Great literature teachers don’t just assign trendy books. They focus on the books that have stood the test of time —
books people return to
because they are beautiful, well-written, and rich in content.
One of the purposes of
school
is to help young people develop what E.D. Hirsch calls “cultural literacy.” Preschool and elementary students should learn fairy tales, and middle schoolers should read the Tales of King Arthur so they can share in that lore.
Since literature forms our hearts and minds, the quality of the books we introduce to children is critical. Especially at a young age, the characters we read about can be just as influential as real people. We should ensure that we’re putting the best examples of morally upright people in front of our children.
Moreover,
our children
learn best from stories that deal with universal human questions. One of the reasons the classic stories are so enduring is because they explore such questions, and the best ones help guide the reader to solutions. Genuine character formation moments occur frequently during my literature classes as we read our stories.
Take, for example, the historical fiction work Johnny Tremain. It’s about a boy who lives in Boston at the beginning of the American Revolution. Johnny begins the novel as a prideful silversmith’s apprentice. Yet, after an accident ends that career path, he learns from other characters how to be a much more charitable person, and he begins to look beyond himself and understand the cause that the patriots were fighting for. Most importantly, he matures into a kind and loving young man.
As a fourth-grade teacher, I typically assign Johnny Tremain as the longest work my class reads. Because of how dense it is for them, it takes at least two months to finish. This challenging book, however, often becomes the students’ favorite book of the year. They come to realize it’s richer than most other things we’ve read and feel an immense sense of pride when they reach the end. Yes, they’re a little overwhelmed when they first look at how thick it is. But when they get to the other side, they think, “I can read a book like this. I can understand a book like this.”
There’s another lesson to be learned here: Students grow both in their intellectual capacity and their desire to learn when schoolwork challenges them. That’s not to say that teachers should assign work that’s unreasonably above students’ grade level, but a moderate amount of difficulty is necessary for maturation.
In a lot of schools, there’s a sense that books such as Johnny Tremain are too complex for children to understand. This is such a disservice to students. If students are limited to something shorter and simplified so they can handle it, that’s all they’ll think books can be, and it will kill their desire to read.
Finally, teachers will likely be more engaged in the material themselves if they’re working with great books rather than bland, oversimplified texts. Students have an incredible ability to sense if teachers don’t like the material or are bored and, in turn, will think, “There’s probably a good reason why, so I won’t like it either.”
Older books aren’t inherently better, but neither are newer books. There’s a reason certain stories are beloved and shared by countless generations. We shouldn’t deprive students of the delightful experience of learning the classics, even if they’re a bit more challenging. After all, the pride in the accomplishment is part of the joy of reading.
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Jenny Mulvey is a fourth-grade teacher at Golden View Classical Academy in Golden, Colorado. This article is based on her
in-depth interview
with Hillsdale College’s classical education podcast.
