The popular answer among secondary-level English students world-wide might sound something like, "Because we have to!" OK, let's admit that a certain sense of duty and obligation that comes with school-life can turn the act of reading literature into a chore more than a pleasurable experience for many students. Many students claim they simply "don't like to read." Other students claim they like to read, but not what is assigned in English. Here are some other common complaints that many students have about reading in English: "This books just doesn't relate to my life," "I would read more if I got to choose the books myself," and "This book is too old!" As an English teacher, I am open to the idea that there may be some truth in these time-tested complaints.
After having read and studied 3 major works of American literature (The Crucible, The Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men), and as we are currently studying William Shakespeare's Othello, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on our experiences as 10th grade English student up to this point. In trying to keep up with the demands of assigned curriculum, it becomes difficult to pause and ask important questions like, "Is this course of study worthwhile to me?" and "What am I learning from studying literature?"
So in the spirit of reflection, consider the following questions here: "Is studying literature in English worthwhile to me? Why or why not? What am I learning as a 10th grade English student, if anything, that is important to me as a student and as a person?
A good comment to the above questions will contain references to the works of literature which we have studied, and are studying, so far this year (refers to the above paragraphs). Also, a good comment will avoid obvious statements such as, "It is valuable to me because I need to read and study literature to pass the class, to pass high school, so my parents won't kill me, etc."
Please make sure your comment is checked for spelling and grammar, and is at least 150 words in length.
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Literature is a way of expressing thoughts and motions through writing. Literature is studied for kids to stay interested. Studying literature I guess in a way is worth while to me. It teaches me how to relate to the author because they are always expressing a thought. Its kind a like a type of art. Some literature can be beautiful like what Shakespeare in tales in his writing. Other kinds of literature show you how they can relate to many things like how humans can relate to animals like as in Of Mice and Men. This is important to me in ways I guess. Like I said it shows me how to write and express my feelings on paper. It teaches me new ways of grammar to write. As a person it shows me art and how people use to write and relate to themselves. As a student it shows me how serious writing should be taking and not just writes things that don’t make sense.
ReplyDeleteJaimie C
Is studying literature in English worthwhile to me? Why or why not? What am I learning as a 10th grade English student, if anything, that is important to me as a student and as a person?
ReplyDeleteI don't really think literature will help me in any type of job in my life at all. Its just useless to me, if I read books about Othello how is that going to get me a good job in life. I mean literature is just a big waste of my time it never ever going to be used again in m y life what so ever. I am learning how to read boring Shakespeare books which bring me back to the above statement that I will never have to read a Shakespeare book to get anywhere in life.
-Ray Edwards
No studying literature is not worthwhile to me because English literature is based in the past and I along with many other kids don’t like reading things in the past. Also things that don’t make sense to us like Shakespeare for instance is just boring. The things we are learning are to help us when we write or are talking to someone other than a friend or family. When we are with friends or family we don’t care how weird things may come out of mouths. Those are people who will understand us and who know what were trying to say but I don’t think that anything we are currently learning will be used too much out of school.
ReplyDeleteMichelle O.
I think that english literature is imporant because it expands your reading capability. The types of books read in english class may not be the kind that people want to read, and maybe it's because of the context it's written in. It's not something that most people are use to reading. For example Shakespear is written in ways that are not as easily apprehended as other books.
ReplyDeleteAs a tenth grade english student I believe that I am learn to read diferent styles of writting and comprehending what I am reading more in depth. This is imporant to me as a student and as a person because throughout life I may encounter these styles of writting and if I have pervious knowledge of the way it's written then I think I would be able to under the context more.
~ Shyanne B.
I can't say why any one person should study literature because we all do things for different reasons. I know I study literature because if you do anything in life, you need to at least know how to read, and write. That's the basic of literature as far as I’m concerned but one should want to further their knowledge. I’m not saying Shakespeare's for everyone cause it's not, but you should find something that's your passion, and read about it or write about it. I guarantee if your interested in it you'll pay attention better, granted you get some sleep. But you should study literature for yourself. People study literature because they want to learn something, or they want to escape in the fantasy worlds that form from words of an author. Like I said I can’t say why any one person should do something I can just request that they try. ~Eryn K.
