning comes sort of naturally. As a teacher, I feel like I need to try and make meaning come more natural to all my students by trying different methods. I think it is difficult as a teacher to try and find a remedy or reason to something that may or may not have a right answer. Wilhelm had the right idea when he wanted to know "how kids read" (Wilhelm 11). I think his surveys and case studies lead to some important data and shows what is going on behind the scenes of students' minds. If you're going to fix a problem you have to go to the root of the problem. Each kid is going to be different and each kid is going to have different interests. Just like we learned in class the other day, some students are in to online gaming. As a teacher how am I supposed to know that without digging deeper inside my students' minds? If you can figure out where a student stands in reading then you may be able to come up with some great ideas for lesson plans. I really liked how Wilhelm broke down his strategies/plans and how the students reacted to reading in to different sections (Wilhelm 40-118). The one that I was always fond of was how characters and the reader connect (Wilhelm 79). I find it a lot easier to enjoy a book where I can look at a character and find something about them that sparks an interest in me. Wilhelm's research seemed to prove the same (Wilhelm 80-81). The kids had a really interesting things to say about particular characters (Wilhelm 80-81).
I particularly enjoyed the interaction that he had with the readers who were considered "good" or "avid" (Wilhelm 43). These students (Cora, Ron, and Joanne) seemed to hit the nail on the head with their responses (Wilhelm 43-52). They enjoy reading and they loved reading for how it affected them (Wilhelm 45-53). However, they seem to think that reading for english is a chore because teachers try and make it concrete (Wilhelm 45). Does taking english and trying to find a solid answer bothersome? The answer is simply yes. I remember being a student and reading War of the Worlds. I read it for leisure the first time I read and really enjoyed it. However, when I read it in my twelfth grade class, I hated it. Why did I have to take four quizzes on some old book that got the future completely wrong...at least as we know it? Why did I have to write an alternate ending...it already had an ending! If you take something and push it down peoples' throats then of course they are going to resent it. I agree with the notion that the importance of reading is to enjoy reading forever, not to write literary criticism
Another point that I wish to discuss was the part where Wilhelm talks about his daughter reading The Scarlet Letter (Wilhelm 34). He starts to wonder why we read what we read and why we teach what we teach (Wilhelm 34). He goes on to list the life-long messages that this story offers but then realizes that other books can offer the same (Wilhelm 34). Students know exactly what to expect when they see the book list for their english class. Yet, do they need to be boring? I think that it is time to reform the english class and make it a place that is enjoyable. It is important for students to like reading and school should embrace it...not turn them away from reading. One of the most useful ideas I read about in the book so far is whenever Mr.Wilhelm talks about getting students to piece events in a story together and tie loose ends or make the novel more clear (Wilhelm 90-91). This technique is good for students to be creative and be more aware of what they have read (Wilhelm 90-91). This strategy seems like it can be far from boring and really make students think without them being irritated. It is almost like a mystery; however, solving the mystery shows that the students understood what they read and can make sense of it (Wilhelm 90-91). There are so many ways that this can work and so many different activities to do with it. They basically create links within the novel and construct their own conclusion. I think it is great that Wilhelm has gone above and beyond to try and make his classroom idealistic for students. He really did a lot of analyzing and questioning, which I think a lot more teachers need to do. You need to know your students as people and what they come from. I believe every student can be a reader but it needs to be handled differently then a spoon-fed literature classic that exhausts kids to the point that they make an excuse to go to the nurse's office.
I completely agree that taking quizzes and writing alternate endings are tiresome and boring. I also feel like "the pressures on" when I am reading for a class sometimes I think I have to be well aware of what I am reading in order to do well on a exam. That is one reason student lose that desire to read in their English classes. How can teachers teach "reading" or reading skills without quizzes or handouts? Isn't the answer simple? By not giving them the quizzes and handouts and instead explore their understand by interaction and demonstrations. (aka Like a blog)
ReplyDeleteBy the way great critical thinking Travis!
Oh yea... I wish all of my students would come prepared with their number two pencils. Ha!
ReplyDeleteYour blog put an interesting question into my head. What is the difference between making meaning in a text and making it meaningful? Is it a distinction that we should make and implement as English teachers?
You brought up a lot of interesting points in your blog. I also like how you provided a first hand example of reading a book for pleasure (and enjoying it) and then having it ruined in school! I agree with you about Wilhelm's example of having students tie up the loose ends or tie the ends together to make meaning. It seems to me that used creatively in the classroom there are endless options. Do you value and find that group work in the classroom is a good way for students to work out meaning? Or do you think it gets used ineffectively?
ReplyDeleteYou wrote that students know what to expect when they see their book list for English class. Immediately they pick out what books they don't want to read and what books they won't read. I even did this and I enjoy reading the typical English class books. I think they problem is predictability- it makes classes boring. In my high school, every 9th grader knew that they'd be reading Romeo and Juliet and I don't think any student gets excited to read that because they basically know the story and know what to expect. However, as we discussed in class, I think it would break up the predictability by adding in modern day books that deal with the same thing. Teachers and students could read the classics but then pair it with a similar modern day text. I do think it is important to read some of the "classics" but I also think pairing modern day texts would avoid the students' negative expectations of their freshly handed out book list. Would this help, or do we not even need to tie classics with modern day books at all? Could we just teach modern day literature?
ReplyDeleteWhen I thought about teaching, I did think of some of the students who do not like to read and students who would like to read but not show in class. Our job will be to try and get them to enjoy reading and to want to talk about it in class and talk with other students. My goal is to honestly not make reading seem like a chore. I want students to want to read and talk about it in class. I know this goal is a little far fetched but I am going to to try my hardest to succeed.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned that pushing a story down people's throats just turns them away. That is what almost all of my teachers growing up have felt. My senior year, I was just taking a regular English class but I was unfortunately stuck with the AP teacher. As a senior, I did NOT want to do that much work and this teacher would give us 40 pages of questions to answer, no joke. He also expected us to have the same answers as all his AP students. I was lucky and had a friend in the AP class and we would split up the work but the fact that he overdid the questions turned me away from every book we read in that class.
ReplyDeleteI agree that you need to know your students. It is truly important to understand them. When you understand your students you can connect with them so much better than if you do not. From the looks of it, there is a good amount of improving when we are teachers. If you are teaching a book just for the sake of asking a bunch of questions regarding plot and worksheets on the inner workings of a novel, you end up taking out the sheer pleasure that can be had from reading. Seeing what your students react to will help you to be a better teacher.
ReplyDelete