Reading lessons : the books we read at school, the conversations they spark and why they matter / Carol Atherton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Atherton, Carol, 1972- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English literature--Study and teaching (Secondary).

English literature.

Empathy in literature.

Empathy in children.

Social media and teachers.

Reading.

Physical Description:

391 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

[London] : Fig Tree, an imprint of Penguin Books, 2024.

Summary:

How can a Victorian poem help teenagers understand YouTube misogyny? Can Jane Eyre encourage us to speak out? What can Lady Macbeth teach us about empathy? Should our expectations for our future be any greater than Pip's? And why is it so important to make space for these conversations in the first place? In a career spanning almost three decades, English teacher Carol Atherton has taught generations of students texts that will be familiar to many of us from our own schooldays. But while the staples of exam syllabuses and reading lists remain largely unchanged, their significance - and their relevance - evolves with each class, as it encounters them for the first time. Each chapter of Reading Lessons invites us to take a fresh look at these novels, plays and poems, revealing how they have shaped our beliefs, our values, and how we interact as a society. As she recalls her own development as a teacher, Atherton emphasizes the vital, undervalued role a teacher plays, illustrates how essential reading is for developing our empathy and makes a passionate case for the enduring power of literature.

Contents:

Introduction

On power, gender and control: 'My last duchess' by Robert Browning

On social responsibility: An Inspector calls by J.B. Priestley

On complexity: To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee

On gaining a voice: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

On not fitting in: Oranges are not the only fruit by Jeanette Winterson

On loyalty, empathy and social mobility: Great expectations by Charles Dickens

On learning: A kestrel for a knave by Barry Hines

On seeing things differently: Noughts & crosses by Malorie Blackman

On behaving badly: Lord of the flies by William Golding

On secrets, lies and family histories: Coram boy by Jamila Gavin

On relationships, longings and female desire: Of mice and men / by John Steinbeck

On rising, like air: I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou

On emptiness and desperation: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

On not being enough: Death of a salesman by Arthur Miller

On the purpose of education: The history boys by Alan Bennett.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9780241629482

0241629489

OCLC:

1427990179