ReplyDeleteI think studying literature is very worthwhile because it shows the reader how our English language has evolved over the years. Also literature is history to me and it is very worthwhile. Literature has taught me that there were many ways to communicate and how to say words and it is very important because it is history.
ReplyDeleteJosh Swift
I think we read literature because it helps us learn to see things from other peoples’ points of views. When we read literature it teaches us to understand what the author is saying, and the picture he or she is trying to paint for us. Sometimes, it’s not too easy to do so. Figuring out what an author means in a passage can help us with critical thinking and can be a challenge on its own. The books that we read are from different time periods, and are written by completely different people. Reading a variety of these books teaches us how to understand people from different time periods and what it was like back then. Also, literature is a challenge. It’s not something most of us would enjoy reading, and getting through it can be rough. I think reading these books helps prepare us for college when there will be many tasks that we will not enjoy doing.
ReplyDeleteWhat does one learn from reading class? There is no doubt, that there are many philosophical answers to this question that are often hard to find. I feel that we read to learn skills that can’t be learned from a textbook, but learned from experiences. Skills like higher order thinking can’t be taught but learned. Reading a book allows us to analyze it and think of it’s moral or message while entertaining us. The reading makes us think about a character and his or her significance to their world and how it relates or even parallels to regular people like you or me. This is just a single view point of a question that has an endless stream of answers.
ReplyDeleteMichael Zimmermann
Literature is not important to me but it must be important if the school system puts it in the curriculum. I would consider Literature to be good and worthwhile because allot of authors write literature. I think literature is when an author writes things in a language that he understands and other people could to but still be confused. That is the reason that a lot of readers like to read literature because they like to understand the particular language another writes in
ReplyDeleteBY: Daniel Rodriguez
Why we should study literature is because it is a great way to get the basic thought and understanding of life. We are able to read many different point of views, by many great writers. we can see the abstract or even the simple pleasures in the topics, and senarios of each thought. The perspectives of ones writings are so grand, and vast it amazes people. we can not only understand or learn things from literature, but we can also grow and appreciate it even more. I feel it is great if not only you can learn to love literature, but if you show some else how great literature is as well, is even more beautiful.
ReplyDeleteJaniice C
Jaimie, Thanks for posting. I agree with your ideas that reading good literature teaches us to write well. Good writers are always good readers, I think.
ReplyDeleteA few questions: What did you mean when you said that literature is "studied for kids to stay interested"? In what way is being able to relate to the author a good thing? I agree with you that is a type of art; there is much beauty in writing I think, espcecially Shakespeare. What do you think is important about seeing how humans relate to animals, as shown in Of Mice and Men?
We study literature because you need it in a lot of places in life. You need to know how to analyze reading and writing. Literature is worthwhile to everyone. You need it to succeed in life. You use it in college; it teaches you how to write, how to understand other writing material, and how to be a good judge of writing. In 10th grade I am learning probably the most important things about literature. Since this is my first year with college prep literature, I am learning everything I said recently in this passage. Mainly everything you need to know about literature I am learning. In 11th I will probably go into more detail about literature, but until then I am learning what I need.
ReplyDeleteMr. Sonntag
I read literature not because my teacher or parents say so. I read them because I want to. Literature written by men of the past carries knowedge and ideas. To be narrowminded is foolish so I like to read in many point of views. Also I read to escape from reality because literature can to stright as board or wild as fictions of many level.
