I came across a blog called “The Book Whisperer”.  The blogger, Donalyn Miller, works on connecting children with reading.  In the post, “Out of the Box”, Ms. Miller writes about the experience of reading Airman by Eoin Colfer and what she has learned about flying because of this book.  She also shares other things that she has learned from reading, fiction and non-fiction.  She also talks about how reading non-fiction sometimes sparks the interest in fiction on that topic and vice versa. 

Her posting has got me to thinking about my own reading and how it connects to teaching.  I have taught elementary schoo, middle school, high school, and college.  The common denominator has been that if I am passionate about what I am reading, the students will catch some of the enthusiasm.  Not every student will love what I am reading but they all express at least an interest.  I think of some works that I taught what are considered lower-level 9th grade students.  We read My Antonia by Willa Cather.  When I recommend this book to other teachers to teach, I hear “The language is too difficult.” or “The book is too long; the students will never read a book of that length.” or “These kids don’t know anything about the 1800’s or the Midwest.”  Well, the book is long, and the language is denser than the students usually read, and they might not know anything about the 1800’s or the Midwest, but each complaint is a point to be dealt with in the teaching of the book.  I love the language and learning some of the older meanings of words.  When students are engaged in the story, they don’t mind the length.  The immigrant experience fascinates me because it is so different from my own experience, but many of my students were immigrants, so the story appealed to them.  For those who weren’t here was a chance to learn something.  The story led us to inquire about immigration in the 1800s – what countries did they leave and why, where in the US did they settle, why did some areas appeal to certain groups and not to others.  Then looking at Nebraska which is very different from our New Jersey home:  just what are those geographical differences; how does this impact the family, schools, community, etc.; what is the Midwest like today; and what were the overall historical and economic concerns of the 1800s.  As you can see, I move from fiction to non-fiction easily.  I think the non-fiction enhances the fiction, adding another layer or depth. 

Another book that I have taught that others won’t is John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.  I love it.  I love the way in which it is written with the alternating chapters of story and social commentary.  The Depression is a time period that fascinates me — a period that my parents and grandparents lived through and a period that has had such lasting effects on the psyche of the nation at large, one of those defining moments.  Again, the complaints arise about the length, the time period is too far removed from the students, there is easier Steinbeck to be taught, the ending is so depressing.  Again, each of these can be addressed in the teaching, even the ending.  In grad school, someone typified the differences between the British and American novels:  American novels looked for a happy ending, British novels did not.  Steinbeck leans toward the British in this case, but it is reasonable.

Sometimes, I think that teachers get an idealized vision of our students and then expect that we can predict their likes and dislikes, even their strengths and weaknesses.   I think that we do students a disservice when we lapse into that behavior.  I believe that we should challenge students, all students, and that with scaffolding, support, and guidance, they can reach new heights.  i also think that all students should be exposed to a plethora of literature and good writing, fiction and non-fiction.  If we don’t expose them to it in school, students might never choose to read the various types of literature available to them.  And don’t get me started on poetry . . .   Too often teachers have killed poetry because they have analyzed for techniques and literary/poetic devices and left out the most important part — the effect or the meaning that the poet was trying to convey.  I could go on and on about poetry, but that is a post for another day.

The bottomline is that if the teacher is enthused and willing to take the time to break the literature into appropriate pieces for the students, just about anything can be achieved.  The same is true for writing, another passion of mine.  But that, too, is a post for another day.