By doing exactly what you’re doing.

And I only take slight offense at your essay/poetry comment. I enjoyed teaching Creative Writing AND AP Lang. But, you’re right, if I had to choose, none of us have to guess which I’d pick.

If English is about communication and not literary devices2, how do we make this clear to them? How do we change the “English class” paradigm in the minds of those students who are hung up on worksheet answers when what we want is for them to understand that theme and tone and diction apply to life in a much more profound and practical way than in discussions of literature?3

Okie: “Teaching is making you a better writer.” This coming from someone with your talent and passion is quite humbling.

Regarding the music, is it that the sounds are more familiar/primal/something else? Is it that they can sit and let the song wash over them, while reading is a more active activity? Oh! I’ll experiment with reading a text out loud, then see if the tone is more apparent to them.

Regarding “communication”: This is where we diverge. You have always been the romantic (in the best possible way, of course; you know what I mean), while I’m the rational one. You write poetry; I write essays. We both want to read deeply because it speaks about the human experience. I want them to find the patterns of literature in their own lives, and use the skills they develop in writing essays to launch their ideas into the world. You want them to feel the beauty and pain of the world through reading, and use the skills you taught them to produce more beauty and expression in the world.

Final extremely broad question to both (and anyone else following along…): How do we help them see?

1 And second Okie’s comment. I think it’s wonderful that you stand behind David Copperfield. I’ve said it a million times, but our students receive an amazingly well-rounded education because of our disparate interests and passions.
2 I understand that the devices are how we talk about lit., and necessary to a thoughtful discussion.
3 Whoa, long sentence.

“The problem is about a miscommunication between teachers and students, and the result is the student missing the forest for the trees.”

“English classes are about learning to communicate.”

Yes and Yes. But I love and hate what the second quotation says. English class is so much more than that, but it’s foundation IS that.

To be a good English student, one must be a seer and a journalist. To see the many layers of White Noise and to communicate that vision. What good are communication skills if you can’t see?

I don’t think you need to poll students’ opinion of Copperfield. You cannot be closer to a book. You love that book more than any other. Of course you should teach it! That would be like telling Stallings to lay off POMO. Or me to lay off Hemingway. For better or worse, they strike a chord with us, and it’d be stupid to turn away from something we’re so passionate about.

Re: Click Trick:

A Buddhist teacher said to Philip Glass (music composer) in a documentary about the latter: “Teacher and student are learners. But one gets paid.” That’s one thing I really appreciate about your blog and your class, Stallings.

And teaching is making you a better writer.

Re: your last four bullets:

Well, I won’t comment on the last two bullets because I don’t want to, but the first bullet has a simple answer: you can hear the music. You can hear the difference in the tone of Nick Drake and Insane Clown Posse; you don’t even need to read the words. Now the trick would be to compare a confessional poem and song lyrics — I bet you the tone of Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” will ring ten times louder than the lyrics of Radiohead’s “Morning Bell”. And they’re both intelligent.

The second bullet (do I have enough colons in this comment?): I already know what you think about this and I agree. Yes, it does matter what the story is about. Each story may differ in the weight placed on either characteristic: plot vs. challenging read. T.S. Eliot and Kurt Vonnegut are required reading for very different reasons. A ten year old would have a raucous time with Breakfast of Champions and so would a 80 year old. But it would take a very precocious child to read The Wasteland.

I’ve babbled too long and said nothing I wanted to say, or very little I wanted to say.