Download Literature Curriculum

DRAFT
ENGLISH LITERATURE
CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
Deo Preparatory School of Georgia
Course Title:
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English Literature
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Teaching English Literature from a Christian Worldview
Parents who want their children to receive a classical education will be reluctant to direct them in a
course of sappy books, whether or not the authors are Christians. And parents who want their children to go
to heaven when they die will be reluctant to turn them over to a course of reading produced by erudite and
eloquent God-haters. The problem is compounded by the fact that, unlike the government schools, private
schools excel in teaching their students to read. And once the children learn to read, they roar through all the
good books available, and a major problem then presents itself. What do we do now? Our kids are all dressed
up with no place to go.
But before embarking on the quest for the “perfect book list,” it is important to master certain
principles first. Otherwise, your students’ reading list is more likely to be based on whims and fads and the
“latest rage” than upon sturdy biblical principle.
The first thing to realize is that biblical thinking and captivating writing are not antithetical concepts.
The fact that the combination is so rare in our contemporary culture is simply a testimony to the retreatist
mentality that has afflicted evangelical Christians since the general cultural apostasy of the last century. As
believing Christians, our desire should be to do everything we do to the glory of God. This means we should
not write, and we should not read, Christian books which are a bunch of nothing. A Christian literature
program is not one in which the students read “Christian books.” A Christian literature program is one in
which the students are taught to read great literature and to think while they read, as Christians. As they do, our
children must be taught to appreciate a finely-crafted sentence-to the glory of God. As Christians, we are
people of the Word, and consequently, we should be people of words. We should understand words and use
them well.
The second principle we must understand is that biblical faith is not moralism. What many mean by
Christian books is simply decent books-some kids’ story with Disneyfied standards. But this sort of thing is
rarely Christian; it is simply G-rated paganism. When this principle is understood, many parents are tempted to
rate books according to some very simple shibboleth-i.e. “Does it have swear words in it?” The problem, of
course, is that some utterly humanistic books meet such standards, and some wonderful Christian books do
not. Also related to this is the fact that our modern moralism is detached from biblical moorings, and is
consequently determined by the latest rage in contemporary “ethics” - whether political correctness, selfesteem, feminism, or whatnot. This results in the reader being confronted with the spectacle of a King Arthur,
say, working through his problems with low self-esteem.
The third principle is that, if your children are being educated to think like Christians to the glory of
God, they should be equipped to read and analyze, and to a certain extent, appreciate, the writing of godless
writers who were, nevertheless, craftsmen. One can appreciate some of Twain’s writing, for example, while
understanding his despair and refusing to follow him in it.
The temptation is, once the children have learned to read, to turn them over to the books. But this is
abdication and not teaching. Christian teachers should not use books the way many government school teachers
use video-as a cheap babysitter and no-brainer. Parents, and teachers they hire, are responsible for what is
going into their children’s minds - it does not matter if the source is television, the neighbors’ kids, or the
books checked out from the school library. But in order to avoid such abdication, parents and teachers must
be diligent readers as well, and they should have a good idea of how books are shaping both their children’s
worldview, and this includes their understanding, and appreciation of well written literature.
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Teaching English Literature in the Grammar Stage
A good school will emphasize literature and good books, even at the earliest years. There is no reason
for making children endure basals when they could be reading good books. But we must be careful. An
emphasis on books is thought by some to be what is meant by the phrase “whole language.” In reality what is
called “the whole language approach” to literacy has been nothing less than a disaster on wheels. But the
confusion has been understandable. Whole language instruction encourages the child to “read for meaning.”
Whole language encourages an examination of the larger context through reading whole books. Whole
language discourages fixation with the sounds of individual letters and the meaning of individual words. It
deemphasizes “getting at words.” It denies objective meaning for words and places each student in the
position of “creating meanings” for the text. In short, whole language is nothing other than deconstructionist
literary theory in short pants holding a Barney the dinosaur lunch bucket.
If the whole language approach is staunchly resisted, the result will be students who can read. But
literacy, considered in itself, it not an automatic blessing. Literacy can be used to master TV Guide, Nintendo
instruction manuals, and the National Enquirer. Once a student is equipped in reading, he must also be taught
to love the lovely. “Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are
just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any
virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things” (Phil. 4:8). Lewis put it this way,
Literature exists to teach what is useful, to honour what deserves honour, to appreciate what
is delightful. The useful, honourable and delightful things are superior to it: it exists for their
sake; its own use; honour, or delightfulness is derivative from theirs.
This means that, as the students are taught properly, they should grow in their love for great literature. An
essential part of this process is having a teacher who loves the literature as well. When a teacher loves and
appreciates a book, he is then in a position to teach his students to do the same. Love is contagious.
There is a wide range of ability in reading between the Kindergartner who enters the elementary and
the sixth grader who is ready for the Dialectic Stage. Therefore, a thorough description of the particular
pedagogy employed in each grade of the elementary would be extensive. It is the general patterns seen in
teaching which we will address here.
The first spectrum to consider is that of the amount of individual instruction that each child should
receive in reading. The progression that we generally follow is- the younger the student is, the more individual
attention he will need and the older the student is, the more independent work will be expected of him. This
naturally means that the K-2 students will need to have small groups and, in some cases, parent helpers in order
to monitor, coach and give instruction to each student. In the 3rd and 4th grades, the students are definitely
making the transition over to being independent readers and, therefore, they need less actual reading
instruction. By the time a student reaches 5th grade, proficiency in reading and comprehension should be
attained, and the focus shifts from learning the skills of reading and understanding to the evaluation of high
quality literature.
For example, in 6th grade our students read The Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London. Now,
Jack London was a commendable writer and his books are captivating to read, but that is not why we assign
them to our students. The reason that the 6th graders are required to read London’s works is because they are
textbook-case examples of naturalism, and it is our desire that the students be able to identify opposing
worldviews in the literature they read and respond effectively within the context of the Christian worldview.
Another aspect of reading, which is related to this issue, is that of how much emphasis should be
placed on oral reading as opposed to silent reading. A similar ratio as the one outlined above is appropriate.
The younger the students are, the more oral reading they will be required to do, and, as the students progress
into the upper elementary, the amount of oral reading is reduced but never completely abandoned.
Finally, an encouragement to always consider the practice of reading out loud to the students a worthy
use of time by the teacher (or another adult). The advantages of doing this may be obvious to those who teach
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DRAFT
younger students, but it does not lose its value when the students are older. Since imitation is a key element to
the entire grammar stage, regularly listening to a good oral reader can only benefit these young students in their
own oral readings. And, frankly, it is just downright enjoyable and relaxing to hear a good story real aloud by
someone who knows how to do it. Plan for a bit of this quiet time each day, you won’t regret it.
Teaching English Literature in the Dialectic Stage
Teaching English Literature in the Rhetoric Stage
English Literature Goals for all Grades
1.
We seek to adequately equip each child with the phonetic skills and practice necessary to read well, that is,
smoothly and with good comprehension.
2.
We seek to carefully monitor and guide the child's growth in reading-related skills, e.g. comprehension and
vocabulary development, while he is reading and enjoying worthwhile, time-tested, challenging literature.
3.
We seek to expose the child to a wide variety of literature styles and forms and not restrict him to one
common, dull basal.
4.
We seek to integrate the love and practice of reading with many other areas of study, e.g. the Bible, history,
and science to help the student become a read-to-learn person all his life.
5.
We seek to teach our students to read carefully and critically with an understanding of the Christian
worldview and with the ability to identify opposing worldviews of the authors they encounter.
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