Reply to @georgeotoole67 question about how to best select literature (his word 😜) to encourage a love of reading. @JasonHimsl @MrsHackett305 @mslangille1 1/9
@KellyGToGo makes a great point that we kill a love of reading by overwhelming students with "work". I loathe the phrase "teaching the book". Our jobs are not to make students experts on a particular book. If people want to do that, they can go become a university prof. 2/
We need to select a wide range of #ownvoices books. Students should have the opportunity to see themselves, their friends, their families, their communities reflected in the classroom. @EvansSurvivance will remind us that it's not always obvious who is in our room. 3/
Background knowledge is so important for building reading capacity. Our texts should be chosen to help grow our students' knowledge of the world. Non-fiction texts, graphic texts need to play a more prominent role. What do students want / need to know more about? 4/
English departments need to consider the 4 year program they offer. There are lots of defensible books in the "canon". If, however, Grades 9 - 12 feature nothing but white boys coming of age then there's a problem. 5/
We need to remember that our passion for a book can go a long way, but not the whole way to make a book interesting for students. We can't spend 6 weeks on a novel study. 6/
If a teacher won't even consider a YA novel, then they need to read some of the amazing YA out now. Students have the right to read books about young people. Will all these books "stand the test of time". Nope. That's okay. We can spend $ on new books. 7/
@MisterMinor writes about being "radically kid-centered". Are my text selections about a. my disinterest in reading something new? b. my ego 'cuz I need to be the expert in the room? c. my ignorance about Indigenous, Black, brown, or queer writers? If so, it's not kid-centered.8/
I still believe there is space for whole class novels and @teachkate has good things to say about this. However, I can't kid myself that any book will be "universal"; I can't murder that book with 6 weeks of study; it better be a small part of a program that offers ++ choice. 9/9
