Learning from the past

Many people wonder about the importance of reading. Some may ask, why should I read books by dead guys who lived over a hundred years ago? They can’t possibly know anything about my situation. The question can be met with the Biblical truth: there is nothing new under the sun. This is one of the most important lessons ninth grade students learned in English class this year. Good and evil existed thousands of years ago just as it does today. So did love, joy, peace, war, loyalty, etc.–the human experience didn’t start when this generation was born. One novel that the students read was Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo. Students had to respond to the following quote, so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless. They were challenged to see the influence of important novels, like A Christmas Carol, or Romeo and Juliet, and see how these novels were meant to entertain and engage; change laws and change hearts. It was exciting to watch the light bulbs flick on during class discussion as the students made connections between the different novels and stories we read during the year. Students will move on to tenth grade with a broader appreciation of literature, and hopefully a new perspective on the ability for people today to learn from the past.

Miss Miller

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Topics: 9Ninth Grade
Date: Monday, June 27th, 2011 11:28 am