Comments for Stretched Mind

Comment on Weighing Words by Michelle Rustenbach

Michelle Rustenbach — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:53:45 +0000

I think everyone can agree the Scarlet Letter meets the requirements Standard 6 states, that’s not the question. The question is if students are really getting the full experience, really understanding and relating to the book. Though I have not yet read the book, from the story line and the characters, already I’m not exactly looking forward to reading it. While I’m sure the book brings about some insightful and interesting points, I’m not sure I could really relate anything in it with my own life.
I really enjoyed Nancy Schnogs article �??We�??re Teaching Books That Don�??t Stack Up�??, mostly because I’ve found myself thinking the exact same thoughts about the reading material in previous English classes. If teachers truly want students to enjoy reading, they should give something meaningful for them to read. What are we learning from these books if we can’t relate to them?

Comment on Weighing Words by winterster

winterster — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:22:50 +0000

@ Amara
I agree that this book clearly meets Colorado state standards. I know exactly what you mean about students focusing on the bad instead of the good ( I used to resent being told that I had to read a book), but I bet that our class will have no trouble diving into the book.

Comment on Weighing Words by winterster

winterster — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:19:40 +0000

@Sarah
I completely agree with what you are saying about how you have to look at things with the right attitude. In the past, I have had to read books for school, but decided ahead of time that I didn’t like them and they were stupid, only to reread them on my own and come to learn that I really enjoyed it.

Comment on Weighing Words by winterster

winterster — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:16:23 +0000

I absolutely believe that this book will be a meaningful academic pursuit for this class. This book is written by a very popular and well reviewed American author: Nathaniel Hawthorne. Any one of his books would be a worthwhile pursuit. Picking the Scarlet Letter (his most popular book) clearly meets Colorado’s academic standards, and will probably be an enjoyable pursuit.

Comment on Weighing Words by Sarah Merrill

Sarah Merrill — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:30:01 +0000

@Amara,
I totally agree with what you’re saying. It should be read for those reasons addressed in the standards. But I also think that shouldn’t be the sole basis on choosing a book to read in a class. I know what you mean when you said that we look at the “bad” things instead of focusing on the good parts about it. I tend to do that sometimes! But I agree that we might learn a few things from this book!

Comment on Weighing Words by Sarah Merrill

Sarah Merrill — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:50:39 +0000

I believe that the Scarlet Letter is going to be a great book for us to read. Despite some of the bad reviews that I have read. I think to truly enjoy the book you have to go into it with the right attitude. If your thinking reading it will be a drag, you will end up making the book boring for yourself. This book is a classic novel, and has the materials we are supposed to learn in standard 6. I believe this book could hold a lot in it for our class, and show us some classic literature that may not be found in other books. So overall I think this book is meaningful for us to read and study in this class!

Comment on Weighing Words by Amara Nagle

Amara Nagle — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:56:47 +0000

The reason I think the Scarlet Letter is a worthwhile and meaningful academic endeavor for our class is because it is a good example of a classic novel that seems to tell about records of human experiences, lessons and issues. This covers most part of Colorado Standard 6, which should be taken into account when being chosen to read. If a book covers adequately the standards of our high school literature courses, and are even somewhat appealing to read, I think they should be read. One review on Amazon said that this book is commonly chosen to be read in high school literature courses because it is full of symbolism, foreshadowing and some of the themes of the Romantic Movement. Often times a required read is boring, hard to follow, etc., in our eyes as the student. We can often get caught up in focusing on the “bad” of the book instead of the “good.” When this happens, the meaning, themes, morals and academic endeavors are lost. In this case, I have not read this book yet to I can’t be sure, but I think it is a worthwhile read because it seems to cover many of the standards, literature ideas and common themes. We just might be able to learn a few things from this book, The Scarlet Letter.