Teachers...what is the point of this?

[mjkacmom]

Are you kidding?
That is what makes Literature so fascinating!

Little Dora was based on the author living in a debtor;s prison also....

Jane Austin 's books were based on society at the time...

I was an english major in college, so I know exactly what you mean. I think book clubs are like literature classes for us moms, assigned reading, with some great discussion.

 

[BelleWDW]

I was an english major in college, so I know exactly what you mean. I think book clubs are like literature classes for us moms, assigned reading, with some great discussion.

I was an English major also

Love the movie/book "The Jane Austin Book Club" , BTW

 

[alexandria674]

Are you kidding?
That is what makes Literature so fascinating!

Little Dora was based on the author living in a debtor;s prison also....

Jane Austin 's books were based on society at the time...

I used to hate it when the books I read were ripped apart like a head of lettuce but now I think it is interesting to study up a bit on the period and life of the author, like Jane Eyre's author had lived a life similiar to her main character or the fact that there was once a woman like Catherine in a Farewell to Arms that Ernest Hemingay loved but did not marry. In researching a little bit of the backround, I feel that it gives a little bit more insight to the piece of literature itself. The authors are not some dead person who lived a dry life like I used to think but they were people who had lived a life and some aspect of that must have made its way into their writing.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I expect the teacher chose a list of authors she knows something about herself, because one of the assignments later will be to "compare and contrast the works of two of the authors you read this year." - I'd encourage DD make some notes as she goes for that possibility.

 

[Took]

It was simply a joke--but I HATED Scarlet Letter with an immense passion and quit reading it as soon as the pop quizzes are over. I think I failed almost every pop quiz on that book and struggled immensely with it. I do not know how the book ends, nor do I ever intend to find out.

I did go on to read other required readings from several authors whom I found interesting. And I do eventually read books on occasion just for the sake of trying it out. But you couldn't get me to read a Hawthorne book ever again.

I simply mentioned the deadline as most posts were focusing on Summer reading and pointing out that it wasn't in case it was missed. I wasn't questioning the submission.

As an English teacher who really loves Hawthorne (and the Scarlett Letter, in particular), I would give real money to read the book with you now as an adult. I think if you re-read it, you might like it now. The ending is wonderful (and sad, a bit). Really good!

 

[PinkRhombus]

She also took Red Bad Of Courage, after I told her I HATED this book in HS!!

I hated that book, too. I was SO glad to get through that.

But you know...sometimes it's a good thing to read books that you don't like, so you can really get a better idea of what you DO like.

And the bad books give you good topics of conversation later on.

60+ authors gives her a wide choice though. If anything, she could just close her eyes and point to one.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

As an English teacher who really loves Hawthorne (and the Scarlett Letter, in particular), I would give real money to read the book with you now as an adult. I think if you re-read it, you might like it now. The ending is wonderful (and sad, a bit). Really good!

It is the dialect I have issue with. Unless that book is rewritten in modern English, there is no way in Hades I will ever touch that book. It was way too destracting which is a travesty if the book is truly indeed good. Bleck!

Me reading that book would be like you trying to read an entire essay written in texting. In the end, the content may be excellent, but you would be unable to look past the "dialect" of txt in order to get to the end.

That is my issue with Scarlet Letter.

 

[RitaE]

Well an author study assignment is not recreational reading- obviously.
Why are you so invested in directing her in choosing the books? Teachers have several reasons for choosing what they do for those types of assignments.

I remember when I was about that age our English teacher threatened to strangle the next girl who attempted to make her plow through another Danielle Steele book report. I'm guessing this particular teacher probably has similar feelings toward Vampire Chick Lit.

We moaned, but we lived through it.


And the Scarlett Letter? Blech.

 

[MushyMushy]

Honestly, what do you expect an English teacher to do?

This is a prime example of why teachers have it so rough -- they can't win. An author study is a wonderful assignment for kids. I would be thrilled to see my kids' teachers doing something like this instead of spending so much time practicing for the standardized tests.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

Honestly, what do you expect an English teacher to do?

