| Drolefille |
01-07-2011 12:40 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by 33girl
(Post 2017971)
Well, I don't know of anything that has repeated c-words and is a classic (except for maybe The Filth and the Fury) so kind of a moot point.
But yes, Hispanic/Asian slurs would be more on a par with HF. As to when is a good time to teach it, I'd say whenever it is that kids can say "naughty" words in general without laughing like Beavis and Butt-Head for an hour. When that is (having no direct access to adolescents these days) I don't know anymore.
I don't think you should teach a book JUST because it's a classic. "Classic" has become a pretty elastic definition, and there's YA fiction (and movies and TV shows) that's probably a LOT better for teaching whatever you want to put across than the classics. I mean, if I wanted to teach my students about homosexual stereotypes, I'd pop in the DVD of The Celluloid Closet.
|
I agree. I think a lot of classics have become less accessible to teens purely because of the shift in language, much less the shift in media over the past century. I think a modern American history class should include a mix and if there's a narrative throughout the class - progression in time, integration of minority/women authors, the same concepts presented differently throughout time - the books should be chosen because they are good and because they fit the theme, not because they've always been taught or are classics. They may still be classics, and classics should be taught, but not to the detriment of kids.
/easier said
Quote:
Originally Posted by AGDee
(Post 2017980)
My impression, when we studied English Lit (which was the year we read all these books), was that it was really a study of the history of literature. For this reason, we read Beowulf first, then Canterbury Tales, then Shakespeare, etc. We finished with On The Road. We went in the order that they were written and it was a study of how literature evolved through history.
ETA: It was 10th grade for us and is still the 10th grade curriculum here. By 10th grade, these kids have heard it all.
|
Our BritLit class twas structured the same way although I don't really recall advancing past Dickens. Our American Literature class/AP lit did much more modern works along with more historical ones and was more thematic than chronological. |
