Classics in the Classroom-Chapter One

The first section of chapter one is chocked full of great advice and eye opening thoughts. One concern of mine is that I will do "fun" activities in my classroom that, though useful, will be inappropriate for the age I'm teaching--Jago says these should be used "sparingly". Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development and the Zone of Minimal Effort both addressed this concern. One of the eye opening things was that in one day researchers at a Chicago school found that the third and eighth grade classes were sharing very similar lessons. My first reaction was, "What!" but the more I thought about it the more I realized most teachers simple regurgitate the same simple lessons over and over again. One of the reasons for this is that most teachers have very low expectations for their students, and they believe that simply re-teaching these lessons they will maybe get it through to their students. But imagine what it would be like if teachers started actually expecting amazing things from their students...treat a student like they are an intelligent individual able to experience literature like an intelligent individual and you will get intelligent individuals.

Jago says that, "the texts chosen for classroom study should be ones that students are unable to read without you". And so, though it may be highly tempting to choose text that is easier, yet relate-able, I should choose the classics, because by reading these more difficult texts the students will be expanding their knowledge. She also explains that classic literature is like a window into other worlds, cultures, and experiences than that of our students, and it is our job as teachers to clear that window that can so often appear murky and dark due to lack of experience with the language, vocabulary, and writing style. Tying into this is the point made in number 5, Reading Literature Builds Background Knowledge. Even if the students are unfamiliar with the text, many of the words used in the text are familiar and so being exposed to these words will "deepen their understanding of specialized vocabulary". Just for kicks and giggles I thought I'd list all the words I was familiar with in the example she gave using the business page but was confused about because of the context:

• fund
• index
• portfolio
• S. & P's
• bull-market

I've read Native Son and it is indeed disturbing and disheartening and just plain sad; but according to Jago that doesn't mean this novel should not be taught to my class. In fact she says, "As long as I wield power over a course syllabus, I intend to insist that all my students read disturbing books." Why bother with a book if it's so disturbing? Well, reading literature that knocks us out of our comfort zone is great because it presents us with situations that we may never encounter, and reading about them creates empathy. This section tells about the University of Chicago's law program that has future attorneys and judges read Native Son, Hard Times, and Maurice in order to produce empathetic and socially just workers in the justice system.

The last section talks about the relevance and importance of learning about metaphors and symbols. We are presented with them every day of our lives and learning how to properly use them and learning the power of literary devices will improve our student's abilities as readers and communicators.