Although I think there are limits to what is acceptable literature, I believe we need to include the great books that pass the test of time and enhance learning, curiosity, and human growth at appropriate ages. This post struck me as important to our conversation about these big topics.
I don’t know why I had to read Scarlet Letter, but I know that the themes of hypocrisy, sin, redemption and religion imposing on individual will should have resonated with me. My guess is that I hated it, because it was assigned. It’s why I loved Brave New World, The Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye and The Color Purple. None of them were assigned. None of them required a book report.
So, a former student bitches about Beowulf. Pardon the language, but that phrase just sounded fun, so I kept it. Anyway, he’s all upset about how irrelevant it is to his life. He mentions slaying dragons and dying a hero’s death and says that none of it makes sense to his world.
My first response is this:
Thoughts on Beowulf: Because if you haven’t do so yet, you will someday have the chance to slay dragons and in…
View original post 244 more words
ivonprefontaine
Teacher as Transformer 