Lit Up

An interesting look at pedagogy when teaching English/writing. I'm not sure that this would be of interest to someone who hadn't or wasn't planning to teach English language in the future, but I thought it was a delightful study on different teaching methods and how they effect interpretations of a text.

We can all agree on this, I think: Our world needs readers. And we are not doing a good job bringing kids to a love for reading.

Denby takes on this problem by visiting three tenth grade English classrooms with fervent teachers and sharing highlights of what went on in the classrooms over the course of a year. He includes a list of books read in the classrooms in the appendix.

Denby faces off with the usual culprits, primarily social media. Of course, I agree. But I tend to think that at least part of the problem today is the inability of teachers to share the books they feel most fervent about. Much of this is state-mandated, unfortunately. Further, the students aren't often given choice in what they choose to read. A double-whammy.

I loved visiting these classrooms with Denby, where students were compelled to become More by fabulous books and passionate teachers. It gives me hope.

I'd love to hear what high school English teachers think about this. And reading teachers. And my fellow librarians. I heartily recommend it for all of you.