Thoughts on Literature

In the current chapter of Clearing the Way the topic of teaching and writing about literature is discussed. My favorite part of all the English classes I have taken has always been the analysis of literature. I always enjoyed the process of developing ideas about a book or short story as well as having my English teachers lecture on the content. In my experience I didn't necessarily have to write about the literature we read everyday, I was assigned maybe one or two writing assignments per book. But as I read about Mr. Romano's classroom I can see the importance of utilizing both writing and reading together in any high school English class. Overall the process of writing in accordance with reading makes more sense in the application of the two. 

I always enjoyed looking for themes, and symbols within the text. Romano has students take the time before reading/starting a book or short story he has students write, nonstop. They write for ten to fifteen minutes and during this period they have to explore possible themes and explore the topic of the reading. I think such a process would help open up the minds of students to help later in the analysis of the book because they have first impressions to refer back too. Writing prior to reading also lets students give first impressions and give first assumptions on book, it also allows an expression of emotion about a book, a genre or an overall opinion of reading. Having students write would help a teacher cater the lessons to the original thoughts of the students. The writing assignments before would also be well used if after the reading is complete the students got the assignment back and wrote a follow-up, to see if things turned out as expected. 

Through development as a teacher I know that I'll be able to apply writing and reading together with some creative ideas and projects. Hopefully I will be able to peak the interest of students so that reading and analysis becomes enjoyable.