ReplyDeleteTed Lee
To be honest, as boring as literature can be, it is very important to be taught. No matter what you do for your major or job, it always contains the knowledge of literature. I’m looking into either nursing or psychology and I know it’s necessary to know literature for both of those majors. Whether its files, e-mails, directions, or just important information. All those examples could relate to both of those majors. As a 10th grade English student, I’m learning the important and specific ways of literature. It’s important to me as a student, to learn literature, because I know it’ll lead me and get me further in life and it’ll make things easier in my future if I don’t have to worry about bad grammar, literature, etc. it’s important to me, as a person, because, again, in my future it’ll make everything easier. Reading makes you smarter and the smarter you are, the further you’ll get.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Curry
I study literature because its apart of life. It's used in everyday of your life. If I didn't have literature then my life would be different in many ways. I wouldn't know how to analyze certain books like The Catcher In The Rye or Of Mice and Men. I read literature because it helps me get through life and obtain many obstacles. Not because my mom would be disappointed in me or mad because i didn't but because it's what i need to get through high school and then college and then eventually the rest of my life.
ReplyDeleteGraham S.
Literature is defined as a collective body of literary productions, embracing the entire results of knowledge and fancy preserved in writing. Literature is a very important aspect of high school. If we didn't study literature we wouldn't know the base of our language. Without gaining the knowledge of literature we wouldn't know of the great writers of the past; we wouldn't have any knowledge of our people’s culture or thoughts. Ultimately, without us learning literature, our kids wouldn’t learn literature, and then there wouldn’t be any literature for future students to study. Personally, to me, it is extremely important to learn literature, because I plan on majoring in Journalism in College. No journalist can be successful if they do not study literature. Mainly because they wouldn't know what good writing is.
ReplyDeleteKatherine Kushin
The reason why I study literature is because we have to and if we didnt study it the world would probably be more confusing. I would understand how to format any of my papers or even understand any of the books I was reading withought literature. No matter wat u try to do in life your going to have to know things about literature so thats why it is important.I think alot of people like to read literature because its going to help them in the long run. Thats why i think we should study literature.
ReplyDeleteDamian B.
Literature is something that I think everyone needs to know it is something that will help us all one day. It will help us understand what’s going on around us the books we have read so far I have like they weren’t the most interesting books in the world but they got you thinking about what if that was me or what if this happened to me what I was running around looking for a job all the time. But what I like most about literature is that it can be about almost anything you could write about what ever who ever any time in the world and make a interesting story about it literature is the most amazing type of English class it’s the most interesting and most mind boggling. I think if you don’t like it you are crazy I think it shows u the biggest life lesions ever.
ReplyDeletebryan p
To me literature is very boring but is a very big part of our lives today. Literature is what explains everything that here today. It is what makes everything to us clear about our day and age. Without literature we would be very uninformed and we would be very confused about where everything got to where it is today. Of course every kid is going to say how boring it is but if you really look deep into it, it explains why humans are humane and it also explains history to us and past events that happened. Even though some events were in the past, those events changed the way we live our lives today. That is why I think literature should be studied and taught at every school.
ReplyDeleteMike Murphy
Ray, thanks for your post. You ask an important question: how is studying literature going to help you in your future, especially when it comes to your future occupation. First I would ask you what kind of work could you see yourself doing in 5, maybe 10 years? What are your interests, your passions, and how could you turn them into your job? Then I would ask you to think about how the skills of reading, writing, and communicating would help you in whatever work you choose. How important do you think the skills that go into reading Othello (even if you never read Shakespeare again) will be to you?
ReplyDeleteMichelle, thanks for you comments. I agree with you that many other students are turned off by the “past-ness” (if I can make up a word) of the literature read in English. I think that our book lists could use some newer literature to get more kids interested I reading. But about the “classics” (in other words older) we read in English now, don’t you think there are some things that we can learn from the past? Also, have you about why some of the books we read have lasted as long as they have? I like to think that they communicate certain truths about life and about people that never change with time. I also agree with you that we speak differently to friends and family, for example, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But don’t you think that there are other situations in life that require us to communicate and understand people in other ways? Do you think the skills we practice in English might open you up to new opportunities in life?
