My students used to ask that question all the time. They don't anymore. Now, I just distribute the following on a back-to-back printed sheet on the first day of the term and explain it. Afterward, anytime kids ask, I remind them of it. You may download it FREE at my TeachersPayTeachers store if it's of use to you:
Why Are We Doing This?
1.“Why do we need four years of English?”
State education departments across the country place extremely heavy emphasis on the study of “English.” In most high schools, every student must have four full years of English studies in order to graduate.
2. “What do we learn in English class that we don’t learn somewhere else?”
“English” is not limited to the narrow realm of “language arts,” as the course is sometimes known. In certain ways, “English” class is also the study of American culture and classical values.
Modern high schools often do not list certain extremely important academic disciplines in their catalogs; and yet, mature adults very much need them. It has become the responsibility of English courses and other “humanities” courses, such as history, art, and psychology, to introduce students to these ideas. Many students never take an art or psychology class. The only opportunities they have for exposure to these concepts come in English and history.
If these specific disciplines were offered as separate courses, they would have names such as “logic,” “philosophy,” “theology,” “composition,” “reasoning,” “ethics,” and “the humanities.” Admissions officers of colleges and vocational institutions, as well as personnel directors in business and industry today, are continually calling for more instruction and better quality instruction in all these areas.
3. “Theology! Hey! That means religion! Isn’t it against the law to teach religion and morals in schools?”
Most religions are grounded in values and morals, and while it may be impossible to teach value-related ideas without teaching any values at all, we do the best we can to address what might be called "value consciousness." Public educational institutions must be careful not to provide religious instruction as such, but they are obligated to instruct students in value-related ideas such as sensible decision-making and responsible behavior in a democracy. Insofar as is possible, English curricula are designed with those ends and limitations in mind.
4. “So how do you do that?”
It isn’t easy. Few Americans would agree to the indoctrination of one strict morality code upon all public school students. But nearly all Americans would agree that responsible democratic citizens must understand the concept of morality.
Almost no one insists that every child be trained with one particular philosophy in school, but Americans do insist that educators encourage the development of philosophically sound reasoning.
Most of the time, we approach this task by confronting students in an “English” class with choices, both hypothetical and real. For example, they consider choices and decisions made by characters in stories. They are asked to judge the characters’ decision-making processes. In writing assignments, students make real choices in selecting topics of controversy. They make a decision on the topic itself; then they decide how to argue their opinion. In all of these situations, students are asked to consider what is "right,” “wrong,” “responsible,” “irresponsible,” “selfish,” “unselfish,” “ethical,” and “unethical.”
In much the same way the student considers and evaluates all aspects of a fictional character’s decision-making, it is the English teacher’s task to consider and judge the students’ decision-making skills. It is essential that the English teacher remain extremely cautious about judging any student’s sense of morality, but it is absolutely essential that the teacher judge the soundness, logic, and structure of the student's arguments.
The task of English teachers is not to prove that their students’ moral code is wrong, but to help them find good reasons for living according to their morals.
5. "These old books are boring. Why do we have to read them?”
They're not selected for their entertainment value. They're selected for their usefulness and appropriateness in accomplishing the goals outlined here.
The materials studied in an English class have gone through a careful and thorough process of screening and selection. The vast majority of Americans agree that these works of literature are among those which best represent commonly accepted American values. Most of these works are also accepted by the world community. Almost all are “classical” works, presenting “classical values” (unchanging, proven values, which have withstood the test of time). As a free American, you are given the great responsibility of preserving those American ideals upon which the nation has been built. It is commonly believed that, if you have the knowledge, you will make sound decisions when you begin voting, working, and taking other roles in the operation of the country. It is also believed that, as a result of your efforts, the nation will survive, and subsequent generations of Americans will continue to enjoy the freedoms you currently enjoy.
6. “Tell me more about some of those so-called ‘classical values.’”
A sense of responsibility for one’s actions, some measure of compassion, and the ability to understand situations from many perspectives all are served by careful analysis of characters and conflicts in great literature.
