Pytash-Chapter 3

This chapter was so informative I literally marked every page. This is an issue that many of us have been thinking, what books do we have to teach? I can admit that there have been times I have thought "I'm going to teach this book" and my only reasoning is because I like it. According to Jago, there needs to be more rationale than me just liking the book. I could find out what exactly I like about the book and branch off of that (characters, themes, story-line, life lessons etc.) It is important to know the purpose for the books you select because there will be at least one student that asks "Why are we reading this?" or "What does this have to do with me?" What students do not realize or d not want to realize is modern texts are spin-offs of classic texts. For example, I went to my doctor's appointment and we were talking about school. She was telling me that her daughter had to select a 300+ page book to read and do a project. She said her daughter is obsessed with the Clique series. So, my doctor referenced the book "Gone With the Wind." She said it was one of her favorite books. She explained it had the same themes-drama, with a love story. The only difference was "Gone With the Wind" takes place during the American Civil War. Instead of just saying "this is one of my favorite books" she categorized what her daughter would like from it and compared it to something she likes. 

However, the issue with incorporating classic texts in the classroom is so many are being put on the banned book list. Here is a list I found on the American Library Association website of the 100 banned books from 2000-2009: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/2000_2009/index.cfm -and there are more to come.

"With more titles in the curriculum, there is more room for greater diversity. Increased reading will also produce a more literate populace" (Jago, p. 40). I agree with this 100 percent. Jago says we should teach with the Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development, thus challenge students with challenging texts. When students are reading these challenging texts they are gaining new vocabulary, deepens knowledge of literature, and they are able to maturely analyze classics. Teachers are sometimes afraid to challenge their students because they may fail, but as a teacher you will not let them. It is important as a teacher to be able to connect the stories with students' lives because they need a purpose to why they are reading this. A teacher needs to be able to show knowledge of the literature: historical setting, background about author, impact of the text, author's style, and structure (p. 48). 

There were several ideas that I took from this chapter that I want to use in my future class:

1. (p.42) students read five books per semester. Students do not have free choice, but they are able to chose from a list of books. I do not agree with total free choice because students will choose books that are not challenging them academically. I think putting them in categorizes is one way and having students pick a novel from each category. This allows them to read books they might not have considered and it broadens their reading abilities.

2. (p. 45) I loved the idea of keeping a four-year record of readings. I personally wish we did something like this when I was in high school. It would be interesting to know what books I read. It would be fun to keep a running record after high school too. 

I skipped ahead and looked at Appendix A (everyone go there) because there is a list of recommended books for 6-7, 7-9, 9-10, and 11-12. I think I will make it a life mission to read all these?!