ReplyDeleteShyanne, I think you make an important connection between the different styles of literature we read and the different skills that we practice. The way I see it there is a place for all kinds of communication in life: a place for speaking slang with friends, a place for text messaging styles of writing, a place for more formal styles like at a job interview, etc. I think it makes life more interesting and satisfying to not be limited to one style of knowing the world, and isn’t communication (reading, writing, speaking, listening) a lot of how we “know the world”? What have been your favorite experiences in English so far this year? Do you have a favorite book that we read? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteEryn, thanks for posting. You said it plain and simple, everyone should learn how to read and write. I’m in to many “should” statements in life, but I won’t disagree with you there. I see literature as one way (of many) to expand your mind and your knowledge. I just think the world would be a better place if more people had more knowledge; to me, less ignorance would mean less hatred and less violence, and life in general would be more enjoyable for all. That takes more than reading books, but it would be a good start I think. If you had to recommend one book (even books outside of English) for everyone in the world to read, what would it be and why?
ReplyDeleteMr. Swift, thanks for posting. You make an interesting point that studying literature is like studying the history of language. To me studying literature helps me remember there is no “one” way or “right” way to communicate (I get uncomfortable when someone tells me there is a “right” way to do something – it’s like my freedom gets taken away from me). If language is one way we experience life, knowing about language can improve our life experiences, which to me is what’s it all about – having the best life you can. In what ways do you see understanding this history of language helping you experience your life, now or in the future?
ReplyDeleteAmber, thanks for your comments. I think you make a great point about how reading literature helps us see things from other people’s point of view. One person can’t know everything or always be right, so maybe trying to find other perspectives in literature is a practice in being open-minded and willing to learn from others, who may know a lot more than we do. I agree with you that skills like analyzing and critical thinking can be hard work. As hard as understanding literature at higher levels can be sometimes, no one can take away the feeling of accomplishment you get after successfully tackling a difficult passage of literature. What have been your most challenging tasks so far this year in English and why? Which tasks, if any, have been most satisfying to you?
ReplyDeleteMike Z., thanks for you thoughts here. I agree with you that literature, like life experience, is a teacher. When we live we deal with people (characters), decisions (morals/ethics), place (setting), events (plot), etc. We need thinking skills to survive and thrive in life, so maybe reading literature is a way to practice these skills. At very least, literature can help us to feel that we’re not the only ones that go through certain struggles and have difficult questions we try to answer. If you to recommend one book from our list so far this year for your friends and family to read, what would it be and why? How about one book outside of our reading list?
ReplyDeleteDan, thanks for posting. I like how you tried to define what we mean by “literature” here. Maybe I should have started by asking the class what “literature” is? Is everything that we read literature or only some things? I agree with you that some people like literature because it challenges you to figure out what someone else’s language, which can be tough sometimes, but fun sometimes too (or at least interesting). What I like about it is that once you understand someone else’s language, it becomes YOUR language too, not just the author’s. You get to keep it. But it’s not free, you have to pay for it with the time and effort of reading and understanding, which can be difficult. Do you see any value in trying to understand someone else’s language, either now or in your future?
ReplyDeleteJanice C., thanks for posting. It sounds like you are talking about what I have heard referred to as “standing on the shoulders of giants” – in other words, reading literature lets us see life through the eyes of men and women who have made their mark on our world through writing, which can then help us appreciate life in new and deeper ways. At very least, literature can cheer us up when we’re feeling down, give us company when we feel alone, and entertain us by telling us a thrilling story. What have been some of your favorite experiences with the literature so far this year? Have there been view points about life, or scenarios in out literature that you have connected with more than others?
ReplyDeleteI think studying literature is worthwhile to me. Even though I don’t enjoy literature I feel that it is good to experience different types of writing. I don’t think that I will ever use literature in life and I wouldn’t read literature if I didn’t have to for english. I don’t enjoy reading literature but it’s good to experience reading it.
ReplyDelete~ Jasmin G. ~
Mr. Sonntag, thanks for your comments. I am glad you feel you are learning in 10th grade English. I am most interested in what you said about being able to judge good writing for yourself. In what way do you think that this could be an important skill? What, by your judgment, is the best piece of writing we have read so far this year, and why do you think so?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Ted. I agree that literature carries the ideas of men and women, from the past and the present, that can help expand our view of the world, and hopefully help us become more understanding, compassionate, and intelligent as individuals, and as a society. But how do you know if the ideas in literature are worthwhile? Is all literature good, or just some, and why? What have been your favorite ideas and perspectives in the literature we have read so far this year, and why?
