Respite

This blog will resume on January 4, 2010. It consists of ideas from a variety of English education publications related to my book, published in July 2004, Teaching English, How To.... RayS.

Topic: Censorship.

One-minute review: What is the essential issue in censorship? Do students imitate behavior described in books?

Quote: “While literature may not eliminate homophobia, nor alleviate the risks stemming from it, well-written books may help subvert the culture of silence still current in many school environments and offer a supportive framework for self-understanding by gay and lesbian teens. Moreover, books such as the ones discussed here may help heterosexual students who are homophobic to question their traditional assumptions in order to lead lives not bound and threatened by prejudices and fears. These recent works will generally affirm the lives of gay and lesbian teens and may expand the horizons of their heterosexual peers.”

Source: TL Norton & JW Vare. English Journal (November 2004), 69. The secondary school publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

Comment: Who’s to say that these books, on the other hand, will not turn homosexuality into an attractive life style for their heterosexual peers?

In other words, we do expect books and language to influence the attitudes, actions and lives of students. Censors don’t want books that will influence students to copy the use of profanity, engaging in sex, etc. For example, the use of the word “N…….r” with the tone of hate and contempt in Huck Finn could generate feelings of racism in the reader. How deal with these characteristics of books in such a way that the students remain objective and are not unduly influenced to the degree that they use them as models of behavior? RayS.

Topic: Censorship

One-minute review: What are some of the reasons that books are censored? Edward B. Jenkinson’s list of reasons books are challenged and banned:

children question authority;

profanity;

characters speaking non-standard English;

African American literature and dialect;

portrayal of women in traditional and non-traditional roles;

mythology;

non-Christian culture;

supernatural;

ethnic;

violence;

sex acts and language;

invasion of privacy;

too many cartoons;

homosexuality;

do not champion work ethic;

don’t promote patriotism;

negative view of parents and authority;

SciFi;

questionable authors;

“trash”;

nontraditional family;

promoting self-awareness and self-understanding;

promoting critical thinking;

unfavorable to African Americans;

use of masculine pronouns to refer to male and female.

Source: LK Winkler. English Journal (May 2005), 49. A secondary school publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

Comment: That’s a pretty comprehensive list of reasons for censorship challenges. RayS.

Topic: Why Read Literature?

10-second review: “The poorest human in the world is he who is limited to his own experiences….”

Source: SW Lundsteen. “A Thinking Improvement Program Through Literature.” 512.

Topic: Images

10-second review: How help students understand the concept of “image”? Begins with a dollar bill and questions about the images on it. Proceeds to images of American minorities and majorities. Raise questions about the images and their origins and the impressions they give. Does the same with literature of the decades—what image of the decades do the works of literature project?

Source: R Petrone & R Gibney. English Journal (May 2005), 35-39. The secondary school journal of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

Topic: Testing a Person's Competence in Using Language.

10-second review: “Transformational grammarians often use the ability of native speakers of English to interpret ambiguous sentences as evidence of linguistic competence. For example, the person who perceives two interpretations of a sentence like "Visiting relatives can be bothersome" must be able to process the grammatical relationships involved in each interpretation.”

Source: Sr. JM Jurgens. “Perceptions of Lexical and Structural ambiguity by Junior and Senior High School Students.” 497.

Comment: Interesting, but I’m not sure how this information can be useful. RayS.

Topic: The SAT 25-Minute Writing Sample

10-second review: I have been reading criticism lately about the response of colleges to the SAT writing sample, mainly that it is not very useful. Could the following be part of the reason?

Source: Braddock, 1963, pp. 43 and 44.

Summary: “Doubtless one reason that the CEEB has given up grading the composition it includes in its examination is that colleges differ in their emphases in composition instruction. How can the CEEB rate papers in a manner valid for all colleges if some colleges emphasize narration, others exposition, still others argument or literary criticism? And within these emphases, one college may stress content and organization, another style, still another ‘correctness.’ ”

Comment: Do all colleges agree on what they emphasize in teaching writing? When I was in college (1952-1956), I was given a book of literary excerpts in my writing course. The instructor never used it to help teach writing, and, in fact, the instructor spent most of his time commenting on the literary passages rather than in demonstrating to us how to write. I think it would be interesting to find out how many colleges agree on teaching writing. RayS.

