Jago brought up a lot of good points about teaching literature in the classroom. I completely agree with her idea that assumes when students say that they hate a book, it really means that they did not understand it. When students struggle with different texts it is not uncommon for them to just give up reading and just look up what it means on SparkNotes. As teachers we need to guide them through the novels so they can understand the meaning of the text with our help. Gradually, as students read more and begin to understand how the author uses literary devices, the less guidance they will need. One thing she stated that really resonated with me was, "As a teacher I try to dispel all illusion of magic and make my own process of thinking about a story transparent"(61). Students should not be guessing at what they are expected to know and what thought process they could possibly be using to make the story more clear. Students should know how language works and a teachers job is to do exactly that. We are supposed to show our students how an authors words can convey numerous themes and messages.
I also agree with her point that the more often you use a word the more recognizable it becomes. If you teach literature using proper literary terminology students will see this language as natural and not something foreign. This would also mean that because this language is used regularly there is no need for vocabulary tests, which often don't benefit students anyways. By knowing literary devices and how they are used you can read a text much more efficiently and deeply. In Jago's words, "Knowing these terms makes students more articulate"(68).
Good points. It seems pretty common sense, but I don't think we often think about students "hating" books because they don't understand the reading. We need to teach students a language for reading, writing, and discussing books.
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