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting Danielle. You make a good connection to the literature we read in 10th grade and other forms of written communication like emails, files, directions, and other documents associated with work. Being able to read and write effectively will make it easier for you to handle the many reading and writing tasks that will be involved in school and work life. What kind of activities have we done so far this year that you think are helpful to your understanding of literature? Any specific projects or assignments that you think are more helpful than others?
ReplyDeleteThanks for you comments Graham. I agree with you that my life would be very different if I didn’t have literature…for starters, I’d need to find another job. But besides that, I’m thinking of music I never would have heard about and even places that I might have never gone without the help of reading about them in books. Literature has given me the curiosity to go and experience some great things in my life. I lived in New York City for 3 great years, partly because reading about New York in books like The Catcher in the Rye filled me with interest and fascination. How do you think your life would be different if you didn’t have literature?
ReplyDeleteJasmin, thanks for posting. You make an important point that many English students make: that just because something is worthwhile doesn’t make it enjoyable. Reading for English can almost seem like eating your vegetables – you do it because it’s supposed to be good for you. If you could explain your thoughts a little further, what about experiencing different types of writing makes it a “good” experience? Also, what do you mean about “using” literature in your life? It’s probably a long shot that someone’s going to ask you about the use of foreshadowing in Of Mice and Men in a future job interview, but do you think there are skills that you practice in studying literature that may be helpful to you?
ReplyDeleteMike M., thanks for your comments. I agree with you that life would be confusing if we didn’t keep track of life through literature. I think a lot of things can be literature: movies, T.V. shows, music, stories people tell from generation to generation. A lot of work goes in to trying to explain the past, and like you say, it makes us feel good on some level – not confused and uncomfortable – about the important parts of our lives today. What have we read so far in English this year that has helped you understand more about humans or made something in life less confusing to you? Why?
ReplyDeleteBryan, thanks for your thoughts. It seems like some of the literature we have read in class made you think in unexpected ways, which was stimulating to you, if not necessarily fun or enjoyable. I think the authors (Salinger, Steinbeck, Shakespeare, etc.) would be glad to hear that their words got you thinking about life and people. It sounds like you are referring to Of Mice and Men when you talk about imagining what it would be like if you were traveling around looking for work all the time. In what way do you think being in “George’s and Lennie’s shoes” (some pretty big shoes, I bet) helped you understand what’s going on around us, as you say?
ReplyDeleteDamian, thanks for commenting. Think about the specific works of literature that we have so far in English this year. If you had to pick one that you would recommend to your friends to read, what would it be? What about that book taught you something about the world and made the world less confusing to you? If you had to tell the world to read one book outside of this class - any book – what would it be and why?
ReplyDeleteKate, thanks for your thoughts, and for defining literature for us. That’s an important question: What is literature, and what separates literature from other forms of written documentation (that’s really 2 questions, I guess…oh well)? I agree with you that the best way to know good writing from bad is to read – a lot. What to you makes writing good? Is it just obvious, or do you need certain skills to evaluate the quality of literature? What do you think is the best writing we have read so far this year in English and why?
ReplyDeleteTo me literature is very boring but we have to learn it. Literature help us learn about things in todays life. Without literature we would be the way we live our lives would be compleatly different and we would be lost with how everything is now. Everyone thinkgs its boring to learn about but if you really think about it, it explains alot about or past and shows us how much humans have evolved over the years with there writing and speech. learning about events that happend in the past makes us better understand how to speak, read, and more about our every day lives. thats why i think it should be tought in every school even thought we think its boring its really helping us.
ReplyDeletekelly a
Kelly, thanks for posting. So it sounds like you think literature goes under the “boring-but-good-for-you” category of school stuff, which is a common point-of-view among many students. What do you think the most “boring” part of studying literature is? Is it the act of reading itself that is boring? What else about it makes it, as you say, boring? I also appreciate your other comments, especially about the evolution of language. Why do you think recognizing the evolution of humans and our language is helpful? Why is learning about the past helpful to us?