Topic: Composition Grading

10-second review: Does the method of grading compositions help students to improve composition?

Source: “A Comparative study of Three Methods of Grading Compositions.” John H. Womsbecker. (Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1955).

Summary: Working with six teachers and 213 sixth graders in three of the Vancouver elementary schools, Wormsbecker investigated the effect on writing improvement of three different grading methods: 1. an overall impression method; 2. split grade, representing content and form; 3. a single point per theme method, in which the teacher graded each set of themes for a different single consideration each time, the pupil not knowing before hand which consideration would be used. No significant differences, although the time of the study was only eleven weeks, and, perhaps a longer period of time might have produced some differences.

Topic: Composition Grading

10-second review: Does the method of grading help students to improve composition?

Source: Buxton, 1958.

Summary: “College freshmen whose writing is graded and thoroughly marked improve their writing more than those whose composition receive a few encouraging general suggestions, but no grades or intensive marking.” p.36.

Topic: Dialogue in Fiction

10-second review: “With the Development and popularity of movies and later of television, modern prose has been affected by screen drama. One brief trip to the library will reveal the increase in the percent of dialogue in the written story, an increase that has followed the growth of films.”

Quote: “The reader is inclined to shun long narrative or descriptive passages and even to skip those parts lacking dialogue.” p. 22.

Source: “Dialogue That Is Music.” Robert O’Neil Bristow. The Writer (November 1973), pp. 21-22; 44. The Writer is a magazine by writers for writers.

Topic: Haiku.

10-second review: Two examples of Haiku.

“Autumn Evening—a crow on a bare branch.” Basho.

“The long, long river/ A single line on the snowy plain.” Bencho.

Topic: Ambiguity and Creativity.

10-second review: The degree to which people are able to tolerate ambiguity is a rather positive indication of the degree of their creativeness. p. 487.

Source: “In Teaching—The Right To Wonder.” Miriam E. Wilt. pp. 481-489. [Sorry, I lost the journal source of this article.]

Comment: An interesting idea. Do we need to teach ambiguity? RayS.

Topic: Writing and Reading Poetry.

10-second review: The value of writing poetry is in learning to use images, metaphors and symbols. The approach to reading poetry should be, first, to understand a poem as a communication of experience, and then to appreciate the imagery and economy of poetic language.

Source: “Teaching Students to Write Poetry.” Joseph J. Feeney, S.J. pp. 395-398. [Sorry, I lost the journal source.]

Comment: Interesting purpose for writing poetry and a sequence of activities for reading it. RayS.

Topic: Grammar and Composition

10-second review: When it comes to discussing grammar, it is important that the term “grammar” be defined. The author of this article defines grammar—and composition—as punctuation, capitalization. usage and spelling. He does not mention syntax.

Source: “Total English Equals Writing Competence.” Thomas H Whalen. Research in the Teaching of English (Spring 1969), 52-61. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

Summary: The author defined composition and grammar in the same way and did some research that proved that composition and grammar were related.

Comment: I think that this article was a put-on, a humorous response to the belief that the study of grammar in no way improves writing. However the author had one valid point—the need to define the terms “composition” and “grammar.” I think I will be surprised, maybe astonished, by the different definitions of these terms by different people. RayS.

Topic: Why Read Literature?

10-second review: “As literacy educators, we believe in the power of literature to help our students understand life and create visions for the future.”

Source: DL Taylor. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (December 2004), 298. A publication of the International Reading Association.

Comment: Literature, by and large, paints life realistically. Some call that depressing. Candid readers will admit that much literature is tragic. “Understanding life” means understanding the problems and passions that life entails. It means looking directly at the problems of living, of personality, of relationships. Reading literature is not usually a “joyous” experience. It raises questions about living, explores the problems of living and strengthens our understanding of the complexities of living. Stop painting literature as looking at life through rose-colored glasses. RayS.

Topic: Poetry and Prose.

10-second review: How help students understand the differences between poetry and prose? Teacher re-tells a poem in prose. Students compare the prose and poetic versions. Shows differences in genre and in voice.

Source: D Woodard. Notes Plus (October 2004), 4-5. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

Topic: Misinterpreting Poetry.

