What I Hated About High-School English [rant]
The most commonly-encountered thing I hated about high-school English (HSE from here on out) was the literary analysis. I loathed it then, I actively dislike it today. Since 89% of the material in HSE was literary analysis, my animosity towards English during my early college career should be understandable.
But the literary analysis wasn't the worst part; at least I could see some semblance of purpose in dissecting perfectly-good books. No, what really got on my nerves was the English department's tendency to give massive, last-minute assignments, particularly in the summer.
Apparently, things haven't improved in the two years I've been out.
What follows is the text of a letter my brother received on August 3rd. Remember that date: August 3rd. Now pretend that you're a junior in high school, and read the letter:
**
Your summer program will begin to prepare you to successfully pass the AP English Composition exam which will be given in May 2005. There are two components to this year’s summer assignment: 3 AP essays and completion of a novel and project.**
The 3 AP essays are attached to this packet. You must write all 3 essays. All essays
must be handwritten (printing or cursive is acceptable), not typed, since no computers are allowed for AP testing. Essays should be 400-600 words, use standard essay format, and formal English.
In addition to completion of the essays, you are also responsible for reading The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. This novel can be purchased at local bookstores or checked out from the local library. I have contacted Waldenbooks and B. Dalton’s and they will be stocking extra copies. Do not procrastinate, this novel is lengthy!
After reading the novel, please complete a visual thematic analysis of the novel. I want to see your creativity on this project so I am purposely leaving the directions vague. Be creative and original. Any visual can be appropriate, but it must communicate to me that you understand the theme of the novel. Remember to take into consideration the historical context of the novel.
Finally, junior year is the time to take the SAT’s. This summer is the ideal time to begin preparing for this exam. The PSAT will be given in October 2004. You should also plan to take the SAT-1 and SAT-2 during your Junior year. I recommend that you use one of the SAT preparation books found in local bookstores. (Kaplan and Barron’s are good choices) You should be reviewing for these tests on a daily basis, as the rigorous AP curriculum does not provide for time in class to review for these tests.
The summer assignment may be worth up to 10% of your quarter grade, so take it seriously.
All assignments (3 essays, completion of novel, and project) are due on Friday, September 3, 2004.
Best of luck, have a wonderful summer.
Aside from the numerous grammatical errors in this letter (mostly comma splices), the assignment seems a little absurd to me. You have one month to read a 620-page book, write three essays, and create a "visual thematic analysis." If you'll pardon my bluntness: what the HELL is a "visual thematic analysis"?!?!?!?
I've seen this tactic before: the teacher gives you an assignment with "vague" (translation: "nonexistent") directions, and then is surprised when 98% of the students turn in crap. End result: everyone fails, and if they're lucky, they get to take a test to make up the points.
Oh, and don't forget that you have to do all these assignments before you actually learn anything about the processes, much less the teacher's personal preferences and oddities.
"Have a wonderful summer" indeed.
posted by Martinez at 8:34 PM
2 Comments:
I must be an English major. That sounds kinda fun.
Actually, yeah . . . as a junior in HS . . . Suck. "Visual Thematic Analysis" . . . cute. Sounds decidedly unfuzzy. Bad english teacher. No biscuit.
My history teacher in HS, Mr. White, assigned one or two "artistic" type things during my two years with him. I think they were both posters of some kind. I got poor grades on them because I suck at "art." I was very bitter because I was one of his star students, I actually enjoyed his class (unlike most), and he was a friend as much as a teacher . . . but he didn't go easy on my lack of artistic skill in spite of the fact that it had nothing to do with my historical knowledge and he knew I had given it my best effort.
That has nothing to do with anything . . . except the general "stupid assignments" thing and the fact that any "visual" assignment would be a bad business for me, regardless of how well I did on the "thematic analysis" part.
But don't be too hard on the idea of "literary analysis" just because a large percentage of the world's english teachers don't seem to have the first idea what it is or how to teach it themselves. It's loads of fun when competently handled . . . truly.
-Blame Jared
Are you kidding? "Visual thematic analysis" is one of the fuzziest phrases I can think of for an assignment (short of "do something with the things about the whatsits"). From my experience, you can say virtually anything in your "thematic analysis" as long as you provide some sort of explanation (no matter how far-fetched). And that's not just from classes: some "professional" analyses suffer from the same problems.
As far as being too hard on "the idea of literary analysis"...that's an argument for another day.
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