Lit up

Informationen zum Autor David Denby Klappentext "[A] masterpiece . . . Denby is especially astute in describing what it takes to capture teenagers' attention. . . . [A] wonderful book." --- The Huffington Post It's no secret that millions of American teenagers, caught up in social media, television, movies, and games, don't read seriously---they associate sustained reading with duty or work, not with pleasure. Seeing this indifference as a grievous loss, bestselling author and distinguished critic David Denby goes back to high school to answer two questions: Can teenagers be turned on to serious reading? What kind of teachers can do it, and with what books? Denby sat in on a tenth-grade English class in a demanding New York public school for an entire academic year and made frequent visits to a troubled inner-city public school in New Haven and to a respected public school in Westchester County. He read all the stories, poems, plays, and novels that the kids were reading, and here creates an impassioned portrait of charismatic teachers at work, classroom dramas large and small, and fresh and inspiring encounters with the books themselves. Lit Up is a dramatic narrative that traces awkward and baffled beginnings but also exciting breakthroughs and the emergence of pleasure in reading. In a sea of bad news about education and the fate of the book, Denby reaffirms the power of great teachers and the importance and inspiration of great books. Inhaltsverzeichnis INTRODUCTION XIII CHAPTER ONE BEACON, SEPTEMBER: THE FIRST DAYS OF ENGLISH 10G 1 CHAPTER TWO BEACON, OCTOBER: FAULKNER AND HAWTHORNE 12 CHAPTER THREE BEACON, OCTOBER: SYLVIA PLATH AND CONFESSIONS 29 CHAPTER FOUR BEACON, NOVEMBER: NUTS MATTER, AND BOLTS, TOO 35 CHAPTER FIVE BEACON, NOVEMBER: HUXLEY 44 CHAPTER SIX BEACON, DECEMBER AND JANUARY: ORWELL 63 CHAPTER SEVEN MAMARONECK, ALL YEAR: PERSONAL CHOICE 78 CHAPTER EIGHT BEACON, JANUARY: SATIRE 97 CHAPTER NINE BEACON, FEBRUARY: COELHO AND HESSE 107 CHAPTER TEN BEACON, FEBRUARY: VONNEGUT 120 CHAPTER ELEVEN BEACON, MARCH: VIKTOR E. FRANKL 131 CHAPTER TWELVE HILLHOUSE: THE YEAR 144 CHAPTER THIRTEEN MAMARONECK, SPRING: TENTH-­GRADE ENGLISH 178 CHAPTER FOURTEEN BEACON, APRIL AND MAY: DOSTOEVSKY 184 CHAPTER FIFTEEN BEACON, MAY AND JUNE: SARTRE AND BECKETT 203 AFTERWORD 222 Appendix 1: Reading Lists 239 Appendix 2: Beacon Students' College List 242 Bibliography 244 Ac­know­ledg­ments 248 Index of Authors and Works 251 ...

Autorentext

David Denby

Klappentext

"[A] masterpiece . . . Denby is especially astute in describing what it takes to capture teenagers' attention. . . . [A] wonderful book." ---The Huffington Post

It's no secret that millions of American teenagers, caught up in social media, television, movies, and games, don't read seriously---they associate sustained reading with duty or work, not with pleasure. Seeing this indifference as a grievous loss, bestselling author and distinguished critic David Denby goes back to high school to answer two questions: Can teenagers be turned on to serious reading? What kind of teachers can do it, and with what books? Denby sat in on a tenth-grade English class in a demanding New York public school for an entire academic year and made frequent visits to a troubled inner-city public school in New Haven and to a respected public school in Westchester County. He read all the stories, poems, plays, and novels that the kids were reading, and here creates an impassioned portrait of charismatic teachers at work, classroom dramas large and small, and fresh and inspiring encounters with the books themselves. Lit Up is a dramatic narrative that traces awkward and baffled beginnings but also exciting breakthroughs and the emergence of pleasure in reading. In a sea of bad news about education and the fate of the book, Denby reaffirms the power of great teachers and the importance and inspiration of great books.

Inhalt

INTRODUCTION XIII

CHAPTER ONE
BEACON, SEPTEMBER: THE FIRST DAYS OF ENGLISH 10G 1

CHAPTER TWO
BEACON, OCTOBER: FAULKNER AND HAWTHORNE 12

CHAPTER THREE
BEACON, OCTOBER: SYLVIA PLATH AND CONFESSIONS 29

CHAPTER FOUR
BEACON, NOVEMBER: NUTS MATTER, AND BOLTS, TOO 35

CHAPTER FIVE
BEACON, NOVEMBER: HUXLEY 44

CHAPTER SIX
BEACON, DECEMBER AND JANUARY: ORWELL 63

CHAPTER SEVEN
MAMARONECK, ALL YEAR: PERSONAL CHOICE 78

CHAPTER EIGHT
BEACON, JANUARY: SATIRE 97

CHAPTER NINE
BEACON, FEBRUARY: COELHO AND HESSE 107

CHAPTER TEN
BEACON, FEBRUARY: VONNEGUT 120

CHAPTER ELEVEN
BEACON, MARCH: VIKTOR E. FRANKL 131

CHAPTER TWELVE
HILLHOUSE: THE YEAR 144

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
MAMARONECK, SPRING: TENTH-­GRADE ENGLISH 178

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
BEACON, APRIL AND MAY: DOSTOEVSKY 184

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
BEACON, MAY AND JUNE: SARTRE AND BECKETT 203

AFTERWORD 222

Appendix 1: Reading Lists 239
Appendix 2: Beacon Students' College List 242
Bibliography 244
Ac­know­ledg­ments 248
Index of Authors and Works 251