well i teach this early american literature class. it's tough to find novels to read because there aren't that many to choose from that can be at a reading level for high school students. as it is -- the one we have for this class it a tough one. the last of the mohicans.
now if you think, "hey, that would be a good book -- i loved the movie" you may be sorely mistaken. now don't get me wrong, i do enjoy the book -- i wouldn't teach it if i didn't -- but the kids have a tough time because the book and movie are NOTHING alike. why does hollywood do that me? take a quality piece of literature, movie it up so it looks nothing like it was, and then make kids miserable when they read the original book.
nevertheless, i enjoy teaching it and while the kids take awhile to get into it -- they eventually get there. plus, it has lead to some more than awesome class times as i have had read aloud some words that have since lost some of their original meaning -- who ever knew there was another way to say shout? or as i read a paragraph or two and summarize in two sentences what was said in twenty and face the question, "why didn't they just say that miss royce? why do they say in 400 words what can be said in 4?" how do you get kids these days to understand a classic?
No comments:
Post a Comment