Closing Thoughts

Now that class has unofficially ended and only my final course proposal is due, I have some closing thoughts to wrap up on this class, and this blog. I have a much different perspective on young adult literature than when I entered the class, for which I am glad. It's not the class I signed up for at all, but I think I have a new venue for getting my students to open up and explore themselves in ways I really think they need in high school. Many young adult books may not be schools for style in the way that the classics are, but they can open students emotionally and create meaningful discussion among young people. Much of my educational philosophy is about helping students find their own voices, and much of that comes from exploring different perspectives, which I want to fuel through literature and reading. I will always be a strong defender of the classics--you could never take the Shakespeare nerd out of my soul--but I see where young adult literature can fit into the modern high school classroom, and plan on using it where I can in my own future career.