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Lit Up: One Reporter. Three Schools. Twenty-four Books That Can Change Lives. by David Denby
edgoff's review
4.0
This documents the role English teachers play in teenagers lives. You follow the reporter throughout the year of these three schools, reacting to the book choices and students has they are challenged to do more than just be. It's remarkable the amount of time and energy teachers put into their students. Great book, leaving you falling in love with the book, cheering the students on, and admiring the passionate teachers.
bibliokris's review
5.0
I tore through this--I love the different schools, teachers and students Denby highlights in this book about the power of literature to educate, enliven and ennoble students (and readers in general). Reading challenging books can wake up a reader, and one of Denby's theses is that technology and social media take life and presence away from young people who need a quiet mental place to learn about other lives and other ways of thinking. (And all readers need that space.) Inspiring.
nutfreenerd's review
If you're an English major or thinking of becoming one, I highly recommend this book!
Loved: Really interesting experiment going into high school English classrooms and observing students over a long period of time, meticulous and insightful reporting, noble purpose.
Disliked: Different from what I expected, less about the books themselves in some ways and more about how they are approached and framed for students.
Loved: Really interesting experiment going into high school English classrooms and observing students over a long period of time, meticulous and insightful reporting, noble purpose.
Disliked: Different from what I expected, less about the books themselves in some ways and more about how they are approached and framed for students.
zachkuhn's review
4.0
Highly recommended for anyone who wants to know what a great high school literary experience looks like. I shudder to imagine what teaching Dostoevsky to 10th graders looks/feels/smells like. Especially Notes from Underground...
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review
4.0
We can all agree on this, I think: Our world needs readers. And we are not doing a good job bringing kids to a love for reading.
Denby takes on this problem by visiting three tenth grade English classrooms with fervent teachers and sharing highlights of what went on in the classrooms over the course of a year. He includes a list of books read in the classrooms in the appendix.
Denby faces off with the usual culprits, primarily social media. Of course, I agree. But I tend to think that at least part of the problem today is the inability of teachers to share the books they feel most fervent about. Much of this is state-mandated, unfortunately. Further, the students aren’t often given choice in what they choose to read. A double-whammy.
I loved visiting these classrooms with Denby, where students were compelled to become More by fabulous books and passionate teachers. It gives me hope.
I’d love to hear what high school English teachers think about this. And reading teachers. And my fellow librarians. I heartily recommend it for all of you.
Denby takes on this problem by visiting three tenth grade English classrooms with fervent teachers and sharing highlights of what went on in the classrooms over the course of a year. He includes a list of books read in the classrooms in the appendix.
Denby faces off with the usual culprits, primarily social media. Of course, I agree. But I tend to think that at least part of the problem today is the inability of teachers to share the books they feel most fervent about. Much of this is state-mandated, unfortunately. Further, the students aren’t often given choice in what they choose to read. A double-whammy.
I loved visiting these classrooms with Denby, where students were compelled to become More by fabulous books and passionate teachers. It gives me hope.
I’d love to hear what high school English teachers think about this. And reading teachers. And my fellow librarians. I heartily recommend it for all of you.
samhouston's review
4.0
In a world where music, books, and movies are free and instantly available twenty-four hours a day, do they have any real value to consumers? When books lose their physical presence in favor of a bunch of electronic blips that can be accessed on a variety of hand-held devices, do they even seem real anymore? Or do they lose their aura of timelessness and their influence on the lives of readers? Is a culture so in thrall to its electronic technology even capable of producing serious readers?
David Denby knows the importance of "reading seriously," and feels strongly that if "literature matters less to young people than it once did, we are all in trouble." But how, he wonders, does an appetite for a lifetime of serious reading get created in a society so dominated by the kind of technology that provides and encourages instant gratification? Denby believes that age fifteen is both a "danger spot and a sweet spot" when it comes to creating lifelong readers - grab them now or risk forever losing them - so he decided to spend time in three high schools to see for himself what is happening there.
In each instance, Denby's plan is to observe students and teachers in the classroom, reading the assigned books with them but keeping his mouth shut during classroom discussions, and only speaking with students and teachers after or before classes. As he puts it, he "wanted to see if readers could be born - what happens when a nonreaders becomes a reader." Over a two-year span, Denby would spend most of his time at Beacon, a magnet high school in Manhattan but also visited James Hillhouse High School, an inner-city school in New Haven, and a high school in Mamaroneck, a wealthy New York suburb.
To outsiders, it might appear that these three schools have little in common. Hillhouse, despite its proximity to one of the country's best universities, serves a largely at-risk population of low-income African-American students. Beacon's students have to compete to join its student body, and the parents of Mamaroneck students pay dearly for the privilege of having their children attend high school there. But, as Denby would find, each of the schools was blessed with the kind of dedicated, enthusiastic teacher that can make all the difference in the lives of students.
Denby observed teachers who challenge their students by assigning the kind of reading that is "too hard for them," books that force them to search for answers within themselves. He found teachers who never give up on a student, teachers who manage to reach even those who flippantly proclaim their status as nonreaders at the beginning of the school year. Denby was happy (and, I believe, somewhat relieved) to find that serious readers are still being born in America's classrooms. The question that leaves us with is how do we make sure that every high school has an English teacher (or two or three) like Beacon's Sean Leon and his Hillhouse and Mamaroneck counterparts. Teachers like them are key to the process of giving birth to tomorrow’s serious readers.
David Denby knows the importance of "reading seriously," and feels strongly that if "literature matters less to young people than it once did, we are all in trouble." But how, he wonders, does an appetite for a lifetime of serious reading get created in a society so dominated by the kind of technology that provides and encourages instant gratification? Denby believes that age fifteen is both a "danger spot and a sweet spot" when it comes to creating lifelong readers - grab them now or risk forever losing them - so he decided to spend time in three high schools to see for himself what is happening there.
In each instance, Denby's plan is to observe students and teachers in the classroom, reading the assigned books with them but keeping his mouth shut during classroom discussions, and only speaking with students and teachers after or before classes. As he puts it, he "wanted to see if readers could be born - what happens when a nonreaders becomes a reader." Over a two-year span, Denby would spend most of his time at Beacon, a magnet high school in Manhattan but also visited James Hillhouse High School, an inner-city school in New Haven, and a high school in Mamaroneck, a wealthy New York suburb.
To outsiders, it might appear that these three schools have little in common. Hillhouse, despite its proximity to one of the country's best universities, serves a largely at-risk population of low-income African-American students. Beacon's students have to compete to join its student body, and the parents of Mamaroneck students pay dearly for the privilege of having their children attend high school there. But, as Denby would find, each of the schools was blessed with the kind of dedicated, enthusiastic teacher that can make all the difference in the lives of students.
Denby observed teachers who challenge their students by assigning the kind of reading that is "too hard for them," books that force them to search for answers within themselves. He found teachers who never give up on a student, teachers who manage to reach even those who flippantly proclaim their status as nonreaders at the beginning of the school year. Denby was happy (and, I believe, somewhat relieved) to find that serious readers are still being born in America's classrooms. The question that leaves us with is how do we make sure that every high school has an English teacher (or two or three) like Beacon's Sean Leon and his Hillhouse and Mamaroneck counterparts. Teachers like them are key to the process of giving birth to tomorrow’s serious readers.
agmaynard's review
3.0
Jumped around after reading the first chunk. Do kids today respond to the classical reading lists or the popular-for-its-time books? Like many things, you could answer, "it depends." And it depends on the creative and dedicated teachers trying to reach the teenagers and engage their brains. And pry them away from social media. Recommended, even if you also jump around to get the flavor.
jmarielewis's review
4.0
I can't deny the complaints in other reviews here about the author's attitude towards students, screens, and YA lit. But Denby did warn us from the beginning that he was going to be judging, and I think he actually softened over the several years of his observations. At any rate, the celebration here of meaningful encounters with literature, of excellent teachers, of young people struggling with big things and growing up a little, is too joyful for me to penalize the book's rating because I don't always like Denby's attitude or agree with his presuppositions.
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