Wow. And whoa.
Sure, it’s been awhile since I’ve been in high school, but I remember reading from the familiar canon of Beowulf, The Scarlet Letter, The Red Badge of Courage, Animal Farm, etc. We did read 1984, but rereading it this summer as I prepared for teaching World Experience, it was frighteningly familiar, yet so very different.
I’m wondering if it is the prism of age or the last 30 years that have transpired since the actual 1984 (when I serendipitously read the book) that make it all at once freaky and comical. At any rate, it is a heady read, and even after hearing my students discuss and reading their writings about it, I wonder what they really think of the book and if they truly understand how much of the book has come to pass even though it was written well before our time.
Anthem was just odd. I’m going to put that out there. It’s dystopian literature, written in 1937 by a Russian woman, and it chronicles the main character Equality who is smarter than the average bear but bound to a society that insists everyone must be equal. As protagonists often do, he finds the courage and wherewithall to fight the system and forge a path for himself. As odd as the book is (and I don’t think any of them got on GoodReads recommending it), the students seemed to understand the bigger themes and messages about freedom vs equality, opportunity, individualism, collectivism and sense of self. They expressed their thinking through tableaus and a Socratic seminar. Whatever they thought about the actual book, they were able to put it aside and demonstrate some higher level thinking. That’s cool.
And then there’s Gilgamesh. Sigh. It has merit because it is the oldest known written story. It chronicles the life of the title character and his best friend Enkidu. Insert gods, goddesses, town harlots, battles and men wrestling with their identity, and you’ve got the gist of it. One student commented, “It’s awfully involved to be the first story ever.” I agree.
The exciting thing about teaching high school English is that I often have to read pieces that are out of my comfort zone and outside my preferred genres. And that’s okay. Not everyone reads what I read, and as a teacher who wants to instill a love of reading, it is important for ME to read things that I might no necessarily pick up. If I don’t have a strong treasure chest of titles and suggestions for my students, those who don’t share my same reading tastes will not be able to come to me and talk about books they like or books they want.
It seems to me that I’ve got much more reading to do! What kind of books do you like? What are some of your favorite titles?
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