When it comes to reading and interpreting writing in my classes, I have always tended to form my own opinions or individual interpretations of what I have read, but I do find myself always looking to my teacher for the “correct” answer or the “correct” interpretation. For instance, if I have a reading assignment for the class, I will read through the particular chapter, story, or whatever it may be, and while reading it, I form my own thoughts and opinions in regards to the particular assignment. Although my ideas and thoughts about the reading are most likely equally “correct” in a sense, I always hold my teacher’s interpretation of the reading to a higher standard. I guess this is a natural thing to do, considering my teacher most likely always has more experience and background when it comes to reading and analyzing work. But I have never really thought about teachers in a sense “faking it,” as Teague suggests in her article. I enjoyed reading Teague’s article, because it made me feel somewhat less intimidated about the accuracy of my own interpretations. I like how she referred to her own struggles as a young teacher and questioned her own accuracy regarding her reading analysis. She mentioned that her students looked at her with looks of confusion when she would ask the class what they had thought of the reading assignment. For me, in high school at least, this was such a typical scene in the classroom. Many times I found myself and my peers just looking to my teachers for the right answer or interpretation, which caused us to lack forming our own individual opinions. I think forming our own interpretations and opinions can help make us stronger students, but we are so used to just relying on the teacher for the accurate answer and interpretation, which can sometimes hinder our growth as students. Overall, I enjoyed Teague’s article, because it made me think and question the actual accuracy that we constantly rely on our teachers to provide us with in class. Ultimately, I do believe that I strongly respect my teachers’ opinions and ideas, because they normally have a stronger background and experience in the particular course. Forming personal and individual ideas are equally important as considering different points of view of classmates and teachers, as well.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I feel ya on being less intimidated about having the correct interpretation after reading this article. It's nice to know that others think there is more than one interpretation to a literary work. Seriously, we all come from different backgrounds it's silly to think there is only one way to view a piece of writing. Right? I agree with you though that our instructors have a more extensive knowledge about the authors of particular work and the culture in which it was written. Haha, okay I think just about everyone has been in the situation of awkward silence during class when the teacher asks the question of "what did you think?" and everyone knows that no one is going to answer...=] that made me giggle. Good times.
Austin, I understand when you say that would expect your teacher to hold the right answer, but in all honesty couldn't you, or anyone else in the class, be holding the "correct" answer already? The teacher only has one view point on the subject, when there could possibly be way more. I certainly am not saying that the teacher is never right, I'm just saying that there could be different views on the material. I am so glad that you understand that there is almost always more than one way to view and interpret literary works. There are so many different perspectives on how individuals view the world and literature it is literally insane.
Post a Comment