For the last month, I've been teaching English at the local high school. As of this week, I am officially a teacher for the remainder of the school year.
Today, I get to teach my number one all time favorite subject! Gothic Literature. However, I am a little cranky because I have to do it through Edgar Allen Poe. Let me rephrase, I have to do it through "The Raven" and "The Fall of the House of Usher."
How boring can that be. I say Poe and everyone in the classroom groans. You know why?! Because he is over taught. Why can't we use some of my favorite short stories like "Wake not the Dead" or "The Mysterious Stranger" or even John Polodori's Vampyre? I know, I know. It's because they are not American. Honestly, the students are going to read them and be more interested because they are new!
Please, don't misinterpret what I'm saying. The school I work for is absolutely amazing. I'm sure the principal would be fine with me teaching it however I wanted as long as they get the material and understand the concepts. I am blaming our American education system (and now you are rolling your eyes) for being written by people who don't always take the time to understand the subject matter or the audience. Or that there may be more than one way to teach something.
Let me explain it another way. Our goal as educators is to build well rounded people who can walk out our school doors and be wonderful functioning adults that continue to grow into the best people society has to offer. It is exciting to see that we are teaching all ends of the language spectrum, but why hasn't the creator of this educational system noticed the blatant redundancies? If a student does not like a subject, a topic matter, an author... they are not going to get the most from it. Let's shake it up a bit and include some other writers from this genre!
I guess I may just be a little more upset than necessary because I'm not teaching Gothic Lit from a vampire view... On that note, I think I am going to order 60 copies of "Dracula's Guest."
