English teacher Carol Jago, who is also president of the National Council of Teachers of English, has published a provocative commentary in this month’s Council Chronicle. In “A Literary Education–Priceless” Jago argues that there continue to be a raft of reasons to read excellent literature, and insists that students still have time to read books, despite claims to the contrary. We recommend reading the whole article (just like we recommend that students read whole books), but here’s a brief excerpt to heighten your interest:
“Your students won’t read 19th-century novels, you say? Too long? Too boring? That 21st-century students raised on Twitter need a faster pace? I say English class may be the last place where they can unplug themselves from the solipsism of Facebook postings and enter a milieu different from their own in order to learn about human problems worthy of attention. “But my students won’t do the homework reading I assign,” teachers wail. It isn’t as though students don’t have the time. A 2010 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that children aged eight to eighteen spend an average of seven and a half hours a day “consuming entertainment media.” And this does not include the hour and a half a day they spend texting friends. Our students have the time to read; they simply choose not to. Teachers and parents need to help young people make better decisions about their use of time. What will it matter if the U.S. wins the economic race to the top if we lose all feeling for others apart from those in our close and closed circle of friends in the process? Reading literature nurtures empathy. Your students won’t read 19th-century novels, you say? Too long? Too boring? That 21st-century students raised on Twitter need a faster pace? I say English class may be the last place where they can unplug themselves from the solipsism of Facebook postings and enter a milieu different from their own in order to learn about human problems worthy of attention. “But my students won’t do the homework reading I assign,” teachers wail. It isn’t as though students don’t have the time. A 2010 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that children aged eight to eighteen spend an average of seven and a half hours a day “consuming entertainment media.” And this does not include the hour and a half a day they spend texting friends. Our students have the time to read; they simply choose not to. Teachers and parents need to help young people make better decisions about their use of time. What will it matter if the U.S. wins the economic race to the top if we lose all feeling for others apart from those in our close and closed circle of friends in the process? Reading literature nurtures empathy.”
Please, read on.
Lynne Munson