Critical Encounters in High School English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents, Second Edition (Language & Literacy Series) (Language and Literacy Series)

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5 Reviews

1. This book is a straightforward approach to critical lens theory. It helps the reader grasp the fundamental concepts that are necessary to teach high school and college level students. The activities also are user friendly and easily adaptable to an average ability classroom. Overall, it has easily become my first choice to prepare lesson plans.

2. Mastering Critical theory on a college level is sufficiently imposing so that to learn it on a high school level is seen as even more so. In CRITICAL ENCOUNTERS IN HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH, Deborah Applebaum proves that the teaching of it and the learning of it need not be the insurmountable obstacle that many a harried college student often perceives it to be. Applebaum writes this text for the high school teacher who may not know much more theory than the very students whom she hopes to teach. Until recently, college courses in theory were not required for English majors and even for those who have taken a course or two, this book is a helpful reminder as to what theory is, how to apply it, and perhaps even more importantly, how to justify teaching it to teenagers who already groan under what they will undoubtedly see as simply one more “hard” subject to master in their senior year.

   The first chapter, “The Case for Critical Theory in the Classroom,” is teacher-oriented in that Applebaum anticipates potential pitfalls for the teacher who wishes to include critical theory in a typical high school curriculum. She acknowledges that there is “tension between presenting literature as cultural artifacts…for those who favor a more progressive approach to education.” This tension she suggests can be reduced by forthrightly examining “our notions of what literacy is, of what students should read, and of what it means to read well.” Critical theory she sees as the lever by which all this may be done.

   In the second chapter, “Through the Looking Glass: Introducing Multiple Perspectives,” Applebaum addresses the advantage that theory has over the standard one-size-fits-all paradigm of the typical approach to high school literary analysis that focuses on plot, setting, character, and symbolism. Since theory by its very nature is multi-dimensional, students can benefit by viewing texts under varying lenses, all of which require close reading, resulting in enhanced understanding of that text.

   Since this text is designed for high school seniors, Applebaum wisely decided to limit her choices of theory to Reader-Response, Marxism, Feminism, and Deconstructionism. Her analyses and examples of each school are sufficiently clear so that college students who desire a jargon-free text can look here for relief. Applebaum also has a most useful chapter, perhaps even more so for college students, on “Reading the World as Text,” where her students describe how they used selected theories to understand articles, movies, books, and advertisements that might have otherwise resisted more conventional approaches. Reading the World is an ambitious undertaking, but Applebaum judiciously shows how high school teachers can expose their students to the literary side of it.

3. Like Wiggins’ book on Essential Questions,Understanding By Design Expanded 2nd Edition Critical Encounters is a book that has changed my approach to teaching. Unlike Understanding by Design, this one applies directly to my role as an English teacher.

   There are so few books out there on methodology that combine theory and practice the way that Appleman’s book does. It’s worth the price for this alone. I agree with another reviewer about the over-emphasis on student work examples and anecdotes (I skimmed over many of these), but the practical strategies and lessons to use with high school English students are invaluable. Most get the students involved and doing the work. These strategies require students to think about what they read and to respond to what they read critically.

   If you’re tired of the typical Reader-Response papers you’ve been requiring and/or receiving from students who are capable of much deeper thinking, buy this book!

4. This book is very useful in giving you ideas on how to teach literary theory to those who are unfamiliar with it. The great thing about this text is that the examples they give you can be substituted for any kind of book, whether it is adolescent literature or something in the curriculum that you are teaching. I am enjoying learning about teaching literary theory and I cannot wait to get into the classroom and use some of these ideas with my students!

5. This book is great for any high school or even middle school teacher looking to include critical theory in the study of literature. Appleman suggests several ways in which students will be able to “put their Ray bans on” while looking at the world.