10-second review: What are some reasons that children misinterpret poetry? IA Richards: “The inability to respond to poetic imagery is one of the major causes for misreading and misinterpreting poetry.”

Source: H Livingston. “Art and Poetry,” 101.

Topic: Poetry.

10-second review: What are young students’ opinions about poetry? Third Grader: Some of them [poems] are sad and some are funny. The funny ones are for kids and the sad ones are for adults, I think.”

Source: MW Harp. “Poetry in the Primary Grades.” 1171.

Topic: Teaching Students to Write Poetry.

10-second review: When reading poems with children, consider how the poem or parts of the poem can be used as a model for the children’s writing their own poems.

Source: JL Certo. Reading Teacher (November 2004), 266-271. A publication of the International Reading Association (IRA).

Topic: How to Write a Mystery Novel.

10-second review: A dead body and fifteen living persons who might have done it.

Source: “The New Mystery.” Joseph Hansen. The Writer (September 1973), pp. 15-17; 45. The Writer is a magazine by writers for writers.

Topic: Witty Dialogue in Novels.

10-second review: The dialogue of many novels is much too witty. People don’t talk that way.

Quote: “[Novels coming out of the English-speaking world] are too witty. People don’t talk to each other; they exchange punchlines. It’s all very amusing and after a couple of pages I am amazed at the quality of the dialogue—the witticisms and sharpness. However, I quickly realize that people do not talk like that. The words are all a kind of literary baroque.” Amos Oz, Israeli Writer.

Source: The Writer (September 1973), p. 5. The Writer is a magazine by writers for writers.

Comment: I guess you can thank Oscar Wilde and Henry James, in part, for that kind of witty dialogue. RayS.

Topic: Using Pen Names

10-second review: This request came from a person with a name that is very difficult to pronounce. Answer: Submit your article under your own name. If it is accepted for publication, ask the editor to publish it under your pen name—and why. The editor who responded to the question notes that a number of famous writers with difficult names—Maia Wojciechowska—publish under their own names.

Source: The Writer (September 1973), p. 4. The Writer is a magazine by writers for writers.

Topic: Multicultural Literature

Topic: Multicultural Literature

10-second review: Why read multicultural literature? Students read multicultural literature in order to understand the perspective of the characters toward the world, perspectives different from the readers’.

Source: B Louie. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (April 2005), 568-578. The secondary school publication of the International Reading Association (IRA).

Comment: From the perspective of a beginner in using multicultural literature: An interesting purpose for reading multicultural literature. Might begin by reading reviews of multicultural literature. And then read selected novels for their literary merit—as well as the views of the characters toward the world. And I am going to have to take a course or courses in multicultural literature. Whew! RayS.

Topic: Multicultural Literature

10-second review: How prepare students to read multicultural literature? In order for students to get the most from multi-cultural literature, they need increased background information about various cultures.

Source: JH Dressel. Reading Teacher (May 2005), 750-764. A publication of the International Reading Association (IRA).

Comment: For this kind of information, check the Internet under, for example, Latin American cultures of which there are 67,400,000 Web sites. RayS.

Topic: Literary Criticism (2).

10-second review: How help students learn and apply critical theories? Have students learn critical theory by breaking them into groups, each group responsible for becoming experts in a particular theory, demonstrating its use on a text and teaching that theory to the other groups.

Source: K Hinton. English Journal (November 2004), 60-64. The secondary school journal of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

What are the theories of literary criticism? Yesterday, I described the "Historical" approach to criticism. Today, I am listing the other nine approaches.

New Criticism examines the relationships between a text's ideas and its form, "the connection between what a text says and the way it's said." New Critics/Formalists "may find tension, irony, or paradox in this relation, but they usually resolve it into unity and coherence of meaning." New Critics look for patterns of sound, imagery, narrative structure, point of view, and other techniques discernible on close reading of "the work itself." They insist that the meaning of a text should not be confused with the author's intentions nor the text's affective dimension--its effects on the reader. The objective determination as to "how a piece works" can be found through close focus and analysis, rather than through extraneous and erudite special knowledge.

