How would you change the education system to promote interest in literature?

NOT_BELA_TARR · 2012-05-27T05:38:00.641622+00:00

I see your point, although I do disagree with some of your claims. I'm actually in the process of getting certified to teach public high school - I currently teach at a university, and the pay is only slightly better. My reasons for wanting to teach high school are mainly because of how much I get invested in my students - this might sound odd, but it's a toll to get a new batch every semester. I want to be a part of a community and get to know my students over a period of one or two years, not just three months.

I don't like the banner of "the classics are classic for a reason!" Well, that depends; that claim is being re-examined now in full force as more 'underground,' overlooked literature emerges. Some cynics have claimed that this is because all the big name stuff has been covered and scholars are bored; it's easier to get published writing about The Cloud of Unknowing than by writing on anything by Chaucer. We should constantly be questioning what we consider "classic" and what, if anything, we can consider "literature." Frankly, I think Walden - which a number of my students had to read - is utter horseshit, a sham put out by a man who took a pleasant stroll through the woods and composed a few lovely lines hidden deep within a long, ponderous essay. Would I teach Walden to high schoolers? No. Not with a loaded gun to my head.

Your point about Shakespeare is a valid one, but here is where I think my practical approach gains some traction: students are turned off by the Elizabethan language. It took me five years of studying Shakespeare before I could finally read a play without needing a gloss and laugh honestly and robustly at the jokes, because I understood them. A lot of schools have kids do Julius Caesar (I know when I was in high school, the freshman class put that on) and The Tempest.

The Tempest, while beautiful, is not particularly appealing to high schoolers. In time, if they go on to read Shakespeare for enjoyment, or go to his plays, or even study it, they may come to enjoy it, and maybe even savor it. But must it always be the Tempest? Why not Titus Andronicus? Why not something saucier, something more ribald - something to grab them and make them look at their reading assignment with something other than disdain - maybe even, in the best case scenario, with interest.

I'll close with a personal anecdote: I worked as a tutor for a high school student for three years; the girl was at a 4th grade reading level and was not going to pass the 10th grade state exam. She did not want to read - there was nothing to compelling to her about opening a novel.

Faced against this wall, I did the only thing I could for her: I bought her the Twilight series.

Was it trash? Yep. I'll stomp on Twilight any day of the week, but she tore through those books - she wouldn't even do her class reading before this, and pleasure reading was an unknown thing. It did the trick, though; as they say, "a spoonful of sugar..." Later that year we got to Of Mice and Men, A Raisin in the Sun, the Catcher in the Rye, etc., and she managed to pass the exam, lifting her reading level up to 8th grade (4 grades in 6 months of tutoring was a big accomplishment).

I'm not saying we should pander to the whims of high school students by any stretch of the imagination - I'm only suggesting that the primary goal should first be to get students interested in reading, and then expose them to the 'classics,' and we should do this with every trick up our sleeve. We shouldn't turn them off to literature by bashing them over the head with what a deluge of white, male scholars have decreed as "classic."

NOT_BELA_TARR · 2012-05-27T02:44:53.247383+00:00

I would suggest appealing to their interests; my students (college students, mostly freshman, up through seniors) love to vent about all the "horrible literature" they had to read, and they often seem surprised when, after they list some of the novels they had to read, I blanch and say, "WOW! That WAS awful!" They look at me with dumbstruck, wide eyes, disbelieving that a teacher understands them (some examples include Walden, some obnoxiously long Dickens novel - take your pick which one - something Victorian, a smattering of American lit for the sake of American lit, some Hemingway...you get the picture).

I would suggest pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable for students to read and appealing to their baser, rawer emotions - when I was in high school, I wanted to read all the stuff that was "off limits" or "obscene." It reminds me of the South Park episode about Catcher in the Rye - tell a student something is inappropriate, and they want to read it. Conrad's Heart of Darkness, I am adamant, would make for excellent high school reading, as would Clockwork Orange - and it's literature! Beautiful, wonderful literature! Now, I'm not saying, "Let's make high school students read exclusively dark, heavy, violent literature" - I'm only suggesting that we refocus why we choose to assign what we assign (instead of saying, "This is classic. We must have them read this.") and, as part of that refocusing, swim upstream with "students will want to read this" instead of against the current of "here kids, go read Charles Dickens." Certainly, not all kids will want to read any given book assigned, but in my experience - for what it's worth - nothing makes someone want to do or explore something so badly as being told they shouldn't, no matter the age. I say teachers should use that momentum; books should be treated like contraband, held close to our bodies and shared, passed around from student to student until it's all anyone can do not to whisper about it. I know that's a bit romantic of me, but it's a sentiment I hold, nonetheless.

meftical · 1 day

Omagosh, they're small enough to hang upside down on your earlobes....and then startle people when they move and reveal their adorableness!

tokerjoker11 · 1 day

No, but I've been trying to track down the movie he made for ages.

Darealchuck · 1 day

That rule worked really well in Fight Club. As I recall, nobody joined.

dragonworthy · 1 day

Wow, this is gorgeous!

Dr_ChimRichalds · 2 days

GentleWOman, actually! Post pics if you get the tattoo!

Dr_ChimRichalds · 2 days

Then if that's what you were worried about, no, I would say it's a great choice.

theknightwhosays_nee · 3 days

I had no problem cleaning her house; that's why I worked there for 3 months.

I had a problem with the way I was treated while cleaning her house. She wasn't paying me well enough to put up with her shit, so I quit.

littlebalooney · 3 days

I checked your username after I read this, thinking, "My boyfriend posted about me on reddit..."

....I think all girlfriends must secretly love doing this.

littlebalooney · 3 days

Marinara jars. I cannot open them.

He knows I will perish without him.

