This was the week we began our "What is Literature?" project and, as usually happens, a few students share their displeasure with the readings. The argument about which novels aim to fit the coveted capital "L" in Literature sparks a passionate defense for students who feel their favorite works have been snubbed. I am glad for this cognitive conflict, because challenging the notions that students have is a good catalyst for learning. It is important to stress that whether something is considered Lit or not does not inherently make it better or worse than commercial fiction reads - only that the work has been recognized by literary critics as making a significant statement about society that holds universal truths.
One student shared with me that she thought the piece so biased that she was reminded of "The Dead Poet's Society" and thought we should tear the pages out of the book. I don't disagree with her and, yet, the college board expects students to analyze literary works with precision and concision. I told her that understanding Literature v. commercial fiction was a framework to understand how to play the game called AP Lit.
As the we continued, I heard students begin to say things like, "Now that I think of it Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Piccoult, and Iris Johannson are very formulaic and don't really add much depth." This insight was key, because even though a distinction can be made between Lit. and commercial fiction, students still hold some authors in higher regard than others. And, this is the type of critical thinking I am aiming for.
One student shared with me that she thought the piece so biased that she was reminded of "The Dead Poet's Society" and thought we should tear the pages out of the book. I don't disagree with her and, yet, the college board expects students to analyze literary works with precision and concision. I told her that understanding Literature v. commercial fiction was a framework to understand how to play the game called AP Lit.
As the we continued, I heard students begin to say things like, "Now that I think of it Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Piccoult, and Iris Johannson are very formulaic and don't really add much depth." This insight was key, because even though a distinction can be made between Lit. and commercial fiction, students still hold some authors in higher regard than others. And, this is the type of critical thinking I am aiming for.