A level Lit

[Piggywaspushed]

Anyone got any ideas or thoughts why the decline in popularity of Lit? Is it just the cult of STEM? (no offence STEM ists)

At my school, the numbers for next year have twice as many doing economics as A level lit, 3 times as many doing maths and 3 times as many doing physics and psychology...

Politics has fallen off, too, but history remains very popular.

Large comp - high achieving - lots of A level choice. Usual issues of MFL being dead on its feet.

[Piggywaspushed]

His A Level sounds fun! (although I hate those texts and love Atonement if that's the McEwan so I imagine he has a male teacher...) A lot of it does hang on one's curiosity about the world and a willingness to have an open mind.

Quite a lot of students at my school have quite closed minds and do respond very well to rote learning and facts. I imagine they go into a complete tail spin when maths gets all conceptual on them!

But I think that's why they pick and like Law and economics and why politics numbers have dropped.

[noblegiraffe]

What I always struggled with with lit (apart from the texts being so dull) is the idea of divining the author's intentions. 'Steinbeck didn't give Curley's wife a name to deny her an identity' could also be 'Steinbeck didn't give Curley's wife a name because he couldn't be arsed'. I had the same issue in music 'Beethoven changed key at this point to build tension because it sounded nice'. How can we really know?! So I needed to learn the 'official' interpretations of everything and didn't like going off-piste.

[Piggywaspushed]

The key words are always 'may have'!

Steinbeck's dog ate his first draft. true fact.

[noblegiraffe]

Shame he didn't eat the final one!

I don't remember it being taught as an exercise in speculation, it was all 'learn this quote to show this and that quote to support that'.

I don't know whether me finding the GCSE texts so dull was the sign that Lit wasn't for me, or the cause of my disengagement.

[Piggywaspushed]

Well, I am very engaging! I would have made you love it :)

It does sound like you were taught in a rather dull way....

[Piggywaspushed]

... and I hated maths so was always destined for English and languages. It's the all rounders who seem to be being lured away from us.

I guess there are more students who get lots of top grades these days and it makes choosing hard for them.

I also think our Eng dapt predicts grades 'realistically' and other depts. are optimistic, thereby luring A level uptake in.

[OCSockOrphanage]

Piggy, he has two female teachers, and he hates Atonement. He also did it in an aborted year from the Aspects of Love angle; this time it's aspects of crime. I have suggested he read McEwen's short stories which are weird, but he would love, cf Lovecraft but he can't get past that minute by minute clock-ticking opening. Never mind that the second half goes by in the click of fingers.

[Piggywaspushed]

Oh that's a shame. Atonement isn't perfect but my class did like it. It's a different exam board form ours; our students have to randomly compare it with poetry!

Strange books are often popular at A level : my classes have always loved Tess and Captain Corelli. and Streetcar goes down a storm. I hate hate Brighton Rock!

Your DS could read Northanger Abbey and The Go between to see what McEwan is plagiarisingpaying homage to.

[Piggywaspushed]

Oh and for great short stories , Saki and Roald Dahl.

[OCSockOrphanage]

He was handed the Go Between and Mrs Dalloway as holiday reads. Not opened. I hand feed (excellent) essays that are quick critical summaries. You can only, as Dorothy Parker wrote, "lead a whore to culture,; you cannot make her think". He will do it on his terms, and I respect that. It may not result in a top grade A level, but it will have been honestly argued. Sometimes, I think we miss that dimension.

[Piggywaspushed]

Oh but I love The Go Between!! Made me cry on a beach.

He should try it!

[gleegeek]

This is really interesting. My dd reads avidly but is really hating gcse lit and particularly lang She is really struggling to annotate texts and recognise literary devices. Any recommendations as to how I can help her? Looking at bitesize, we're not finding enough detail to please her teacher!

[OCSockOrphanage]

I had Katherine Mansfield short stories for A level. I loathed them, and think it may have prejudiced my views on literature for a life time. Both short stories and female issues. I can't bear either, unless disguised as history or politics.

[geogteach]

Interesting thread. I think staffing is having a massive impact on this. DS started lit this term but dropped it after a couple of weeks and changed to further maths. Teacher was an Aussie who lasted a week longer than he did. The school is struggling to recruit (more than one engish vacancy) and this is an school with great results and a recent outstanding OFSTED .

[Piggywaspushed]

I don't like Mansfield either.

glee - some teachers seem obsessed with annotation. I don't really get the point . they won't have the books in the exams!

There are quite a few good text books and study guides out there for the lang and kids always say they like Mr Bruff (YouTube teacher). I genuinely think teachers should eb going for love of the books and stimulating discussion, with some analysis and empathy tasks thrown in rather than constant annotation. I can't actually stop my all girls' class from annotating sometimes! But I don't force them to do it. I like highlighting.

Pick a literary device, garb a highlighter. see how many you can find. that type of thing. Start easy, like alliteration and build up to stuff like extended metaphors.

The Lang exams are rather repetitive and dry.

[Piggywaspushed]

grab a highlighter!!

[Piggywaspushed]

geog it never seems to filter out to the GBP that there is a recruitment crisis in English but tis sadly true. We always struggle.

[noblegiraffe]

I read that the DfE were too slow off the mark at recognising the recruitment problem in English to put fat bursaries in for this year, but they'll be there for next year.

[Piggywaspushed]

I've not heard that !

[OCSockOrphanage]

Wistfully, I would LOVE to teach A level English literature. My degree is in P&G, and I'd teach that too, in a heart beat. I really could not call myself a proper teacher because I don't want to teach kids who are not interested, or who are "challenged" in any way. I know it's marshmallow but I really fancy the intellectual challenge of teaching bright children who want to know more. I know, so do all teachers.

[noblegiraffe]

Well, I am very engaging! I would have made you love it

No doubt! But 'Here are the themes, learn these quotes to support them' was how I was taught English lit GCSE, lit at both French and German A-level, and also, The Gospel of Mark for RE GCSE.

I don't know, maybe if someone had said 'what you actually need to do is have an argument about this book and you are totally allowed to speculate' it might have appealed more!

[AlexanderHamilton]

Dd will be doing English Lit A level.

She's currently studying Christmas Carol which she doesn't like (she was hoping for Pride & Prejudice) & Romeo & Juliet.

[noblegiraffe]

Bursaries for English going up from 9k to 15k from next year www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/bursaries-primary-teacher-trainees-end-next-year
Can't remember where I read about them being too slow for this year.

[Piggywaspushed]

Hamilton Christmas Carol is on in Stratford, not sure where you live. With Phil Davies. I am taking my DCs. I imagine it will be brilliant.

The students I teach like Muppets Christmas Carol

[Piggywaspushed]

Blimey those physics and maths bursaries are huuuge!