Yes,
But the teachers who don't stop learning are the ones we remember.
Best,
Cassie
On Thu, 06 Jul 2000 17:31:40 -0700, [log in to unmask] wrote:
> There's no shortage of major woman poets to teach. What are the
> implications of my teaching a woman poet they may never have heard of?
>
> There are also lots of other poets I don't teach unless forced to, but
> Plath was the subject at hand.
>
> If I were to teach a poet whose work I really don't like I doubt that I'd
> be doing the poet a favor, and my attitude, even if it only came across
> subliminally, might make it harder for my students to read that poet on
> their own or in later classes.
>
> Everyone hopefully has many teachers. Every teacher is hopefully valuable
> for different reasons.
>
> At 05:20 PM 7/6/2000 -0700, you wrote:
> >Poetryetc,
> >
> >I have to agree with Mairead's comments below. I have never taught
poetry,
> >but I'm certain of how I would react if a poetry teacher saw fit to
direct
> >my well-being by categorigally removing certain poets from course
materials.
> >
> >
> >The majority of English students, at least in Melbourne, are women. What
are
> >the implications of removing a major woman poet from the syllabus?
> >
> >It's one thing to challenge a member of the canon, and that's valid if
it's
> >done in a valid way. But in that case, why aren't we having a go at
Eliot,
> >for instance?
> >
> >I'm rethinking my views on Plath as we speak and am in that hazy place
where
> >I don't know what to think, which I personally think is often a
precursor to
> >fresh insight.
> >
> >Best,
> >
> >Cassie
> >
> >
> >On Thu, 6 Jul 2000 19:23:15 -0400 (EDT), [log in to unmask] wrote:
> >
> >> David Lloyd has a thought-provoking essay, "Kant's Examples" (in
> >> Alexander Gelley's Unruly Examples: On the Rhetoric of Exemplarity)
in
> >> which he talk about the "unexpungeable melancholy of the pedagogical
> >scene,"
> >> based as it is on the exemplarity of the teacher and the necessity to
> >> progress past him/her. How do you, Mark, decide what would be bad,
or
> >> good, for your students? Are your students a homogeneous group, a
clump?
> >> How do you know what would be bad for them? In what sense bad? As I
> >> would be in no way capable of deciding what poetry would be good, or
bad,
> >> for the students in my classes, I teach what I enjoy.
> >>
> >> In many of the courses I teach, it seems appropriate to read Plath.
> >> Historically, she is an important figure in the tradition of American
> >> poetry. She is a key figure in the construction of "the woman poet."
> >> She is a highly skilled craftsperson. She was also an innovator, who
> >> introduced many experiences particular to women into poetry. I hope
> >> students will share my enjoyment. Like all students, I learn as I
teach.
> >> That's how I hope to minimize the unexpungeable melancholy.
> >>
> >> It is impossible for me to comprehend the contempt which you express
for
> >Plath.
> >>
> >> Mairead
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >_______________________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
>
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