On various occasions, many high school students find themselves sitting in class wondering how the subject they are spending so much time on will have anything to do with their everyday life outside of high school. For instance, to understand the complexity and deeper meaning of literature, we must use the analytical and thoughtful skills of critical reading. Many students may not notice that they use these concepts everyday, because they don’t understand what literature is. This is one of the main reasons it is and should continue to be taught at a high school level. Some of the things students may consider when thinking of literature are books, poems, songs, and novels; Where literature can be identified is only a small part of learning about the subject. Literature’s meaning originated before 2000 BC presented in the Egyptian Book of the Dead recorded in the papyrus of Ani in roughly 1250 BC. Through these resources, there are transactions of a very personal message between one individual, the writer, and any number of others, the readers. Through this exchange, unique meanings are developed by both the content and life experiences of each allowing the words themselves to take on a life of their own about this meaning. Literature is the process of using concepts and experiences to communicate ideas to the reader; it should be taught at the high school level. The way literature is being graded, how it will benefit us outside of our high school career, and some of the ways high school students can connect with literature will be assembled in this essay.
We all have to start somewhere when trying to learn something new. For most of us learning about literary analysis and what it is, should start in high school. After reading the article “What we notice when we look at literature” by Chandra L. Alston and Lisa M. Barker, the overall reason why most high school students and people in general truly dislike or don’t fully understand the subject is because of how it’s being taught to them and what their work is being graded by. Many teachers and or professors are you can say “set in their ways” or as the article refers to it, in paragraph three, on page two, “ ‘expert blind spots’ ”. In the article, the authors, Alston and Barker, conduct an experiment that involves a process called “reading for teaching”(RfT). In this experiment, they use the RfT as a tool to help English teachers capture what they notice about a text and connect it to specific literary skills and strategies that might explicitly teach students as they study that text. It stated in the “What is the Tool?” Section on page four that, “ many teachers are unsure of how to connect Common Core State Standards for English with aspects of literacy in their instructional planning.” This is one of the main reasons why high school students do not understand or know the connection. They don’t know how to determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text or how to analyze their development throughout the text. Being able to understand the true literary meaning of text can truly make anyone want to be more engaged and not as if literacy is what people may consider a “drag” or simply uninteresting.
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The key standard of life is a plot much like the key standard in a true literary book and or novel. The plot stems from the characters and their actions, just like the effects of the repercussions in a high school student's everyday life. In these literary books and novels, the main character behaves in a particular way because that is who he or she is and or it’s key character traits that drive the plot. The plot describes the events and their significance as the story unfolds. The exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution all lead up to the deeper meaning of the story, much like life itself. While 'theory' and 'literature' are perhaps equally polysemic, 'theory' may seem less so in the context of literary studies because of our now familiar inability to define 'literature”. This relates to what literature is, complexity and analytical thinking, which is why books and novels are considered “literature” to begin with. In the article “ Why Literature Matters” by Tim Gillespie it says, “Primarily, I believe literature is justifiable in the modern curriculum for its contributions to the cultivation of imagination and of empathy. To my way of thinking, these are crucial skills for the twenty-first century, essential for our thriving, pragmatic to the core. Why, then, is literature so easily devalued in the conversation about communication skills of the future? Traditional claims for the functions of literature need reasserting and updating.” This point in Gillespie’s article is based upon answering how learning literature in high school is beneficial throughout your entire life.
Reading about history, anthropology, or religious studies provides a method of learning about cultures and beliefs other than our own. It allows you to understand and experience these other systems of living and other worlds. For instance, music and or poetry is a great way to find fun in literacy. Musical artist presents their song lyrics as poetry to show their desire for seriousness and meaning in their words. Most may have a clear and understandable meaning such as love and ‘r and b’ songs. While others, such as autobiographical songs may require you to analyze and think about what it is that’s being told or said. Music is a great way for High school students to connect with literature because it is so diverse. By contrast, literature deals with concepts expressed in language. This means to break down what something means, all based upon the combination of words as opposed to frequencies. Nevertheless, musical and poetic properties and structures go hand-in-hand with the properties and structure of literacy and critical reading. According to the article “Why Literature Matters” by Tim Gillespie, most classrooms or learning units never really connect literature to everyday life and feeling, meanwhile, that’s a major part of it. It states “The calling of literature is to explore human experience in all its dimensions and possibilities. Literature deals with our most pressing concerns including family, death, religion, love, good and evil, destiny, will, justice, character, courage, issues not often covered in Applied Communications or Business Writing units”. Information most often represents human experience in abstract and generalized forms: facts, statistics, and data. Literature represents human experiences in the very specific individual terms of a story or poem.
When trying to figure out if something is literature or not it is important to remember that critical is not the same as criticizing something or someone. You should mainly only conclude based on how they were conducted and the conclusions drawn. You should be thinking about the theoretical assumptions made by the author in which you are reviewing and make sure you understand the concepts behind each one. If you also go by these standards it will be much easier to categorize a regular essential book, novel, song, or poem from a literary story, song, poem, or novel. For example, think of one of Shakespeare's best-known plays. Everyone knows the story of star-crossed lovers who defied their families—the feuding Capulets and Montagues—and ended their lives tragically. Romeo and Juliet is a play with something for everyone: romance, intrigue, sword-fighting, wonderful poetry, comedy, and tragedy. In the story Juliet, is the daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. A beautiful thirteen-year-old girl, Juliet begins the play as a naïve child who has thought little about love and marriage, but she grows up quickly upon falling in love with Romeo, the son of her family's great enemy. Due to the ever going hatred between the two families, both families had great loss, pain, and suffering. This is relatable to a lot of situations that are not because of reason, but because of it being “ just is” and taught generation by generation to be carried on, as the two families did in this play. This is a very great example of literature, because not only does it have depth, suspense, irony, and complex meanings, but it is something you can relate to yourself and or your current experience, which is why many high school students have the chance to talk about and analyze Romeo and Juliet. In many cases, students find a way to take Shakespeare’s moral of Romeo and Juliet and relate it to their own present love experiences.
Finally, literature, however, is a concept related to the art of grammar, rhetoric, and poetry, which uses language as a means of expression. The literary adjective said of what belongs or what is related to literature. Literary text contains references to specific incidents, situations, and characters of the books, songs, or poems. Which all High school students should touch on at some point in their high school career. Moreover, critical readings along with thoughtful and analytical processing lead to the unfolding and meaning of true complex and in-depth literature and its meaning. Which is very beneficial beyond the high school level. Literature allows you to see beyond the text itself, opening new doors of imagination and analysis, which is why it should be taught in high school.
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