A Novel Problem

At the beginning of this course, I was really conflicted when it comes to the use of novels in the English classroom.  Don't get me wrong, I love reading, I love literature, and I love the way that stories can touch the lives of students. The problem is not the material, it is the return on investment.

Put down the pitchfork for just a minute and I will do my best to make the case.

The concept of a novel does in fact appear in the curriculum for all courses for grades 9 and 10, in a variety of contexts. There is direct mention of novels in the front matter, numerous references to Young Adult novels and graphic novels, as well as historic non-fiction novels. So the format is definitely an option for us to use; key word: option.

Of those fifty-ish mentions of the use of novel, none of them appear in the direct skills that we should be teaching.  All mentions of the word novel or its related forms are in the example or teacher prompt sections. The word also does not appear in any of the overall expectations for these courses. So while it is a widely accepted tool to use, the novel is not a prescribed feature of the English classroom.

I can see those torches and pitchforks still raised, but hear me out.

As with any tool, it really depends on what you are going to use it for.  Reading and analyzing a novel represents a significant investment of time for our students. And while there are a thousand other ways of using the material for learning, we often fall prey to chapter questions and essays in order to gauge the understanding of our students.  Even worse, we sometimes stand in front of the class and read the book out loud to the kids.

The problem, chapter questions can be Googled and not all students are auditory learners.  Honestly, if you have to read the book to the students in order for them to actually participate in it, what are you accomplishing? What are they learning?

For a lot of our students, this is the first time they have been asked to accomplish this kind of deep thinking and analytical processes. It's complicated and overwhelming. Then we throw on an essay, which is also complicated and overwhelming. In the end, for our weeks of time invested in reading a class novel, we get a return of meaningless chapter questions and half-baked essays.

Well, I can hear you arguing, I am also trying to teach appreciation for reading and an understanding of the classics. And I would agree with you except that students who already love reading are going to take to this method, those who are struggling become more detached by the useless questions and complicated tasks we associate with the novel. I am sure we all can point to one student who was lit on fire by a good book, but we have a least a dozen beside them who just become cooler to the whole venture.

The reality is that not everyone in our class is ready for this kind of work. They don't have the skills, interest, or maturity for the kind of work we are asking them to do. That doesn't mean that they shouldn't try to develop those skills, learn how to be interested, or take responsibility, but I think how we get them there matters.

Short stories, plays, and novellas all represent alternatives for us in regards to teaching theses skills.  They can be easily leveled and targeted for the students in our class based on ability and interest. In that way, we can work on answering similar questions, work on similar skills, but approach each student where they are in their learning journey and challenge them to take the next steps.  When we approach reading and writing as a skill on a continuum, we can help our students get ready for more complicated tasks by not focusing on a single format, as not all of our students are ready for the leap into novels.

And here is the toughest part for us to hear: not all of them have to be. My focus here has primarily been on grades 9 and 10, but even as we look forward into 11 and 12 -yes, including university courses- literature studies are not overwhelmingly important for all students.

This is a systemic misinterpretation in Ontario.  By the time students are in grade 12, English is the only prescribed course for everyone to take, and rightly so. Communication is an important tool for any post-secondary learning or career. There is still a lot to teach and learn by the end of their tenure with us.  But we tend to treat English like we are getting students ready for literature studies in University, like we had to do when we went through post-secondary. That's not the job, nor is it the reality for our students.

A student in grade 12 math chose to be there, or in grade 12 science, or in any other grade 12 course. If you are teaching any grade 12 course besides English, you can reasonably assume that they are there because they want to be or because they have to be for their post-secondary life. There is an intrinsic motivation implied in the content of the course that doesn't exist for grade 12 English.

If you were to take a poll at the beginning of your course, to find out what fields of study all of your students are likely to follow in University, you would be unlikely to find a majority going into the arts or -more specifically- into literature studies. Engineering, health sciences, computer sciences, history, geography, psychology; endless options for our students beyond our limited experiences. I would argue it is our job to prepare them just as much as our 'interested' students.

Making the course more rigorous by reading more novels and writing more essays doesn't help the learning of all of our students. More work does not equal better work. Not that we should close off opportunities for students who are ready for that work, but we also need to start programming for those students who will never need it.