Here's a question for you! How do you put off a teenager from reading for life? That's it! Make them read an already mind-numbing text, analyse ambiguous concepts to such a tenuous link it's non-sensical and get them to write a bloody big essay on it!
Surely the principal of English teaching - especially literature - should be to encourage people to engage with books and different types of texts? The method of teaching I've encountered so far is so exam-driven that the principal point of the subject is lost and, indeed, does the complete opposite!
It needs a complete overhaul. It shouldn't be forcing a certain text upon an individual who's tastes might lie in something else - whether it be forcing a novel on a poem fan or the contrary. It could be argued that other subjects, such as history or maths, force topics upon people - but English isn't the same. It's about understanding texts, being excited by texts and above all enjoying them! All of that will conspire to the student being able to craft and analyse the language!
Surely that's what it's about?
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