Appleman ch 7

We are finally invited into the semi-personal lif eof the teacher who has allowed her classroom to be the laboratory as we intently observe studnet interactions and responses to the previous theories. Martha Cosgrove is asked questions in throughout this chapter and gives some insightful answers especially for future educators. She talked about her beginnings as an English tecaher. Her approach to literature was traditional and her style was didactic; not a good combination. She followed New Criticism methodolgy, defining terms, literary devices and vocabulary. It wasn't until she was placed in a totally different setting about 10 years later that her style and purpose transformed. Her focus was now the students and their abilities. Her approach had no choice but to morph to fit the students ability.
Cosgrove gave alot of great advice and said some really thought-provoking things. She said that one thing she has learned over the years is 'sensing' or temporing her class to see what will work, how to push them or to fall back. I think this takes a teacher to be tuned to his/her students. You must have a passion to get to know them indivually and collectively. I know that at the beginning of the book, Appleman gave many suggestions for why we should teach theory. Cosgrove gives her profound reasoning for her instruction of theory '...teaching literary theory is about teaching kids metacognition and encouraging flexibility in thinking. It's about giving them power as learners, because literary theory enables them to know what they are doing while they are doing it' (123). It's not only about offering different lenses to se ethe world but it involves the process by which they do this. This is where problems with deconstruction may dissolve; we help students acknowledge their advanced thinking skills, therefore they are appreciative of how much they've grown as a thinker rather than their focus being the relevance of existence. Because after all we are not philosophers but teachers. Martha shared her story in this chapter and it gives proof that if you start off wrong you don't hav eto end up on that same track. I also like that she incorporated the 'lenses' in her own life as she moved and started a different journey in her career and family. Over all the chapter was helpful for future teachers like myself.

Appleman Ch 6

In this chapter on Deconstruction, Appleman offers bountiful resources to the reader in efforts to help us grasp the concept of deconstruction. The beginning of this chapter served as sort of a disclaimer for the audience, warning us that this topic is dense and extremely controversial. Although her intension was to lead readers into an unbiased definition of the term, she actually ended up defending it more so than defining it. The tone of the first portion of this chapter inspired a sense of dread for this particular theory. I felt 'if I have to defend a theory with this much fervor, then how am I supposed to present it to a class of adolescent students?'. However, as the chapter progressed and the explication of deconstruction continued, the theory became less and less daunting. I like how deconstruction does not shove a proposed meaning to a text down the audiences throats. I like the contradictory nature of deconstruction; it can be both a liberating enterprise and a stifling one. The freedom of looking at a text while simultaneously acknowledging your own biases or influences or the authors influences is quite interesting. On the other hand, it has potential to frighten people as well.
The exercise that the students did on semiotics (looking at classic metaphors) is something that can definitely serve as a heuristic for deconstruction. This can also bring about feelings of anxiety and hopelessness as alluded to at the end of this chapter with the student rachel. Although I don't agree with Appleman's comparison of deconstruction to nihilism (this comparison seemed a bit rash), I know that it can produce feelings of utter frustration. In teaching my students this theory, I would let them know that this represents only one among a host of lenses to read the world. I'd teach them that deconstruction is a way to uncover misconceptions, overgeneralizations and hackneyed assumptions. Appleman explains the theory's purpose in light of a high school classroom: 'Deconstruction helps students question the certainty of meaning without relying exclusively on the personal lens of reader response....it requires the redaer to be an active meaning maker, unlike reader response, with its sometimes sloppy overgeneralization and overapplication, deconstruction requires the rigor of close reading' (114). The function of deconstruction in the classroom should allow students to think critically and be an inductive learner.

Appleman Ch 5

Chapter 5 of Appleman's Critical Encounters in High School English is centered on feminist critique. Here she discussed the conventions of feminist critique and aimed to subvert the common notion of feminist theory being a male bashing tool used by angry women. Through the classroom examples, Appleman showed readers that feminist critique isn't about choosing a side a staying loyal to it. Infact, it's aim is to help readers to view their world through an unbiased lense. Appleman noted that 'the point is to help adolescent readers read texts and worlds more carefully as they become aware of the ideologies within which both are inscribed' (Appleman 76). The classroom examples further enriched this aim. There were a few classroom examples thatI really liked. She had students think of traditional and feminist outlooks on certain characters. This was awesome because it simplistically shows students the bias built into our societywhen it come sto gender roles, sexuality and general perceptions of women. I would definitely encourage my students to do an exercise like this not only with texts but also national monuments and other cultural artifacts.
She also used the same text to cover two theories. I like the idea of overlapping modes of critique to help students thoroughly examine a text. Another idea I would use from this chapter is the poem from Epithalamium-II. So simple yet simultaneously complex, this poem got her students thinking and their response were intelligent, evidence of critical thinking. Overall I think this chapter does an exceptional job at explaining feminist critique. Her examples and classroom exercises all, in some form, allowed readers to put on the bifocals of feminist theory and gather their own conclusions. I will definitely use the examples given in this chapter.