This is a prime example of why teachers have it so rough -- they can't win. An author study is a wonderful assignment for kids. I would be thrilled to see my kids' teachers doing something like this instead of spending so much time practicing for the standardized tests.

Completely agree with you!

 

[cjb1879]

I agree with what many of the previous posters said- this exercise seems to be meant to broaden literary horizons rather than just making students read. As a girl who loved to read and often disliked what I was told to read in school, I do recognize that the value of the lesson is not in reading just what we want (if that were the case, I suspect our choices would be very narrow indeed)- but rather, broadening our knowledge of the literary canon. What many of us don't understand is there is huge difference between popular fiction and literature. We may not always agree with what is included in either category, but I guarantee that many of these same books will show up again in high school and college. While I may not have enjoyed everything I had to read, I can honestly say that most of those works broadened my knowledge in some and way and eventually made me a better student.

BTW, I liked The Scarlet Letter! I somehow made it out of middle school and high school without having read it, but it was assigned to me in a college class called 19th Century Faith and Fiction. As another poster noted, it can't be beat for use of imagery and symbolism!

 

[Schmeck]

They do offer a 'dumbed-down' version of The Scarlet Letter - the original text on one page, a simplified version opposite it. Our low level English classes have these versions for most of the trickier books.

I loved the challenge of reading Canterbury Tales in the original Old English - the words had double meaning that did not translate into modern English at all. That's was college though, and was optional. I was the only one in class reading that version of it, everyone else opted for the translation, chickens all!

 

[JoiseyMom]

Well, if the OP's dd thinks that series was well written, it would be wise to let her experience other authors.

I don't think my DD13 cares if it was well written or not. She loves the STORY!! Books are to read and enjoyed. Yes, some are better written then others...ok. Isn't the point to enjoy what you read? Does she care if the author won a nobel or had a masters or phd in literature!! It shouldn't matter.

 

[JoiseyMom]

What is wrong with your post is that YOU are picking the books for her, eliminating ones YOU think she won't like and trying to steer her toward books that are similar to what she does like. The point of the list and the mixed authors is to stretch your wings; read something you wouldn't normally read. If she is such an avid reader Lord of the Rings won't be a challenge like you think. My kids read LotR in 5th grade-they are also very avid readers. The Judy Bloome books are not for little kids, they are for preteens and many of them deal with the very issues she is probably facing in middle school. Besides that, it looks like she is trying to get them to read all levels of books. Let your DD surf the internet and figure out what books she wants to read. Why are you doing that for her? I would guess that part of the assignment is to do just that-research what books each author has and pick the once you would like to read.



I agree. While the Twilight books are entertaining they are far from good literature and don't belong on a reading list like this.

I know what she likes to read. I stopped trying to her get to read what I thought she would like a while ago (meaning things I loved as a teen LOL).

I went for the authors that I might have had in our home library that I thought she would be interested in. There were over 60 authors on the list, this is due day after tomorrow. Not for nothing, I wasn't going to have her take the HOURS it would take to look up all those authors.

I don't ever do research for her, but in this case, finding the authors and having her look at the books to see if she watned to read them, was soemthing I was willing to do.

Yes she is an avid reader..but if the book doesn't catch her interest, the she will never finish it, and LOTR would take her 5 years to read! I wasn't going there with such hugh books. I want her to have time this year to read what she wants to read also!

So I showed her books that I felt she would like. And she has read all sorts of genres...non fiction, mystery (hates hates hates them), horror, vampires, everyday fiction, poetry, classics. Been there done that, she knows what she likes, and there is nothing wrong with that.

When I was her age I was forced to read The Odyssey ....omg I wanted to die! It was boring and horrible. While the class read that...I read Great Expecations!

Everyone has their own likes and dislikes, so does she. And since she has lots of choices, I pointed her in the direction of books I hoped she would enjoy. I don't think there is anything with that.

 

[RitaE]

So it sounds to me like she's already read the Twilight Series .... so wouldn't they be out of contention anyway? She should be looking for new books to read, not revisiting old favorites.

