Comments on: Capt. Underpants to the rescue

By: Richard Aubrey

Richard Aubrey — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:27:20 +0000

Momof4.
Great.
I reviewed Sutcliff’s “Sword Song” for Amazon, recalling that once, years ago, my wife had a “reading lab” class in high school where, in actuality, the losers showed up and read something from a cart of teen paperbacks.
No Sweet Vally High. All Catcher in The Rye wannabes.
The heroes were always losers.
A commenter remarked that was her experience, too.
Nothing like hitting slackers and hubcap stealers with clumsy attempts at the nihilism in “Catcher”.
I sure like the idea that “Catcher” was a coming-of-age novel. Where the kid ends up in a rubber room. Sure.

By: momof4

momof4 — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:32:37 +0000

Three cheers, Richard, for your mention of Rosemary Sutcliff! All of my kids loved her books, from about 5th grade onward. BUT, they were accustomed to good fiction and non-fiction from toddler days; Aesop’s fables, classic fairy tales, poetry, myths,history etc. IF kids are started on that stuff from the beginning, by having it read to them, they’ll be ready to read it on their own.

The Usborne history series (picture-book-sized paperbacks) was a great jumping-off point for young elementary students to get an idea of the timelines of history. The Fertile Crescent, Ancient Egypt, Greece, Roman Empire, Dark Ages, Exploration and Discovery, Vikings etc.; I haven’t seen them recently. Do they still exist? My older kids literally wore out their set and I had to replace it for the younger ones. The Greeks and the Romans were good companions for the classic myths (D’Aulaire).

Where did we lose the idea that education – all subjects – is a process that builds on previous knowledge?

By: Lightly Seasoned

Lightly Seasoned — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:14:34 +0000

It’s fun to tease Oprah, but her latest selections included East of Eden and Anna Karenina. I don’t know in whose world those would be considered fluff.

Free choice (from a pre-screened list) is fine as a side dish, but not the main course. If they don’t need me to help them read a book, then there’s no point to paying me to be there. Whole class reads should be slightly beyond their ability so that they can reach and grow through the challenge.

If you don’t love literature, go teach history or sell real estate or something.

By: Vince Swagerty

Vince Swagerty — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:21:57 +0000

Prior to becoming a principal, I would select the genre in my social studies classes and the students could pick a book within that category. I would approve each book so I could make sure students were reading at or near their reading level which allowed me to differentiate for the varying level of readers and for students on an IEP. That way, students did make choices but it was not a “fluffy free-for-all” with no challenge. Captain Underpants in middle school is nearly inexcusable unless the teacher is working with a student at the 3rd or 4th grade reading level. Choices are good. Guided choices are better. Authentic literature is the best.

By: Richard Aubrey

Richard Aubrey — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:17:28 +0000

Rosemary Sutcliff’s YA historical novels.
Problem is, seeing as this is public school, you’d have to have the equivalent of an AP history class to provide context. Not likely many high school grads know what we did back in the day. I’m scared to ask my kids and their friends–all college grads.
Anybody remember “Story of Nations?

By: Tom in GA

Tom in GA — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:23:57 +0000

Teachers responsible for teaching things they don’t like? Sounds like your typical elementary school math class…

By: Mark G.

Mark G. — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:54:10 +0000

I tend to believe that if you offer challenging literature to kids, they will rise to the challenge. The key is to select literature with themes to which the kids can relate. I love teaching Mockingbird and Animal Farm…and others…to my little 9th graders, and they can completely relate to the themes. They can connect, which makes them up for the challenging text. Have the kids aim low and that’s exactly where they’ll land. Save Capt. Underpants for independent reading if that happens to the reading level which is appropriate for the kid.

By: david foster

david foster — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:34:29 +0000

Students should choose books they’re interested in (at appropriate difficulty levels) until they are pretty good at reading…after which, there should be some selected books to be read & discussed by all.

By: Reader’s Workshop Mashup at The Core Knowledge Blog

Reader’s Workshop Mashup at The Core Knowledge Blog — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:35:43 +0000

[...] says Eduwonk, who is ”pretty firmly in the augment camp.” Joanne Jacobs opts for the sensible center. But you can’t spell “contrarian” without C-A-R-E-Y, and the Quick and the [...]

By: Jane

Jane — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:00:43 +0000

This issue is a good example of the reality that some best practices have to be operationalized along a continuum. I agree that teacher-assigned and student-chosen books both meet needs that pretty much all students have. It’s equally as clear to me that some students can tolerate a high degree of teacher-chosen (or curriculum-chosen) reading, and should be making many of their own choices from among the works that are challenging and significant — much as they do in college seminars. Other students, in order to maintain momentum, need a higher proportion of their reading to be self-chosen, with not too many constraints on what they choose as long as it’s at their reading level or a little above or below AND as long as there’s real attention to developing their analytical skills.