The second chapter really spoke to me because I do think that the English curriculum that is forced in most schools really serves as an injustice to individual student learning. Scholes has brought about a new way for teachers to teach literature in the classroom. I do believe that textual power is important. Having kids create the ownership and understanding of the works we teach is invaluable. When I watch my students I realize that reading is in fact a skill and when they do not understand the fundamental narrative coding it is difficult for them to understand.

When we were reading In the Time of the Butterflies, I was surprised that they really had a hard time adjusting to the narrative change. One chapter would be written in a narrative they were used to and the next would be set up in a diary-style. It took dissecting the reasons for the diary entries for them to become more comfortable with the novel’s style. As a teacher, it is a challenge for me to help them read and understand the overall concept of the text. It seems with the novels I choose to teach, there are always political and social undertones that make the reading much richer when they are understood. The term textual power is so powerful because to me understanding the connections and links to other works, art, history and politics does make the reading that much more interesting and meaningful.

When Scholes looks at Hemingway’s work, In Our Time, I was really impressed and overwhelmed by the detail in which he looked at the text. As a teacher I don’t think I ever asked such detailed questions about the writer’s style. This might sound odd, but asking those questions was what I loved so much about my college professors. I guess I never felt that way with any of my high school teachers. I think secretly I felt that my high school students wouldn’t be able to interpret to the extent Scholes discusses. I am more encouraged after reading this book, but I also got a little hung-up on the cultural codes that my ESOL students struggle with. At times they cannot “orient” themselves because they are thrown off by the new language and culture. When Scholes suggests looking at words and asking kids to construct a scene and slowly add or imagine text without words really seems like it might work. I suppose it does if he wrote a book about it. In my class we are about to embark on The Odyssey. I feel I can use these methods because Homer does use specific language and often more than once. Asking students to pay special attention to the words and phrases will hopefully enable them to understand the text better. Having students write from the point of view of Odysseus or one of the men on his ship may also help them relate to the text.

When Scholes suggest the group study approach to reading and interpretation it makes me feel good because I run my ESOL classes seminar style. Luckily I only have less than ten students in each class so I can ask deeper questions and we can discuss the hang ups and issues that individuals have with the text. I feel a lot more confident about teaching my students because I do think we need to find new ways to be great teachers because the traditional curriculum and style is dry and I always a proponent for fresh changes in the classroom.