When was the last time you sat in an English class? Last year? Last semester? A year ago? Five, 10,20 years ago? Yesterday? Regardless of when it was, you probably either hated it or loved it. There is rarely a middle ground with an English class.
It doesn't have anything to do with whether or not you like English, reading, or writing. Take me for example - I write an article a week, I love reading, and I want to do this as a career. But English classes tend to drive me up the wall. And I think the reason for that is that no English class is ever what I want it to be.
I'm not really sure what English classes were like 10 or 20 years ago, but here's how it goes today: on the first day of class, the teacher or professor will give you a list of at least five books that you'll be covering that semester (for high school, it's usually five books for the entire year, but I literally just bought five books from Amazon for the next four months). As you go through the books (at least one of which is a Shakespeare play), the teacher will emphasize the importance of close reading - writing down observations on theme, symbolism, etc. This can be a difficult strategy to implement when you have to read 20 pages by the next morning, as well as do whatever other homework you have. In class, the discussions are usually about theme and symbolism, and what the author wanted to convey.
This is fine for some people, but the conversations tend to have a pretentious undertone so that no student who isn't at least a bit inherently philosophical is going to be bored out of their minds. That's what happens to me; I love talking about the book - the plot, what I think of the characters, how the book made me feel, more of the personal experience of the book. I like doing that kind of thing because it shows how we all experience books differently, yet there are some things we all agree on. The discussions of theme are so meta that they disconnect me from the book. When I read, I'm more likely to remember how each plot turn made me feel, rather than what symbols were present.
Every English class also goes into poetry to some extent, which is good. Poetry has always been a popular way of expressing complex emotions in a more personal way than novels or essays. But many English teachers, as well as the AP Literature exam, will test you on whether or not you interpret a poem correctly. While it's true that many poets did have an explicit story or idea they wanted to convey with each poem, much poetry is vague enough so that there are many ways to interpret the piece. Any examination where students are tasked with analyzing a poem should not be graded on whether they got the one right analysis, but rather how well they defend their personal view.
My ideal English class would be more like a book club, mixed with different writing exercises and poetry discussions. English class should not just be about analysis. It should attempt to foster a love of the way the language works, and how you can evoke emotions by using the right words. The school system already puts so much pressure on getting the right answer, there should be at least one class where students can be free to experience the material.
But this is just my one voice. With this article especially, I'd love to hear what other people think. So, please, write your ideas and opinions in the comments
