I do not believe that Genre Fiction is less worthy than Literary Fiction. I believe Genre fiction tends to contain the more popular books that have not had enough time to be fully appreciated like Literary Fiction has. Reader’s today tend to sway more towards reading Genre over Literary anyways. In schools, however, I think that Literary Fiction, because it has more “experience” should remain at the head of the curriculum. These books have been around and the teachers have had ample time to become masters of these books so they can teach them adequately.
In my opinion, the classroom should not be limited to Literary Fiction though. It is important to expose students to a range of material so they can learn and adapt in that way. If there was a mash of Literary and Genre Fiction merged into a school’s English curriculum, students would get a sense of how older reading and newer reading can be related and how it can affect their lives today. I do believe more Genre Fiction should be added into the lessons in present day schooling. These popular books would help to encourage kids to see what other new and popular books are on the rise and that could develop a sense of love for reading in the process.
Certain Literary Fiction books that are in our curriculum today that I believe should not be switched out are: To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, some works of Shakespeare and maybe The Color of Water. Those books all challenged me but were great books to read and were very relevant to today. Some books that I would not mind if they were thrown out are: Jane Eyre, Rebbecca, The Odyssey, and Brave New World. These few books were challenging but were overall boring and made me not want to read another book because of it.
i agree the should spread the reading more. just reading Literay books like Color of Water, Shakesphere, To kill a Mocking Bird is boring. The should spread it out more
ReplyDeleteI was selfish when answering this question for myself, I only thought of the students and how we feel when reading so many literary novels that we can not relate to. However, I do think that the teachers should play a role in this decission. The fact that they have had ample time to learn the text and the hidden meanings does play a role in which books are choosen to be read, which is probably why we have continued to read the same literary novels each and every year.
ReplyDeleteI think we should still incoporate more genre fiction than literary fiction. I do believe we learn a lot from learning and examining literary but as the younger ages I think we should stick with genre to try and keep childrens interest.
ReplyDeleteI agree that having a mix of literary fiction and genre fiction will help kids see how old and new books can relate to their lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree that schools should include both literary and genre fiction in the curriculum so that students can compare them.
ReplyDeleteWould you ever change from Literay Fiction to Genre Fiction, at the top of the curriculum?
ReplyDeleteI don't think that genre fiction has the same substance as literary fiction. There is a reason we learn these books, and not Twilight.
ReplyDeleteHi Monica :) I agree that there should be somewhat of a mix with literary and genre fiction in English class, and that we should keep some books and throw others out of the curriculum. Teachers do have a better understanding of the classics from teaching them over and over again, and it would be difficult to transition completely over into more recent books.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comment about teachers having to teach this. They are here to teach you and they sorta have to give you analysis and worksheets and challenging books...it's their job.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with your choices. I loved Rebecca and Jane Eyre and hated The Color of Water. So i believe they all should be kept in because some people like different classics. People will be exposed to genre. They won't be to classics.
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