tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post7511851697409882583..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: I Love Books So Why Did I Hate English Literature? - Julie SykesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-1025978745492458582015-04-27T14:21:09.248+01:002015-04-27T14:21:09.248+01:00I wonder if it's all to do with that psycholog...I wonder if it's all to do with that psychological effect where something that might otherwise have been OK, or even fun, becomes a massive pain in the bum once you're told you have to do it, like it or not?<br /><br />I hated Eng Lit too, although enjoyed most of the set texts when I read them outside of the years I had to study them. <br /><br />But the same goes for lots of other stuff we did at school - history, science etc - back then I just wanted them to give me the facts so I could memorise them quickly and get a good mark in my exam. It's only now I don't HAVE to study them that I've got more interested. Jess Vallancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16910780246749441187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-25960220970605858802015-04-27T10:27:10.580+01:002015-04-27T10:27:10.580+01:00I failed my English Literature CSE. Almost every e...I failed my English Literature CSE. Almost every essay I wrote was less than a page long. I hated it.<br /><br />I very much agree that none of the books we studied held any interest for me, and that includes Kes, which was supposed to be one we would enjoy. We never saw any Shakespeare.<br /><br />And yet all that time I was reading and writing avidly. Every day I would bring in a page or two of typescript and my mate would correct my spelling and punctuation. I've still got the MS. Maybe I'll rewrite it at some point; it might make a halfway acceptable airport book.<br /><br />Fortunately my uncle was an English teacher and got me through O level English Language that September. From a CSE grade 2 to an O level C in two months. That's the difference a good teacher can make.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09799125598133377058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-16248449060736284922015-04-26T22:45:38.576+01:002015-04-26T22:45:38.576+01:00I'm with Nick and Sue. There's a reason wh...I'm with Nick and Sue. There's a reason why classics are classics and it's because they still have something to say to us after a long time. Shakespeare certainly does. He has become a part of our culture. There are a lot of words and expressions we use without thinking that first appeared in his plays. Before my school made a very strict curriculum you have to stick to, I used to do an introduction to Shakespeare with my Year 8 classes, because it was the only way they were ever going to get even a taste of his work. And one of the first things I did was show them a screen full of words and expressions they used all the time that came from Shakespeare. Then I'd watch and listen with glee as they gasped with amazement and delight. Depending on the class's abilities, I would finish up the unit with a snippet from one of the films - one year I had a class which was happy to watch the whole of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Another year I did a bit of Romeo and Juliet and invited anyone who wanted to see the end to come to the library at lunchtime(several did). The last time I did it, my class couldn't handle the real thing, so we watched "She's The Man" after I made them research Twelfth Night. They loved it.<br /><br />We do Literature Circles at Year 7 and 8 and that gives them some choice. And I read ALL the options first and tell the classes what they're about and suggest that some are read only if they enjoy... Whatever... Or are good readers. But they mostly self select.<br /><br />As a librarian, once the girls have read all the vampire romances, I suggest they try Dracula. Not a long book, not too difficult and it takes them out of their comfort zone. Which they need sometimes. There are a lot of wonderful books I never would have read if I hadn't had to study them.<br /><br />All I can say, Julie, is - your loss! :-) Sue Bursztynskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-12064639840210600312015-04-26T19:43:56.155+01:002015-04-26T19:43:56.155+01:00Thanks for all your comments. It's good to hea...Thanks for all your comments. It's good to hear so many different views. <br /><br />I agree Anne - reading for pleasure is definitely the key else why else bother!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01846839494891623600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-3781018212125407972015-04-26T19:14:46.766+01:002015-04-26T19:14:46.766+01:00I agree with Nick - I'm glad I studied Shakesp...I agree with Nick - I'm glad I studied Shakespeare and even Milton at school, because it taught me how to really engage with a text, and because I still love lots of Shakespeare today. But I do agree that over-studying novels can kill them - it depends how they're taught, I guess. If I was choosing what degree to do today, I certainly wouldn't choose English. All that literary theory... I'd do something else, and just read lots.Sue Purkisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09084528571944803477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-29385945096617496922015-04-26T16:01:18.618+01:002015-04-26T16:01:18.618+01:00Isn't there more to learning than pleasure and...Isn't there more to learning than pleasure and enjoyment though? I've yet to meet a musician who enjoyed practising scales; nor have I met a good one who didn't play hours of them every week.<br /><br />We may not see the point of certain classic works, but we should at least acknowledge that many people have, and ask ourselves why that was. Because maybe if we persist we might one day have that revelation. I don't believe in giving up just because something is hard or initially inaccessible. If after much honest persistence one still gets nothing, then that's fine... But we must not succumb to the temptation to make GCSE English all about what is merely popular today.Nick Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08191176209084540085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-84894052140674794022015-04-26T13:37:41.355+01:002015-04-26T13:37:41.355+01:00I'm glad I studied a bit of Chaucer, Milton an...I'm glad I studied a bit of Chaucer, Milton and Shakespeare at A level, but I'm also glad I then chose something else to do at university - that wasn't English Literature. I agree it's daft to think aspiring writers should automatically study Eng Lit. Better to find what you really enjoy reading, and maybe learn something about the world that isn't literature!<br /><br />(I also studied Wordsworth, Coleridge and - my absolute low point - the Duchess of Malfi and still don't see the point of any of them.)Emma Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02718171070716804800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-802168243861347832015-04-26T12:59:48.331+01:002015-04-26T12:59:48.331+01:00They key is in the words
Reading for PLEASURE.
Ot...They key is in the words<br />Reading for PLEASURE.<br /><br />Otherwise why bother?Anne Cassidynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-28680417309737080402015-04-26T12:12:43.833+01:002015-04-26T12:12:43.833+01:00There is a happy medium to be struck, I think. Tea...There is a happy medium to be struck, I think. Teaching today is far too goal driven and needs more space to breathe and explore. But I don't think that requires ditching Shakespeare or simply letting kids read what they want. People need to be pushed outside their comfort zones, at every age.<br /><br />Shakespeare is brilliant, honestly. Personally I've never much liked Romeo and Juliet either, but I love Othello, Macbeth, the Henry IV plays, Lear and Midsummer Night's Dream... There's loads of choice. Twelfth Night too. Not every kid will warm to every text, but we do need to give them a chance. Othello is packed full of relevant themes for today, for instance... There's a reason the plays have lasted so long. But kids need to see them in performance. That is vital.Nick Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08191176209084540085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-50851580440645438902015-04-26T11:21:09.491+01:002015-04-26T11:21:09.491+01:00READ. That's good advice.READ. That's good advice.Julie Sykesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-77867897432187607072015-04-26T09:34:39.273+01:002015-04-26T09:34:39.273+01:00I was actually advised NOT to study English litera...I was actually advised NOT to study English literature after the equivalent of "O" level. The person who advised me was the poet the late Judith Wright and she was backed by more than one other writer at the time. What they all said was READ!<br />It may help some people to do English literature but I never regretted doing history instead.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.com