I created a series of posts about the teaching of literature, and they ended up being sprinkled here and there. I thought I would just pump them out one after another but after I got started--squirrel!! So for those of you how enjoyed them, I'm putting this up to collect links to all of them in one place so that you can get to them more easily, should you ever wish to.
I know these aren't as entertainingly crabby as some of my stuff, and appeal to a more narrow audience, but I still like the exercise of thinking about what to teach and why. It's easy to get caught up in the day to day mess. Nice to step back and look at the bigger, more important picture behind the rest. So here they are:
Why Teach Literature Stuff: #1 What Is It?
Let's define our terms before we start.
Why Teach Literature Stuff: #2 Humanity
Because we all want to know what it means to be fully human in the world, and it takes a lifetime to even start to find out.
Why Teach Literature Stuff: #3 Knowing Stuff Is Useful
It's really handy to have a bunch of knowledge stuffed in your head.
Why Teach Literature Stuff: #5 Language Is Power
If you want to control your world, language is Tool #1.
Why Teach Literature Stuff: #6 Not For These Reasons.
There are bad reasons to teach a work of literature.
Why Teach Literature Stuff #7 Everything Is Reading
Because there's nothing to teach that isn't reading.
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