I'm really having a hard time understanding your angst here. Why are YOU Googling authors and crossing them off of lists? If an author is a supposed homophobe then read the book and discuss with her how narrow minded and wrongheaded those thoughts are. Or simply tell your teen that you prefer she research first and avoid that subject matter. She's plenty old enough for that task.

60+ Authors and I've seen everything mentioned here from Artemis Fowl, to Judy Blume, to Tolkien etc etc. You really aren't convincing me that there is a limited range here of nothing that your daughter won't enjoy. Come on. Hand the list back to the student, tell your daughter to pick the authors and then go to the library to get the books as needed. There is really very little reason for you and your husband to be "deciding" for her what books for her to choose. She's in the 8th grade now, not 2nd. Relax Mom.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Well this is the first time I have seen or heard of an author assignment. She is not my first child, she is 3 outta 4, and the other 2 went to the same school. I was also an English major for a short time in college and never heard of an author assignment like this.

Also when she came home she said she didn't have AR, but had to pick 3 books of 3 authors, so I wrongly assumed it was the reading that they usally require, which in a way it is. They want the kids to read and they are forcing them to read what they want.

I thought my dd would have issues in 7th grade (last year) with the assigned readings she had to do and she didn't..she loved it all.

Hopefully she will like the books that she has decided to read.

 

[NotUrsula]

I went for the authors that I might have had in our home library that I thought she would be interested in. There were over 60 authors on the list, this is due day after tomorrow. Not for nothing, I wasn't going to have her take the HOURS it would take to look up all those authors.

I don't ever do research for her, but in this case, finding the authors and having her look at the books to see if she wanted to read them, was something I was willing to do.

And this is why publishers put blurbs on the back cover or the jacket flap.
It would not have taken hours at all -- you could have just dropped her at the library and had her browse her way through the alphabet reading the blurbs. She would have found something that she could like very quickly. Serendipity is a wonderful thing.

As a librarian, I'd like to say that I applaud the way that the teacher structured the choices. Too often we will get an entire grade looking for the same 6 books, and we just cannot easily get 80 extra copies on a moment's notice.

 

[MaumeeMom]

PARTIAL
When I was her age I was forced to read The Odyssey ....omg I wanted to die! It was boring and horrible. While the class read that...I read Great Expecations!

Oh, I loved The Odyssey. I read it on my own after reading parts of The Iliad in class. Both wonderful books, Great Expectations is as well.

PARTIAL

They want the kids to read and they are forcing them to read what they want.

I think that is the point of the lesson - to broaden the student's horizons. With over 60 authors on the list there should be plenty from which to choose that would appeal to any of the students. If they had nine specific books that they wanted the students to read, and only those nine, than what you said would be a valid criticism but with a minimum of 180 from which to choose, I don't see it.

PARTIAL
As a librarian, I'd like to say that I applaud the way that the teacher structured the choices. Too often we will get an entire grade looking for the same 6 books, and we just cannot easily get 80 extra copies on a moment's notice.

I agree, the way this is structured should not put a strain on anyone's budget - the school's, the library's nor the family's. I would love it if my DS gets this kind of assignment.

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

They want the kids to read and they are forcing them to read what they want.

Hopefully she will like the books that she has decided to read.

She can choose any three books written by three of 63 authors There must be 500 or more books available that meet those requirements. I wouldn't exactly call that forcing them to read what "they" want. I think that's a very generous selection to choose from.

 

[MushyMushy]

Well this is the first time I have seen or heard of an author assignment. She is not my first child, she is 3 outta 4, and the other 2 went to the same school. I was also an English major for a short time in college and never heard of an author assignment like this.

Well that's what the teacher went to school for -- to learn how to teach literature. Of course you're not going to learn that in lower-level college English classes. Education majors take different types of courses than an English major would. Like teaching literature and teaching writing. How to promote critical thinking through literature. Just because you don't see the value in it doesn't mean there is no value.

I still don't get why on earth anyone would have a problem letting an English teacher teach literature! Don't you want your teachers doing new and innovative activities with your kids instead of the same tired exercises you did as a student?