Dr_ChimRichalds · 3 days

Hahaha, that tattoo you linked to made me burst out laughing....I just don't understand what some people think sometimes...

Well, let me say this in regards to your question: If you're asking "will this make me look like a twat," you're at least mildly concerned about what people think of your appearance. That's not a bad thing, but when you permanently etch something onto your skin, it should be something you care about so much that you'll be damned what other people think about it.

What I would suggest is printing this out, poster size, and hanging it up on your wall. If, after 9 months, you're still not sick of staring at it, get it. If not, well....you saved yourself the expense of laser removal.

Elioz · 3 days

You know, I'm going to go against the grain here and give you this advice:

Don't read the canon.

I just finished up my graduate study (in literature, anyways...moving on to the next degree!) and for the first time in six years, this summer, I have the time to pleasure read.

You are about to hit the grind and be exposed to all sorts of novels, plays, and poems you haven't even heard of yet. Don't worry about not being familiar with the big names - I've never read The Great Gatsby! (My concentration was British Literature before 1660, down to medieval lit, so that's not so surprising - not exactly my time period). Wait to read those big name books and poems and what-not with the professors and instructors who can transform the way you read them and guide you to truly appreciating their complexity; otherwise, you'll be wandering down a dark road without much to guide you. I just finished reading East of Eden (for pleasure! MY GOD, the feeling!) and I wish I had read it as part of a course, not on my own.

This summer is your free time. Please, use it now to go and read all of the things your heart wants to, and not the things your head is telling you are "important." Be shameless - re-gobble up the books in your life that made you want to go study literature in the first place, or go pick up that comic series you were thinking about exploring. Whatever it is, read it - you won't get the chance the next coming years.

Your life will be filled with good literature; all will come in time.

DutchMeNow · 3 days

Dear lord in heaven, I do declare: thank you bringing me to this subreddit.

DrToonz · 3 days

My brain just timed out.

theknightwhosays_nee · 3 days

Cleaned houses as a temp employee. The actual work wasn't bad, but the way I was treated was unbelievable, like I was some sort of lowly servant. I only did this as a summer job to pay for my rent during undergrad one summer after spending too much money that semester (and I worked two other jobs on top of that one); I worked for one woman who had me clean her entire house - I had to make her bed (the bed was only made once a week when I came on Saturdays) and do her/her husbands/her young infant's laundry. Once, she put a used diaper through the laundry with her clothes...yea, had to deal with that. Because I was cleaning for 2-3 hours, I would show up in a tank, gym shorts, hair pulled back, unshowered, and basically, a giant scruff ball.

When I quit, it was at the end of summer, just as rush was beginning, so I was dressed well for my sorority. I showed up at her house in a gorgeous floral skirt from Ann Taylor, matching blouse, jewelry (real, nothing fake), hair long, down, and curled, make-up on, high heels new.

She didn't recognize me, and when she realized that she did not, in fact, have a squalid street rat working for her and that, in fact, I was a human being, a young student, and someone who looked like I came from the same economic class as her (THIS was the issue), she was speechless. She just stood there with a mouth like a guppy, opening and closing, as I handed her the key to her house and quit.

marshalton · 3 days

I'm not plus size, so I won't have too much helpful to add, but my former college roommate (4 years living together! I miss her!) looks to be just about your size (if not larger than you) and she put me to shame with her classy outfits, so it's really not a size issue, in case you feel self-conscious (but you posted photos of yourself on reddit, so clearly you have lluevos!)

She works as teacher, so all of her clothes are business-casual, and she did most of her shopping at Old Navy, where she would buy tops that she could dress down (pairing with jeans) or up (pairing with dress pants/pumps/jacket, etc.), and Old Navy has great, affordable prices. A budget of $750 is some...but not much. You could easily toss that into the wind when it comes to clothes, so as more helpful tips are given to you in this thread, I'll offer this: If you're building a new wardrobe, focus on buying mix-and-match outfits so that you can create multiple looks with a few items.

CheatasaurusRex · 3 days

Yep, I'll met you halfway and agree with you on this one.

the_patches · 3 days

FUCK! I've been saving up to commission her! GOD DAMN IT.

oblivioustitank · 3 days

Dark Horse has released a few omnibus editions of CLAMP manga - including a Card Captor Sakura omnibus (whole series - last omnibus comes out in October) that is just stunning with tons of extra color pages. DH did a fabulous job on them, so it's not just Viz (although I'm currently collecting the new X omnibus that Viz is releasing).

EpiceEmilie · 3 days

The owl thing strikes me as a bit idiosyncratic. I think the general rule is to not go overboard in the kitche department with your accessories.

EpiceEmilie · 3 days

Yes! Also, it's worth pointing out that this isn't a "hey, you're overweight, you shouldn't be wearing that" fashion tip.

Know your body type. You might be a size 8, but if you're straight as a stick, you can pull off the same type of skinny jeans that come in a size 2, but a girl with big hips will look awful because it will make her appear larger than she actually is.

CheatasaurusRex · 3 days

The only reason Kubrick's movie makes me cringe is because the final chapter is gone. The final chapter is what gives it any meaning - otherwise, it's just a violence-fest for the sake of being shocking/provocative. While I don't care much for reading the ending as redemptive, the book's ending is necessary to understand why a clockwork orange - a human being who is compelled to do good, rather than choose to do good or bad - is an unnatural, horrible creature.

In the end, Alex chooses to do good simply because he's bored; the fickle, meaningfulness nature of his choice demonstrates the nature at the core of humanity. Good and bad are just labels for our actions, and the same sort of person is capable of doing both...but they must be allowed to choose.

Sorry for the rant! I'm really passionate about the book.

CheatasaurusRex · 3 days

I think that Watchmen's movie ending was far superior to the comic's ending, which, in my opinion, destroyed the tone of the work.

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