From: Jones, Caroline E <cj24_at_txstate.edu>
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:40:13 -0500

This assumption of didacticism, whether attached to children's or YA lit, m akes me crazy! I believe that all good literature, regardless of intended a udience, will illuminate for readers something about the world or themselve s, but that it will do it in service to the story it tells, the characters it creates, and the language it uses, rather than in service to a lesson or moral. John Green's Looking for Alaska, for instance, might "teach" teens not to drink and drive, but its real value comes in what readers learn in t he aftermath of loss-even the vicarious loss experienced through the pages of the novel. I have had several students express their own gratitude for w hat the novel offered them in dealing with their own wide range of losses, but not one has ever said, "Boy, I'm sure grateful for the lesson that one taught me about drinking and driving!" Because kids get the lessons all ove r the place: school, parents and more and more, but literature models and e nables emotional, experiential, reflectiv e, and internal understanding. The "lessons" learned about being human resonate more fully and deeply than th ose behavioral lessons adults are so anxious about. Kids already know not t o drink and drive, but maybe experiencing the aftermath of that behavior is the way to help them truly understand the consequences.

I could go on and on (and on and on!) but I'll stop now. Caroline -- Dr. Caroline E. Jones Department of English 601 University Dr. Texas State University-San Marcos San Marcos, TX 78666 512-245-3785 Flowers Hall M13
Received on Thu 18 Aug 2011 12:40:13 PM CDT