Appreciation of Reading

Well who would have guessed it? As soon as the half term was over, it was full on again with the teaching role and this blog lay neglected, tucked in a corner of my mind, desperately trying to battle its way forward but weighed down under lesson planning and marking. Before anyone wants to say anything about the holidays that teachers get, I still worked everyday, I just had a bit of time in the evening to do something for me.  Easter is already looking very full of marking.  Typically I get 5-6 hours sleep a night and still am not on top of anything in the job or my home and feel I am always neglecting my own two children.

Quite frankly, I found myself feeling incredibly resentful that I was left with no time for my reading and could not  go to the book club I was going to join as I had not been able to read the book.  This meant I missed out on meeting the author and having those nagging questions answered.

I then read a quote about appreciating the gift of reading; it asked you to imagine life without it.  This made me think and think hard. I suddenly realised how much I am still reading.  I still read to both my children even though the eldest is 11 and a very competent reader.  We are reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy a few pages at a time and I am often taken aback by the descriptions it contains.  Utter poetical beauty.  I am also reading yet another Jacqueline Wilson number with my 8 year old daughter (this is the third on the trot by the same author!).


On top of this, I am teaching Of Mice and Men and A View from the Bridge, have just finished teaching Lord of the Flies, am reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with another class and will shortly be reading another novel as yet undecided with a Year 7 class.  They may not be my choices and are mostly literature I have read time and time again but I should recognise this privilege.


My own daughter struggles with reading as does the occasional high school student and I see how difficult life can be for them.  I must be more appreciative of those special times I get to read to others and of the precious minutes I have for my own reading, even if I tend to fall asleep exhausted after only a few lines!

Celebrating Charles Dickens

Here is one of the two delightful Charles Dickens collections currently available from Penguin. My bookshelves are extremely jealous! They have been produced as part of the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens.  I personally think they are delicious!

My own celebrations


Teaching:
I have today, been composing my own little celebration in memory of Dickens.  With a few weeks to fill with my year 7 class, I felt it would be a great opportunity to share with them some classic literature as well as having some fun.  I remember learning about how Dickens novels were published whilst studying for my Literature degree.  This small piece of information had a dramatic effect on my feelings for the author.  I suddenly understood and appreciated his visual feast of caricatures and I saw his work afresh.  Great Expectations went on to become one of my all time favourite books.


So yes, this is exactly what my little year 7 class will be learning about!  They will be introduced to a few of the characters, become detectives to discover what makes a Dickensian character and then finally create their own modern version.


As well as learning a little history along the way, I hope they will also grasp the relevance to today's society.  Fingers crossed for some gruesome, dodgy bankers!


Personal:
I have been promising myself for sometime that I would read Dickens' collection of works.  No mean feat. With teaching and being a mother taking up all the waking hours and minutes, zilch progress has been made.  However, I feel the time is now ripe!  I know I certainly won't be alone.  For my time schedule, tackling a huge pile of them this year would be disastrous so I'm hoping to read three or so and I have Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist in front of me now.  Which to choose?!


You?
How do you feel about Charles Dickens as an author? Have you read many of his books? Have you joined the celebrations in anyway?  Please feel free to add your comments.

Literary Light

Well teaching has proved to be much tougher this term in a new school.  Much, much tougher than expected.  I need to keep my love of literature alive and ensure I indulge in its delights however busy life may get. Times are  hard for many, including my family, and this blog will be my own personal light at the end of my tunnel.