Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattie
Although I agree that the real classics should not be considered "gender" specific, the problem with your viewpoint is that it doesn't foster a love of reading. If kids are made to always read books that have no appeal for them, they equate reading as a chore, just another homework assignment. I would much rather have my kids be able to read books that engage them, in the hopes that they would then read books for pleasure.
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Love of reading is fostered far more through being read to as a child and being encouraged to read for pleasure than it is via school assignments, though. Of course, ideally, you find all your assigned work to be of utmost interest. But since it's not specifically tailored to each student in most settings, it's more or less the nature of the beast that you'll get assignments, reading and otherwise, that won't especially appeal.
That's kind of the nature of assignments, overall - you won't love everything you are asked to do. No instructor can choose curriculum that appeals to every student all the time, so you'll get assignments that don't appeal to you, as well as those that do. I may love writing, but not be thrilled with everything I'm assigned to write about as a student - kind of like life, where I love my job, but don't love every task required of me to do it, all the time. It sends a poor message to kids that if they don't like something, they don't need/shouldn't have to do it, that nobody has the right to require something of them that's not their cup of tea, or that all assignments must entertain them or there is no point in doing them.
And don't forget that one important aspect of teaching, especially humanities teaching, is the expansion of students' horizons...nothing wrong AT ALL with specifically choosing to teach something a student might not ever pick up on his or her own, by choice...exposure to something to which a student might not otherwise be exposed is not a bad thing.
One of my favorite books, both to read and to teach, is a "boy book." Didn't like it when I was first asked to read it in high school. Struggled through it, bitched about how overrated I thought it was. But I picked up quite a bit from studying it in high school, turns out. I was required to read it for a couple of upper level English classes in college, and the things I learned from begrudgingly reading it as a high school student helped me to intelligently discuss it and learn more and more about it and get more out of it at the collegiate level, where more time was spent on it. Then, when I was student teaching, it was the first book on the curriculum I was required to teach to high school juniors. Loved it, it was a ton of fun to teach.
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