This is a pretty neat article by Deborah Marko at the Daily Journal. Titled, "Vineland High School students write letters to King of horror," Marko writes about a special education class that has been reading Misery. of course, getting students to read can always be difficult! However, Lynne Lera has discovered that many of the kids love reading King!
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They are not only reading Stephen King, they are writing to him. The article includes a couple of letters from the students to King. They are wonderful!
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I identify with this pretty deeply, since I did not like to read as a teenager. I wanted to write! However, Charles Dickens and later Stephen King made major break throughs for me. Dickens because we had to read Great Expectations -- but King because I was so totally engrossed in the novel.
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If you go to the link, check out the comments section. There is always someone saying King is not appropriate for young people. I completely disagree! King writes about the world we live in, about people we feel we know -- that's why he connects. The stories resonate because the people in them feel real. I also think some of the "naughtiness" of reading Stephen King makes if more fun!
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Consider what a student encounters in a King novel: Strong characters, unique storyline, hero's who are not perfect, villains who are not totally evil. I remember our English teacher being thrilled out of his mind that we got to read Kats Cradle, by Kurt Vongut. "This is stuff we used to read for fun!" He exclaimed. And we ha that same "naughty" feeling reading Catcher in the Rye. But there is always someone anxious to ban Huck Finn, Catcher, and Mr. King.
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http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011103300328
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No kidding?! I grew up in a town directly next to Vineland (funny also considering the teacher grew up outside Bangor). Glad to hear they're reading a book that *could* upset some parents/administrators, but no one got upset! I was about 16 myself when MISERY came out, and read it then too. I read very few assigned novels in high school, but King was always on my reading list...
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I remember having my desire to read Stephen King in school frowned upon by a few of my teachers (though not my creative writing teacher who enjoyed his work). One teacher went so far as to tell me that if I had time to waste reading a Stephen King book then that meant I wasn't focusing on my homework enough. Another told me he was a poor role model for someone my age. We were reading a Hemingway book in that class when she said this so I countered that he probably wasn't the best role model either. This rewarded me with time to read more Stephen King since I was kicked out of class.
ReplyDeletethat's funny! Hemingway, who killed himself and was a miserable person, is a better role model than Stephen King? I guess once you're dead, you're a good role model -- with no consideration to how you died!
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