01 October 2009

The "YA Lit" Aspects of My Blog

Essentially, I started this blog to simply review books. I didn't have any particular audience in mind; I just wanted a way to showcase my opinions on literature in general as well as in specific contexts (by reviewing individual books). I want to review every book I read, so I decided to use this blog to post my entries for my new class, "The Adolescent in American Literature." I don't want to change the integrity of my blog, but I don't want to start a new blog either.

One requirement of my class blog is that I define my audience. I write each entry with future teachers in mind, but I don't want to limit it to that. I try to acknowledge the aspects of the books that I look for as a future teacher while infusing my own opinions about the books (considering it is my blog, after all). I feel like if I were to try to sell each book regardless of how I felt about it, I would be sacrificing my integrity as a reader and a writer. It won't be my job to sell books; it will be my job to teach them. As a teacher, I will keep my negative opinions of any books my students read to myself, but a personal blog is the venue for my opinions.

Teachers or future teachers who disagree with my opinions do not have to read my blog, but I think that future teachers with similar opinions to mine will find these reviews helpful. Though I do elaborate on my feelings on a book, I note the difference between a book which deserves appreciation and one that seems is too "simple" (for lack of a better term) for classroom instruction.

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