Over the past ten to fifteen years, however, education in the United States has gone much further. We now evaluate your level of literacy by very strict standards. It's no longer good enough to just understand "what happens" in a story. You may be asked to describe the author's tone and mood. You're often required to speculate about developments that might transpire afterward from the situation described. At times, you must discern details that aren't in the text at all. You can't do that by finding a single word or phrase. Instead, you must do additional reasoning, combining many hints from the text to arrive at a conclusion. Seemingly unimportant details, for example, sometimes provide information about a character's motivations.
You've already confronted this issue in tests where you're given a passage to read, and then you're required to respond to questions regarding that passage. You're allowed to refer back to the passage, but you're also under time limitations, and the questions are surprisingly complex.
Occasionally, you're even tested on what isn't said. A writer's purpose may be grounded on statements of opinion rather than on fact. His or her real purpose might even be disguised, and discernable, not by what is written, but by what is left out.
Therefore, you need to develop your skills of "close reading," during which you parse a text by subjecting it to a constant stream of observations and questions. In effect, you must learn to produce your own "study guide." Today's English curriculum is burdened with the task of showing you how to do that.
In early grades, the topics discussed and the stories read served to build expression and thinking skills. At some point in your learning career, however, the emphasis shifts. Now, in order to take your expression and thinking skills to a higher level, you must begin using them to examine an argument's philosophical, logical, and ethical soundness.
7. “OK, so that’s the explanation for the literature. But what about the writing? Why are we taught all this writing stuff?”
All of us are better writers than talkers. Writing gives us a chance to read over what we’re trying to say. If it isn’t quite what we want to say, we can change it. When your teacher calls your attention to the fact that you have sent a garbled message, or that you have said something you never meant, you're being required to think carefully about what you’re communicating.
Writing is often considered an exercise in “thinking out on paper.” The written work you create is a record of your thinking. Analysis of your own writing is an examination of your own thinking. That process is almost identical to the analysis of literature.
8. But why do we have to use this kind of language when we write? This isn’t the way I talk! And I’ll never have to write this way!”
Don't be so quick to say "never."
We “write this way” for the sake of clarity. Clearly written expression focuses thought. Most of us would agree that it’s important to say exactly what we mean to say. The problem is, we very often say something we don’t mean. We “speak before we think.” The problem has a great deal to do with the “kind of language” we use. Careful writing forces us to think first. The habit of writing “this way” carries over to speaking. We should write and talk “this way” more often.
Most young people do not understand the impression they create in their writing or speaking. They communicate with their friends by means of slang phrases, grunts, expletives, and sentence fragments, and they mistakenly believe themselves to be perfectly fluent. In all likelihood, the impression you create now with your writing and speaking habits is probably not quite what you think it is. Those skills could use a little work. You probably haven’t met prospective employers who are intensely interested in your ability to reason in written or spoken language. Wait until you’re out of school, though. You’ll meet them. And if you can’t use your language with some precision, eloquence, and care at that time, you’ll wish you could.
Good thinkers don't always communicate effectively, but good communicators have to think well, and like it or not, in these times, which are so oriented toward literacy, those evaluating your thinking skills will do so through your ability to communicate your thoughts, so your future will depend on it.
It is important to understand one of the highest forms of thinking, called “metacognition.” Simply defined, it is the ability to understand the processes going on inside your own brain. Not everyone has this ability. All people have thoughts, impressions, feelings, emotions, and sensations, but some don’t bother thinking about why they have them or what influences they provoke.
To maintain opinions without reflecting upon their origin is unwise. Prejudices are opinions without sound bases, and prejudices can be very destructive. What stimulated your mental activity? Does a chance exist that it took shape from a false impression? (You might notice that this sort of analysis is almost the same kind required in good reading.)
In summary: As you read and write and analyze, you become more self-aware. Good reading and writing practices will exercise metacognition skills, which will be useful at all times throughout your life. That's what you're learning, and that's why we're doing this.
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