End-of-the-Semester Remarks

One of the first classes of the semester, several people mentioned they could not relate to the classics. As a lover of Shakespeare and Faulkner and Steinbeck as well as a future teacher, I mentioned (with a little help from my friends) that the teacher had not done his/her job and that was not the fault of the classics.

After learning what the term "young adult literature" really meant (which took a while, I admit), I realized that one way those teachers could have related classical literature to their students was through the idea of pairing similarly-themed young adult literature and classical literature, assisting students in relating and understanding the material as well as piquing their interest in the upcoming classic.

When it boils down to it, everyone learns differently. I would be foolish to disallow myself a strategy that may better my students' experiences as readers.