conclusion to my blog

Conclusion to my blog

At the beginning of this journey I held certain beliefs of what teaching of literature should be. This was solely based on how I was taught at secondary school. Thus, I held the traditional belief that teachers should teach students what is required of them to know for exam purposes. Reading was based on knowing the plot or the content of the book thus; students should always come to class ready to start reading. Therefore, if I had to teach literature to adolescents I would have taught it based on these principles.

However, I have learnt from this journey into this course that teaching adolescent’s literature is much more than book knowledge. Firstly, as teachers we must be familiar with the stage of development that our adolescents are at as clearly outlined by education psychologists Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson. They are at that stage where they face constant identity crises as they try to find out who they are; they place great value to friendships and think that ‘adults are out to get them’. Thus, teachers must take into consideration these attributes of adolescents when choosing materials for them, in that they should be able to relate to the material chosen. 


In addition, we should choose materials that are characteristic of adolescent literature to ensure that students place value and learn to appreciate the books and its author. This, together with the various teaching strategies and approaches that are available will ensure that students acquire the knowledge that is necessary and that they enjoy what they read at the same time.

This ‘passage’ has been an important, fun and work filled for me. I believe that I am better equipped to teach my students and impart knowledge upon them that they will enjoy and appreciate. I am optimistic that when I enter a classroom my students will enjoy the numerous experiences that literature has to offer. I am very much contented with this knowledge that I possess and that I intend on passing on to my students.

Thank you to my lecturer and my classmates for being part of this experience and I hope that we continue to help each other for the betterment of practices in the classroom.