Teach Secondary 13.5

and value of reading. Who knows, perhaps we’ve finally stumbled upon a useful purpose for the culture wars – to provide the tonic needed to make reading both cool and radical again. After all, how can anyone decide which texts are, or aren’t appropriate without first actually reading them? If that’s the case, then it could be argued that there’s never been a better time to ‘re-load’ the canon. Worksworth reading Without a widely recognised and agreed upon list of great, valued works, what’s ultimately the point in undergraduates taking all those English literature university courses? Having spent so long educating so many in arts-based courses, Britain appears to have entered something of a reading recess, with English teachers cruelly robbed of their most obvious function to society. Meanwhile, with numbers of English literature undergraduates dwindling, one assumes that possibly- soon-to-be-redundant English faculty members would presumably jump at the chance to produce and promote a defined reading list. Doing so might even elevate the value of English literature once more, since undermining the canon by constantly questioning its relevance appears to have done little for the general integrity of reading thus far. ABritish Reading List could still be contemporary and remain subject to modification (within reason). It doesn’t even have to contain the names of Chaucer, Dickens or Joyce. It just needs to be legitimised by a series of chosen works which, by common agreement, are considered worth reading . Any tiresome discussions over which writers should or shouldn’t be included will soon become insignificant, once a generation of people who have engaged with some of the finest works literature has to offer finally come of age. Because they will appreciate literature. They will also be better communicators, more fluent readers, and be better able to understand and digest ideas with confidence. They will feel like they have a culture, and they will effectively own their culture. Above all, they will be able to think . Inflection point There are elephants in the room, however – those being the adults. They need to be reading these great works too, because how else will children be able to discuss what they are reading? Teachers, especially, need to be reading more themselves. That might mean spending a little less time scouring exam specifications and more time on reading good books – but that’s a problemwhen it’s still commonly understood that a ‘good teacher’ is someone whose students consistently achieve the highest grades. The ongoing obsession with exam grades is fast reaching an inflection point. Placing too much focus on point scores, to exclusion of virtually everything else, only serves to underscore how exams are a crude, if necessary measure of a person’s worth. Reading, on the other ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ian Mitchell has worked as a teacher of English and psychology across both the state and independent sectors IN BRIEF What’s the issue? The National Curriculum currently lacks a prescribed list of literary works that all students (and their teachers) should, or at least try to read What’s being said? The question of which books ‘should’ be read in school is one that’s often argued over, while the legitimacy of the literary canon itself has come under fire for reasons related to race, class and identity What’s really happening? Attacking the notion of a literary canon has done little to prevent a steady decline in reading for enjoyment among children and adults alike – perhaps in part because, without an easily accessible signpost to what great literature is, fewer people will experience the richness of such works first-hand The takeaway The process of drawing up a widely accepted list of great literary works – contemporary or otherwise – may not be straightforward, but doing so will be vital if we want younger generations to preserve and further build upon literary traditions in the years to come hand, is something you can happily do until the day you pass away or suffer dementia. Reading cannot undermine itself – and the sooner we get back to it, the better. 13 teachwire.net/secondary H O T TO P I C