In my classes I have often seen the confusion about which Graff writes. Students often don’t understand why they are asked to do something. Even though I try to explain the purpose of assignments to them, sometimes they don’t quite make the connection. “Why do I have to write this?” is a frequent question. Of course, my least favorite question would have to be “Is this busy work.” (Is it any wonder that at times I think all high school teachers should be shot? Of course none of you would assign busy work)

This is problem is particularly true of the assignment to “write an argument paper.” I think there are multiple reasons for this. The first one is the dreaded 5 paragraph essay. While I recognize the usefulness of this structure as a way to teach writing in the initial stages (Though I did not learn to write with this formula and I think I do okay.), like the training wheels on a bike, it must eventually be abandoned. However, like the child who refuses to attempt riding without the security of training wheels, students are reluctant to abandoned a reliable method of composing. Even though a parent can watch a child pedal away with the training wheels never touching the ground, students don’t realize their own capabilities.

Another formula that students cling to is the concept of proving something with their argument. This again may be the result of earlier teaching. (My apologies to all you high school teachers. I am not really blaming you for this.) Many freshman composition teachers assign some form of the standard argument paper. “Choose a topic. Write a paper that proves your point of view. Use sources.” I even assign this very basic essay in my freshman comp classes. The problem begins when I try to introduce students to the concept that an argument is sometimes just a debate. I want them to choose a topic and discuss it. They don’t have to come to a resounding conclusion. They can even, horror of horrors, leave the reader with a question at the end of the essay. But my students have been too well trained (by me or someone else?) to accept this easily. A paper must have a provable thesis. The thesis must state the topic ideas of each paragraph. (That is my personal pet peeve. After all, how boring is that?) Each paragraph must make a single claim that relates directly to the thesis. That is writing with training wheels. But the students are comfortable there. Removing that support might allow them to fall.

Another area that causes difficulty for students is that they don’t value their own opinion. The first argument based paper that I assign has the stipulation of “no research allowed.” This frequently elicits the response of “then how do I know what to write.” In addition to not valuing their own opinion, students think that teachers also won’t value their opinions. In one class discussion, I kept asking questions in an attempt to get students to pay more attention to the literature we were reading. One student, in frustration, finally blurted, “Why don’t you just tell us what you want us to say.” I’m not sure I ever fully convinced that student that I was not looking for a specific answer, only an answer.

So what does all this have to do with Graff and teaching literature? I, of course, believe that I FULLY and COMPLETELY explain all rationales, purposes, and reasons to my students. So imagine my surprise when I read Graff’s section about a Comparative Curriculum and thought to myself that we do have a comparative curriculum. By exposing students to opposing views in the classroom, we are allowing them to compare philosophies and beliefs, to compare and evaluate these in order to form their own beliefs. After all, isn’t this what we are really doing? Then I realized that I know this, and probably some of the A students know this, but it is one of the “fogged areas” for most students. They probably don’t realize the comparative opportunity we are offering them. Maybe (just maybe) I am more a part of the problem than I would like to admit.

So on to relating this to literature. We have talked a lot this semester about helping students to connect to literature, about allowing them to perform their own interpretations. That is all wonderful. But how do we let students know why they are doing this? How do we keep literature from becoming a “fogged area?” One of the first things we need to do is decide for ourselves why reading literature is important. This may sound banal, but it is a long debated and hotly contested issue. And I have no answer. At this point I really don’t even have much discussion (not because I couldn’t, but because am already 818 words). If reading “The Cask of Amontillado” is to be anything more than just another assignment, we need to answer that question for ourselves, and we need to be willing to discuss it with our students, even in all its incompleteness.