Applemans Chapter, "Through the Looking Glass: Introducing Multiple Perspectives" gives great teacher examples of how four different teachers presented their styles an stories on how they would approach teaching literary theories. I find it very interesting that students can read into a poem or story and find meanings that are correct at first glance but, while using literary theories become completly wrong. Students need practice when working with literary theory and the best way I feel is to teach lessons on how to use them. We as teachers can not just jump into looking at a poem a certain way and then have our students follow suit. An appropriate set up strategy must be developed first in order for students to understand what you as a teacher are looking for. Students need entertaining and fun activities to get engaged in a work or text, but they must learn the motives and directives behind the excercises that you incorporate. The strategy he discusses about having a court case that examines the plot and characters, as well as themes of the story, is an interesting way of looking at interpreting a story. The students must truly know the story and the characters in order to act them out. This is one activity that I should be seriously looking at practicing in my classroom.
The quote from the text that struck me to be very moving and the basis for literary teaching in the classroom is, "They should be able to see things from other viewpoints, heartily argue positions that they don't believe in, inhabit other ways of being or habits of mind. She wants her students to analyze their lives and texts, not just from inside out but from outside in." I think that this is an important statement about education and a great way for students to get engaged and motivated in a class, if they know what is expected of them and can relate to the works.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I like your emphasis on allowing students to know your expectations of them ahead of time. Of course, this is different from telling students what you expect them to think and say. Unfortunately, this is exactly what many students want from their teachers. They have become conditioned by years of text-taking to look for the ideas that will give them the grade they want.
Post a Comment