Storm Shaw

Teaching Literature: Classics or Fantasy?

I am relatively new to teaching, (substitute teacher at all levels for two years, sixth-grade English for another two, and most recently Senior AP literature/Honors tenth grade English) but one thing I've heard far more than I'd like to is that kids "just don't like to read." I hold a firm belief that children who express this sentiment do so because they simply haven't found their genre. Genre is elusive in a sense because we open one door only to step into a room filled with more doors. Anyone who has been asked to explain what kind of music, writing, or art they create has faced this dilemma in trying to put into words just what their art is most like. It sends them on a walking tour through some doors, peeping into others only to back out and choose another. It is confusing and often overwhelming, but possibly more interesting, is it is expansive. The door I most often open is fantasy.