Tuesday, April 15, 2008

What ever happened to reading books?

Today I was talking to one of my fellow classmates that is going through methods. I asked her about her experience in a Conroe ISD setting because if things go as planned, then I will also be working in the Conroe ISD for my methods.

She told me that the teacher that she has a great teacher but that she doesn't agree with a lot of the things that she is doing.

She teaches JUNIORS. Their research paper is as follows:

Write a research paper over Romanticism. They watched "The Last of the Mohicans" which was actually WRITTEN by James Fenimore Cooper who is a Romantic writer. Now, they have to write a 5 paragraph paper over Romanticism by using one of the following MOVIES: Harry Potter (not romanticism), LotR (not romanticism), The Last of the Mohicans, The Patriot, & The Princess Bride.

JUNIORS!!!!!

Also, she has laid it all out for them. She has written what they should say on their first line ... then where they should go from there. WHAT THE F***!

Those poor kids are going to have the biggest wake up call of their LIVES when they get into college. That teacher should be brought out and shot. A freaking ENGLISH TEACHER and she would rather her students watch a movie instead of read a novel.

Seriously, what happened to reading books?

4 comments:

Amanda Leigh said...

Oh my gosh, that's crazy! Half the fun of English class was reading the book. Juniors in high school and their paper only has to be 5 paragraphs long? That's pathetic. A 5th grader can write a paper that short.

None said...

Okay, I'm a math major, but even I understand the importance of being able to read a book and to write a formal paper. It's sad that NCLB has made the curriculum "accessible" to all persons by dumbing it down to subhuman standards...

Chris said...

I hated writing the papers, but I loved reading the books.

The sad thing is that they will not know what they are missing. If I were rich I would sit around and read all day.

Brighter Sunshine said...

letters = words and words = books... HOORAY!

just so you know ive been reading a lot more now that my cable is canceled. i've been loving it. :)

totally agree with your standpoint on this subject.