Archetypal criticism "traces cultural and psychological 'myths' that shape the meaning of texts." It argues that "certain literary archetypes determine the structure and function of individual literary works," and therefore that literature imitates not the world but rather the "total dream of humankind." Archetypes (recurring images or symbols, patterns, universal experiences) may include motifs such as the quest or the heavenly ascent, symbols such as the apple or snake, or images such as crucifixion--all laden with meaning already when employed in a particular work.

Psychoanalytic criticism adopts the methods of "reading" employed by Freud and later theorists to interpret what a text really indicates. It argues that "unresolved and sometimes unconscious ambivalences in the author's own life may lead to a disunified literary work," and that the literary work is a manifestation of the author's own neuroses. Psychoanalytic critics focus on apparent dilemmas and conflicts in a work and "attempt to read an author's own family life and traumas into the actions of their characters," realizing that the psychological material will be expressed indirectly, encoded (similar to dreams) through principles such as "condensation," "displacement," and "symbolism."

Feminist criticism critiques patriarchal language and literature by exposing how a work reflects masculine ideology. It examines gender politics in works and traces the subtle construction of masculinity and femininity, and their relative status, positionings, and marginalizations within works.

Marxist criticism argues that literature reflects social institutions and that it is one itself, with a particular ideological function: that literature participates in the series of struggles between oppressed and oppressing classes which makes up human history. Similar to Marx's historical theory, Marxist criticism will focus on the distribution of resources, materialism, class conflict, or the author's analysis of class relations. It examines how some works attempt to shore up an oppressive social order or how they idealize social conflict out of existence, how others offer an alternative collective life or propose a utopian vision as a solution.

Cultural criticism questions traditional value hierarchies and takes a cross-disciplinary approach to works traditionally marginalized by the aesthetic ideology of white European males. Instead of more attention to the canon, cultural studies examines works by minority ethnic groups and postcolonial writers, and the products of folk, urban, and mass culture. Popular literature, soap opera, rock and rap music, cartoons, professional wrestling, food, etc. -- all fall within the domain of cultural criticism. We are focusing on it particularly as it concerns questioning the ways Western cultural tradition expressed in literature defines itself partly by stifling the voices of oppressed groups or even by demonizing those groups. We will focus on how literary tradition has constructed models of identity for oppressed groups, how these groups have constructed oppositional literary identities, and how different communities of readers might interpret the same text differently due to varied value systems.

New Historicism "finds meaning by looking at a text within the framework of the prevailing ideas and assumptions of its historical era, or by considering its contents within a context of 'what really happened' during the period that produced the text." New Historicists concern themselves with the political function of literature and with the concept of power, "the complex means by which societies produce and reproduce themselves." These critics focus on revealing the historically specific model of truth and authority reflected in a given work.

Reader-Response criticism "insists that all literature is a structure of experience, not just a form or meaning," and therefore focuses on finding meaning in the act of reading itself and examines the ways individual readers or communities of readers experience texts. These critics examine how the reader joins with the author "to help the text mean." They determine what kind of reader or what community of readers the work implies and helps to create. They examine "the significance of the series of interpretations the reader goes through in the process of reading."

Deconstruction is a recent school of criticism which ventures beyond the structuralists' assertion that all aspects of human culture are fundamentally languages--complex systems of signs: signifieds (concepts) and signifiers (verbal or non-verbal--and that therefore a quasi-scientific formalism is available for approaching literature (and advertising, fashion, food, etc.). Deconstructionists oppose the "metaphysics of presence," that is, the claim of literature or philosophy that we can find some full, rich meaning outside of or prior to language itself. Like formalists, these critics also look "at the relation of a text's ideas to the way the ideas are expressed. Unlike formalists, though, deconstructionists find meaning in the ways the text breaks down: for instance, in the ways the rhetoric contradicts the ostensible message." Deconstructive criticism "typically argues that a particular literary, historical, or philosophical work both claims to possess full and immediate presence and admits the impossibility of attaining such presence,"--that texts, rather than revealing the New Critic's "unities," actually dismantle themselves due to their intertwined, inevitably opposite "discourses" (strands of narrative, threads of meaning).

Taken from a Website of the Washington State University: http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/crit.summaries.html

Comment: Good to have one place a list and brief description of the major theories of literary criticism. Figuring out what they mean will be a chore. RayS.