It seems to me that the purpose of English teaching, rather than teaching in general, is to foster a passion. A passion that will supersede any other in our lives.
We’ll never be monogamous creatures once we love to read.
Since the moment I learned to read, I have fallen in love time and time again, only rarely falling out of love with any one of heroes or heroines. To mention Mr Darcy would be cliche but who could fail to hold each one of the protagonists we’ve encountered somewhere in the very depths of our being.
Little Gray Rabbit was one of the first to hold my affections, swiftly followed by other: Miss Honey from ‘Matilda’; Lessa from Anne McCaffrey’s ‘Chronicles of Pern’; Aibileen and Minny from ‘The Help’; Harry Potter’s Snape; even some more unlikely anti-heroes like Hannibal Lecter. I know, that one may seem like a field outsider.
What are we doing for our students if we are not encouraging and helping them to love reading?
I want them to enjoy these passionate affairs for themselves! How can we do it?
Let’s teach them good books. Not just the classics but the most up to date, most appropriate for their demographic, most wonderful books we can find.
Take a look at the potential reads I’d love to teach my students!
What do you think?