4Real Forums: Opinion article in the news....

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deleted user
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Posted: Jan 19 2007 at 6:32pm \| IP Logged

Just wanted to share this opinion piece I stumbled across....
Please, I want some more Dickens

folklaur
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Posted: Jan 19 2007 at 6:33pm \| IP Logged

whoops, that is actually my post. I didn't realize that my dd was still signed in....

MacBeth
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Posted: Jan 19 2007 at 6:43pm \| IP Logged

Laura, this is funny. Trip is re-reading Great Expectations for school (9th grade) and was very disappointed to find that the class is assigned an abridged edition. Trying to read the whole book is a challenge because time is such a factor, but hey, it's Dickens!

Thanks for the article!

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Natalia
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Posted: Jan 20 2007 at 8:55am \| IP Logged

Thanks for the article, Laura.

"Classics are stupid," said one 13-year-old girl, whose desperate mother had tried paying her to read Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women." "I'd have to buy my son 17 North Face jackets before he'd look at a classic," said another mother."

What a sad comment.

"Why did Bennett's recommendation seem so far-fetched? Yes, television, iPods, and computer games interfere with reading, but was that the only explanation? Maybe the Dickens novel was simply too hard to find. I wanted an answer."

That is so true. My kids are readers but not voracious readers. I think that if I let them they will choose an electronic form of entertaiment over a book.It is an uphill battle. And it is not for lack of example, reading is what I do as soon as I have a free moment. I shudder to think what they will be like if they were in regular school (as far as reading is concerned). My hope is that all those read alouds, books on tape and books I have required them to read will bear fruit.

That said, I did have my 8th grader read Dickens and she had trouble following the story. The language was unfamiliar and the excess of detail confused her. But nonetheless, she liked the story. She also read David Copperfield and liked it. But I am sure that the next time I assigned a Dickens she is going to groan.

"It's all teen trash," said the mom who had tried bribing her daughter to read "Little Women." "I might as well buy her a 'Harlequin Romance.' "

I don't understand comments like this. Why give up? I think the battle for the minds of our kids is of upmost important and we CAN'T give up.

I liked the authors suggestions:

"If "Great Expectations" seems too difficult, read the first few chapters aloud. Ask your child to read the rest.

* Ask your child to read at least 75 pages before giving up.

* Listen to classics on tape.

* Ask librarians to make the classics more visible to children.

* Start a children's book group. Gather a few children together. Meet at a local bookstore. The discussion doesn't need to be long - 10 minutes will do.

* Get in touch with the Great Books Foundation, which offers a list of age-appropriate books and instructions for guiding discussions."

Listening to tapes or reading aloud books that my kids won't pick up on their own have been a great things for us to do. They get caught up in the story and they are hooked!

Thanks again for the article,

Natalia

JodieLyn
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Posted: Jan 20 2007 at 2:21pm \| IP Logged

You know some suggestions I don't see there..

Fit the book to the child. A child who likes to read romance stories.. would find a romantic classic more appealing than something else. Horror stories (goosbumps? type) try Frankenstein, perhaps?

Read classics to the child earlier.. I'm reading Eight Cousins by L.M. Alcott to my kids now. I could also read A Christmas Carol.. I have a CD by Jim Weiss - "Shakespeare for Children".. When kids are familiar with the language, reading on their own won't be so intimidating.

And for some kids.. watch the movie first. If they know what's supposed to be happening.. it can be easier to follow in the book if it's harder than they're used to.

But you know.. from my experience in school.. unless it's a book that is assigned to the whole class.. even if those books make it onto a list.. like for book reports.. the teachers don't give any leeway.. you can read a several grade levels below where you're at book that's something less than 100 pages and get the same credit as reading a much longer book. I had a teacher in 8th grade like this.. I could read a book I'd had since 5th grade and do my report on that.. and it was less than 100 pages.. but when I asked if I could do Lord of the Rings as 3 books (it is split into 3 books) nothing doing.. had to all or nothing. Well I was quite a book worm.. read pretty quickly.. but reading that much in the time frame was close to impossible.. at least if I was to do anything else

Basically, the schools encourage mediocrity.

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