Webb Chapter 2

Webb introduces a theme in his classroom and uses it to guide instruction; homelessness. This topic informed his choice of literature as he decided upon books like Oliver Twist and Nectar in a Seive which bring the issue of homelessness to the forefront. I like how his experience talking one on one with a homeless man prompted him to inrtoduce the issue to his students. I appreciate the idea of allowing students undestanding the world before they participate in it.
He also discussed New Criticism. He divulged the conventions of it and also the drawbacks to looking at literature through such a narrow lense. New Critics look at the elements or devices that an author uses instead of the historical aspects or authors background to find meaning from a given piece. I don't completely agree with looking at literature in this way. Webb seems to favor the cultural approach over this particular theory. Cultural studies allow for diverse pieces of literature by diverse authors. New Critic's favorable standards seem to privilege one group of literary expression over another. This is not at all what we want to ingrain into our students, thus the cultural approach to studying literature seems better for the classroom.

Webb Ch 1

In the first chapter of Webbs' Literature and Lives, he starts out by discussing some of his first experiences teaching studnets literature, some of which weren't so successful. He looked for different ways to engage his students including finding different texts for them to read. One very useful tool he incorporated into this chapter is the list of texts that would suit different theoretical frameworks. This is helpful for me as a future teacher because I will be given the opportunity to find literature that would be conducive to my students learning. There are also blurbs about reader response and cultural studies included in this chapter. Here, he explains what the two are and clearly shares his opinions about what they contribute the clssroom and what they lack.

Appleman ch 3

Here, Appleman discussed reader response; the benefits and the defecits. I think that reader response is a good structuring device to help students validate their interpretations and relate to the text. However, some of the examples she used from students who filled out a reader response diagram were a bit vague. I am not a huge fan of using diagrams when it comes to something as huge and multifaceted as literature. The reader response diagram only gave way for students to come to a conclusion that didn't help them thorougly develop interpretive skills. The students thought that if they could not relate to the characters i.e. find characteristics parallel to their own (race, beliefs, sexual orientation etc) then the book had no meaning. As an English major, I know that it is not imperative for the reader to relate to the protagonist in order for a book to have meaning. Thus, using this method to develop reader response skills is not very helpful in assisting students learn how to construct meaning. Reader response is great but I don't think I'll use the diagram as is, I'd tweek it to help students think critically about a writing piece.

Appleman ch 2.

As Appleman introduces the idea of bringing literary theory into the secondary classroom, she gives ideas on how to do just that. She includes three vignettes of classrooms and tecahers who brought in the idea of lit theory. I think that some of the ideas she brought up were helpful especially the first example of the students reading th epoetry differently to convey an alternative interpretation. This is something very practical that students can do in order to ease into reading literarture through the lense of a school of theory. It is important for students to slowly yet progressively study literary theory and I think this is a helpful way to assist students. The second vignette was of an assignment that stretched the imaginative muscles of students. The teacher asked students to look at fairy tales and short stories in a whole new light, from the perspective of various occupations. This seems like a fun activity and students may be intrigued with the variations. Certain theories call for students to read literature from a certain perspective and this is a step in that direction. My only concern is that students will only focus on the characters in a story and not the context surrounding the character. In using theory to dissect literature, it is important for teachers to give a sound description of what to look for in a novel that will appeal to the school of theory they are using. Otherwise, this chapter gives suggestions on how to introduce theory without scaring students away from the concept as a whole. She also talked about the defecits hidden within reader response but furthured this discussion in chapter 3.

Appleman ch1

This chapter outlines what the author will discuss throughout the text. She justifies her books aim in this first chapter, clearly stating why literary theory should be taught in the classroom. As i read this chapter I could only think of how to make literary theory relevant and redaily accessible to my students. Appleman brought up a good point about the real life issues students face and how students could ever view literary theory as useful. The task of making it relevant is certainly not an easy one but with research and dedication, I believe a teacher can successfully pull it off. But one of my main queries is the fact that literary theory, although a fairly new phenomena, is just now being introduced into secondary classrooms. I am a fifth year college undergraduate student and my first encounter with literary theory was my fourth year in college. Students should be introduced with literary theory in middle school, just a breif introductory thing, nothing exhaustive. With this background it will be easier for students to transition once they are in highschool in learning about different theories and applying it to their reading and ultimately their lives.