Debbie, I absolutely agree with you. Just because a class reads a novel together,
doesn't mean you can't provide differentiated ways of covering the material. I must
confess that there were plenty of things in my high school career that did not
engage me, but in retrospect, I am glad to have experienced them.
Marsha ReddLibrarian, Kelloggsville High School Grand Rapids, MI
marsharedd@hotmail.comEducation is not a goal; it is a life-long process. Everyone
is a student. Everyone is a teacher.
----------------------------------------
> Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2008 10:07:14 -0400
> From: Debra.Piper@CENGAGE.COM
> Subject: Re: [LM_NET] VENT: Teacher Joke
> To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>
> Hi Barbara,
> I understand what you are saying. However, I must relate my own experiences and
>how I feel about them.
>
> When I was in high school in the 1970s, my school went to a lot of 1 semester
>length classes in the sciences and in the language arts. I liked this, as I got
>to take Zoology and skip Botany (which I regretted in college since I ended up
>being a Science teacher!) for my science credits. For language arts, I was able
>to take "Modern World Novel" and "Contemporary American Novel". I learned a lot
>and read some wonderful books...however, I completely missed reading many
>classics. People are often surprised when I confess that I haven't read many
>books that it seems "everyone read in high school". I only read one
>Shakespeare...Romeo and Juliet, in the 9th grade! I have felt completely
>ignorant, and I am an avid reader.
>
> I have managed to "catch up" on a lot of this because at the end of the last
>century (Wow, I am old!) a list of the 100 greatest novels was produced, and I cut
>it out, planning to read each book on the list. Alas, some are too
>much..."Ulysses", for one, regardless of how hard I tried merely put me to
>sleep...but others, like "Native Son" were spectacular.
>
> It is true that one size does not fit all. However, there are certain minimal
>expectations of the "educated", and some of these are about books we all should
>read in our lifetimes.
>
> Debbie Piper
> Technology Product Assistant, Digital Solutions Group
> Cengage Learning
> 5191 Natorp Boulevard
> Mason, Ohio 45040
> 513.229.1623 | debbie.piper@cengage.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: School Library Media & Network Communications
>[mailto:LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Barbara Braxton
> Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 5:37 PM
> To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Subject: Re: VENT: Teacher Joke
>
> Message 1 in my Inbox ...
> Barbara K. wrote " The students were concerned that not all of the 20 or so
>participants would like
> the books--to which I responded that it would not be possible to find one title
>that would interest
> every member of a group that size"
>
> Message 2 in my Inbox
> A request for novels for a class study - a common thing on the lists I belong to.
>
> Maybe it's my quirky DownUnder humour, but I can see a real irony in this. When
>do we start to
> acknowledge that each student is an individual and we stop these
>one-size-fits-all studies? Surely
> it would be more effective to identify the key elements of the purpose of the
>study (whether it be
> theme, plot structure; character development or whatever) and develop some
>pertinent but generic
> questions that could be investigated and answered by the students by reading a
>novel of their
> choice, one that meets their interests and needs and abilities. It would also
>eliminate the need to
> purchase multiple copies of the one title that is never used again, or worse, one
>that gets the
> reputation of "It's Year 9 so it's Oliver Twist year - groan". We had this
>approach in the 60s
> when I was at school -- have we learned nothing and travelled nowhere in 40+
>years?
>
> Barbara
>
> Barbara Braxton
> Teacher Librarian
> COOMA NSW 2630
> AUSTRALIA
>
> E. barbara.288@bigpond.com
> Together we learn from each other
>
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