If You Teach It, They Will Read: Literature's Life Lessons for Today's Students

(Paperback)

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What does it mean to 'teach' a poem, novel or play Surely it is about lessons in comprehension and improvements in language facility, but what does literature teach us beyond literacy Students can read substantive literature for what its authors intended: an insight into the human condition. Students, even those who appear indifferent, struggle with questions of right and wrong, good and evil, love and loss, self-interest and self-sacrifice. Using literature he has used with his students, MacLean insists that asking the right questions, discussing ideas that still matter, will show students that others have wrestled with the same issues, expressing that struggle in timeless stories. For the teacher of literature, the student of literature, the lover of literature, this book is a reminder of why, in the words of Maya Angelou, 'we stumble and fall, and how, miraculously, we can stand up.' What more important lesson is there

Reviews

MacLean makes a compelling argument for introducing the classics in high school English classes. He cites the universality of themes such as the search for identity, dealing with loss, the need to dream, and other topics with which today's adolescents struggle, just as did those of previous generations. For each topic, MacLean provides activities and questions he has used to promote introspection while teaching such classics as The Odyssey, Canterbury Tales, and The Great Gatsby. He includes a wealth of information about books that could stimulate students' thinking and also help them realize that many of the choices, fears, etc., that they face have plagued humans for centuries. If You Teach It, They Will Read is a must read for teachers as well as administrators whose primary concern, in many case, has been to prepare students to pass state mandated tests, thus limiting students' exposure to quality literature. Summing Up: Highly recommended. * Choice Reviews *

Author Bio

With degrees in English literature from Fordham University and the University of Oxford, John MacLean has been a mill hand, merchant seaman, church sacristan and assistant district attorney, all of which has helped him teach high school English for twenty-eight years.