Jose Wells3 said:So, basically, the kid has an assignment that’s easy, actually engaging, and teaches them how to summarize a plot chronologically while using a drawing to show they understood the setting. They’ll probably just talk about it in class.
Back in the day:
List all the basic facts about the work (author, title, publication year...).
Provide a chronological summary of the plot.
Identify the setting and time period.
Plus, they’d get a whole set of "brilliant" extra tasks, write twenty-page essays, and take a reading comprehension exam.
I don't see the issue.
Required reading exists for very well-known reasons, and it’s tragic that we have to explain this year after year. Of course, there's also the practical application of literary knowledge involved.
You know why?
Because kids don't read for comprehension. You give them a five-paragraph text with events out of order, and even with the text right in front of them, they can't number the sequence from 1 to 5.
Why? I think we all know the answer to that.
The reading lists are getting more diverse and contemporary.
The amount of required reading is decreasing.
The assignments are getting easier.
The reading periods are getting longer.
The way we approach literature is becoming more modern.
Come on, tell me: what is your "new dimension" of the six-fold umbrella? Please. What revolutionary discovery do you have that is actually methodically or pedagogically sound? We aren't running some social experiment in schools; there is a specific set of skills students need to master. Honestly, a picture book is better than having them write endless essays.
The book belongs to the student, not to you!!!
Look, it’s his required reading, not mine—so there really isn't a need to hammer that point home to me... Just because you find this whole thing hilarious (and honestly, you must work in education if you felt personally called out just now) doesn't mean it's any fun for the kid, nor does it mean you've stumbled upon some magic bullet for reading comprehension just by showing them pictures; kids aren't carbon copies of one another. They still struggle to actually grasp what they've read because, let's face it, when you're dealing with a book over 100 pages long, keeping track of the plot and the sequence of events is a massive hurdle at this age. I ended up reading his first assignment myself because he couldn't get the details straight—and what was I supposed to do, just let him fail, or force him to start from page one all over again?! No. We talked about the story and what he took away from it, eventually finding our own way to "solve" the problem through conversation. He wrote all the answers himself, in his own words, because I don't spend my afternoons hovering over his shoulder like a hawk while he tackles his schoolwork. As for future assignments, we'll just have to figure out a better strategy for retention, maybe some note-taking or something similar.
We could go down the rabbit hole of petty bickering right now, but why bother wasting my energy? This is about how we handle things, I've shared my perspective, and whether anyone else happens to agree or disagree is entirely up to them.🤷