ReplyDeleteI think I have a hard time paying attention the most. When I read, I have to read it to myself. I find it hard listening to others. For some reason, when other people read to me I can’t comprehend it. It seems to just go in one ear and out the other. Also, when I read the littlest thing can distract me, especially when I’m not too interested in the book I’m reading. So for me just understanding the novel is difficult. Also the Othello book we’re reading is really hard to me. I have a hard time comprehending and then on top of that Shakespeare’s language makes it almost impossible for me to understand. The task most satisfying to me was reading the catcher in the rye. I really enjoyed that book the most out of all our novels and we did most of the reading at home so I completely understood it.
ReplyDeleteamber stack
Mr.Rendine my favorite ideal is that world is not spilt in black and white, but it is grey. I believe if the world the controlled by power so that even justice can be misused than one must have a lot of power to avoid or stand their ground. Through literature I have seen rulers or leaders such as Hitler and Genghis Khan of Mongol or even Toyotome Hideyoshi men of history that tried to rule the world. Their action is now judged as evil but I see power and determination. As some might see their path to power is wrong I see goal of brave men who put their lives in the line to be the victor and the brave men who knowingly put themselves this path that if they fail the history may write them off as villain. I read many ideals that I disagree and agree. For example I never like the ideal that god is on our side. I think that kind of self center ideals that caused many religious uprising or massacres. Some ideals such as we are equal and that we are all equal in eyes of god idea that this country stands for. If we are all equal there should not be poor or riches. There shouldn't be strong or weak, wise or dumb, there wouldn't be any conflicts. If all is equal there is no purpose and with no purpose I will have no reason to have my goal. Equality is all but nonsense. If there are such as all is equality In Africa there wouldn't be any death and in Middle East no religious conflict would exist. There would no slaves, servant, nobles, ruler, kings, queen, or even elders and young. There will be no respect or incivility and most importantly there will be no will above others. My goal is to leave my name in history in good words. I want to be a history teacher to teach other so even hand full of student may remember me as fun or great teacher. That is my goal and my idea of the world and belief of ideals I read in the books and writings.
ReplyDelete~Ted Lee
The one way I see history of language help me in my life is that literature shows how history has evolved through language. For example, Shakespeare and how words were used back then and are used to today. The history of literature I think has shown everybody how things have changed throughout the world and some people don’t see it. Without literature the world would have words evolved like they were.
ReplyDeleteJosh Swift
To me, good writing has to have a flow, and appear interesting. I myself am not a big fan of reading; I don’t have enough focus for it, but I will read if a book is written well. Everyone has different outlooks on literature and its quality. Some people view Shakespeare’s writings as the most exquisite works of literature to of ever been written, while others think of his writings as worthless, and unneeded. People’s opinions of different literature are not a judge of their intelligence, but more so of they’re outlook on life. It doesn’t take a certain set of skills, but a certain set of life experiences to relate to the situations that are portrayed throughout a work of literature. If something in a work of literature relates to the person reading it, that person will enjoy reading it, and view as ‘good’ literature. Truly good literature would be literature that relates to the majority of people reading it. So far this year, I think the best literature we have read would have to be Of Mice and Men. It was the most interesting book we’ve read, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteKatherine K.
Although i don't like to read, i have to admit studying literature improves my education. It helps my vocabulary improve. As a 10th grade English Student I'm learning how to word my sentences in a intelligent way and how to properly use each part of speech in the right context.
ReplyDeleteCarl Richardson
Well when i said literature is studied for kids to stay interested, i meant it is a good way for us to loose ourselves in the words of literature. In doing so we are interested in literature. I think if you can relate to an author, you can also have a better understaning of how others may feel about some of the same things you may be going through. I think it is important if humans relate to animals in many ways,maybe even some weird ways. we as humans have adapted over many years. Some say we started out as being animals. I think if we still had some traits or thoughts or even anything related to what we originated from then thats great.
ReplyDeleteJaniice C