Okay. I will grant the both of you your points about keeping the student interested, the TV station doesn't make you dumber, and that what is important to me is not necessarily "good" and what is bad, for me, is not always "crap." I think what I am trying to speak to is the fact that I am supposed to be somewhat of an expert on English. I am supposed to have solid pedagogical reasoning for my choosing of texts. I am the one who has spent the time to truly understand Language Arts. So shouldn't I be capable of identifying "good" writing and texts from "bad" or "crap" writings and texts? If I cannot make that distinction or if I cannot be "right" about what is "good" or "bad" writing then who am I to grade the papers of my students?
Let me make something clear, I do not want to turn students off to reading. I am not a canon nazi. I do, however, feel that I am equiped to determine the difference between Art and Craft when it comes to English literature. I may not always like the things I read and teach, but I should still be able to tell the difference between the art of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the craft of James Patterson. It is no different than someone with an Art degree understanding why Jackson Pollock's paint sploches mean something and my paint sploches mean nothing (or at least very little by comparison).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment