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A review by samhouston
Lit Up: One Reporter. Three Schools. Twenty-four Books That Can Change Lives. by David Denby
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.