The Paideia Program-Part II-Ch.4-English Language & Literature

In PART TWO of The Paideia Program, attention is turned towards individual subjects in school. For the next ten chapters of the book, each chapter is spent discussing a specific topic, and how the Paideia School teaches / implements that topic into its "program." The writings begin with chapter four...

PART TWO:

Chapter Four: English Language and Literature

English Language and Literature is "broken down" and discussed in this chapter. In the beginning of the chapter Adler is writing about what it takes to be a "good teacher." In his opinion, “Good teachers are first of all good learners, who use their learning to teach better and their teaching to learn more” (Adler, 1984)(p. 59). Dissecting this statement, first he mentions that teachers have to be "learners." This is true, or else, no one in this class that I am currently taking would be here. However, there is a key word that is often overlooked in that statement, when read quickly. It is the word, "good." There are several teachers, but how many of them can be described as "good?" According to Adler, only the ones that are "good learners."

Next, Adler mentions that these "good learners, use this learning to teach better and their teaching to learn more"(Adler, 1984)(p.59). This statement goes back to the fact that teaching is a continuous process. In order to be a "successful teacher," one must constantly be practicing / learning / fine-tuning his / her skills.

The next topic discussed were the three characteristics of "language and literature in the Paideia School." These characteristics are:

1.    Presence of teachers who habitually practice language skills – chiefly reading and writing – and have an interest in improving them.

2.    A schedule that includes periods of intensive coaching and of weekly or bi-weekly seminars.

3.    A list of readings, containing the best and most interesting examples of major kinds of writing. The reading list is the backbone of a Paideia school. It contains (1) materials for the seminars, (2) readings for literature classes, and (3) supplementary texts to enrich the work done in other classes…

Continuing with the idea that "improving your teaching skills" is never done, Adler writes about "Coaching to Improve the Language Skills." From this section, I found two main topics that he specifically hit on and they are:

- “In the lower grades all teachers should be language coaches. In the upper grades, English teachers bear the major responsibility” (Adler, 1984)(p.61).

- “Coaching in all four language skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing- should begin in the early years” (Adler, 1984)(p.62)

Instruction in the area of "Didactic Instruction" was the next area of importance pulled from this chapter. Two of Adler's main statements concerning "Didactic Instruction in Language and Literature" are:

- “This is reserved for the upper grades, when students beyond the age of 11 or 12 have acquired sufficient experience and knowledge of language and literature to be interested in them as subjects themselves” (Adler, 1984)(p.67).

- “Didactic instruction in language focuses on structures” (Adler, 1984)(p.67).

-When Adler wrote about the "Discussion of Literature in the English Classroom" several ideas from "The Program's" viewpoint were written. However, my main findings are:

 - “The Paideia Program does not ask that student read everything in school…The aim is to instill the habit of reading for information, for knowledge, for understanding, and for pleasure” (Adler, 1984)(p.68).

- “Literacy, the acquisition of knowledge, and the ability to think are interdependent. Everyone knows this, but the Paideia Program believes it strong enough to propose acting on the belief” (Adler, 1984)(p.70)

    Adler and The Group also believe that some children cannot read & write later on b/c they have not been taught how to read and write well.