@starbreaker @orionkidder @crcollins @joyce @WildTypeWriter @adaddinsane @vashafer
Another approach is better guidance through books that are difficult. While I love the idea of more choice, everybody reading different things probably makes that guidance harder.
Also, I am boosting a lot because it's my habit and because I want to encourage the conversation. But I don't actually know, pedagogically, what's best. I don't know even know what the goals are for high school reading.
@vashafer @starbreaker @orionkidder @crcollins @joyce @WildTypeWriter @adaddinsane
I remember a college lit course when the professor forbid us to use the word the symbol or symbolism in any way because he was so sick of the way high school had taught us to do nothing but root out possible symbols.
@vashafer @starbreaker @orionkidder @crcollins @joyce @WildTypeWriter @adaddinsane
Instead of "What does it mean?" I'm much more interested in the question "What does it do?" Which welcomes many different takes--it does this to me--and no one can argue if it does or doesn't--we just add it to the list of things it does. And then you dig down to "How does it do that?"
(But I'm teaching creative writing classes--not what we've been discussing.)
@vashafer @starbreaker @orionkidder @crcollins @joyce @WildTypeWriter @adaddinsane
In the "what does it do?" category, I also had a teacher/mentor who cautioned us against thinking in terms of "how does it get away with that?" when something strange or unexpected occurs but to phrase it as "how does it make that happen?" Every happening is wondrous. And we can look at stories in progress the same way.
@vashafer @starbreaker @orionkidder @crcollins @joyce @WildTypeWriter @adaddinsane
Also, you know, sometimes what it _does_ is "make me think about how x is kinda like y," so it's still allowing for appreciation of symbols, but they are not the only thing and they can also emerge more organically (as I want them to in my writing and I suspect others do too).
Allison Wyss
Vanessa A. Shafer