“The first thing you need to know about Greek myths,” Mr.
Venza replied, “is that they are absurd. Unrealistic. They couldn’t happen in
real life. But,” he said, hopping off his desk and starting to meander through
the rows of students, “that’s fiction. It doesn’t need to be one hundred
percent realistic in order to teach us something. That’s the difference between
English class and history class. In social studies, I’ll teach you the facts as
I know them, how the world knows them. But in English—language arts—the rules
are more flexible.”
I was sitting up so straight, I thought my spine might
snap. I wanted to write down on paper what Mr. Venza was saying and then go
home to try and make sense of it. What did he mean about English being
flexible? I put my hand in the air slowly, like the air was going to bite me.
“Bowie?”
“What do you mean about the rules in English? Shouldn’t
they be the same as rules in social studies?”
“When I say rules,” he said, “I really mean outcomes. Results.
When we learn about the Minoan eruption later this week, we’re going to read
reports of how the volcano devastated the city of Santorini. Everyone in this
class will come to the same conclusions about the effects of the disaster. But
when we read a short story in our anthologies about a boy growing up in ancient
Greece, you all might come out with different feelings about it. Two people
might disagree about the point of the story. One of you might feel sad at the
end, while another of you feels inspired. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
he asked me.
I wasn’t completely sure, but I nodded anyway.
He seemed to realize I was just humoring him, because he
continued to speak. “There isn’t one right or wrong answer when you read a book,
just our opinions. Now, I know this might sound different than what other
teachers have told you, but it’s what I believe. So when we start talking about
stories, never be afraid to say what you feel. You won’t be penalized for it.”
He looked at me again, and this time my nod was genuine.
Okay, I know I say this EVERY WEEK, but now this one is my favorite excerpt so far! I love, love, love the way Mr. Venza explains fiction. He hits the nail on the head perfectly. Any chance he'll be inspiring a love of writing in Bowie?! :)
ReplyDelete:D Bowie's already a crazy reader, and I think Mr. Venza is going to help her take her understanding of literature to a new level. Maybe eventually she'll turn that into her own writing. :) For now, though, she's going to learn how to think outside the rigid structure she thinks books have (she's never thought about how stories can be interpreted in multiple ways before, and it really changes how she looks at things).
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