Studying Literature in Grade 12
While good writers exist in all cultures, Ontario students should only study Canadian writers. There are three main reasons for this: the need to focus on Canadian culture despite being surrounded by other cultures, the need to promote and establish our own writers, and the need to encourage the development of younger Canadian authors. This essay will prove that graduating students in Ontario should only study Canadian literature in a Grade 12 English course in an effort to strengthen Canadian culture.
Students in Ontario taking English classes should only study Canadian literature because we are surrounded by the American culture. Canada has always been a “branch plant” of another country. This is due to colonization by England and France. Our own culture has never developed because we have always been under the influence of a powerful foreign country. In the past, a student in Ontario would study Shakespeare amongst other British writers. Today they may also study American authors such as Fitzgerald. But many schools limit students’ exposure to Canadian novels with restricted ISP reading lists. In this sense, Canada is an attic in which we have stored American and British literature without including our own.1 This results in a lack of recognition and appreciation for Canadian culture.
Often, the Canadian literature is studied is very old. This includes works such as Mordecai's Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz or Lawrence’s Stone Angel.
This essay will show you how Canada was at the turn of the century in 1896 to 1919. A lot of points show how Canada was at the turn of the century such as how Canada was at a time of social change, the immigrants in Canada come from all over the world, Chinese were treated horribly, a lot of racism factored into this. Also, Canada was in a time of economic uprise, this can be characterized by electricity, inventions, the growth of cities, and some other contributing factors. Free trade laws with the United States were also in a heavy debate at the time.
This essay proves that graduating students in Ontario should only study literature in a Grade 12 English course. While good writers exist in all cultures, Ontario students should only study literature written by Canadian writers. This is because all Ontario students should become familiar with literature from our province. Three reasons for this are; the need to focus on our own Canadian culture and despite being surrounded by many other cultures, the need to promote and establish our own writers is there, as well as the need to encourage younger Canadian authors.
I figured it was appropriate that the author did not place the blame on one party. Instead, he addressed the various individuals in Canada that were not providing a fair education in its national and political history as well as for the reasons why this is such a big deal. This book was educational as it gave readers brief and sometimes precise examples, like how Canadians lack national and political conscience within the academic curriculum. The Country’s educational system needs to do a better job training its educators and ultimately restructuring curriculums to deal with our current problems. The book's exterior appearance is bright red, and often red, is associated with power. I believe that this book has the authority to make readers think about their experience concerning Canadian history - but unfortunately, a majority of the population does not know enough of its history to learn from the mistakes and successes of our predecessors. Along with the strengths of this book (argumentative perspective, educational, and exterior appearance), there were a few weaknesses as well. To elaborate on Granasteins effort, I believe he wrote from an androcentric perspective. There were times when he sounded like a grumpy old historian man. I think his little rants reduced the effectiveness of the book. He made many prejudice remarks concerning multiculturalism and social history (gender studies, urban, economics, demographics, etc.). Since history is an accumulation of time periods and each period varies in length, and the intensity of the events, it might be tough to establish the nation's needs for clear, measurable standards for history. There is only so much information that an individual’s brain can retain for a period before they start losing
Canada like Laurence, was forced to face the hardships involved with growing up. However, the black marks in history does not define Canada , it is how Canada learns from their mistakes and moves forward. Laurence explains through her microcosm of a prairie town that along with growth comes the formation of perspective that will forever affect one's future decisions .
In the various literature studied this semester in ELA A30 there are numerous criteria for deciding Canadian identity. The poem “I am a Canadian” by Duke Redbird mentions many Canadian identities. The quote “I’m a lobster fisherman in Newfoundland. I’m a clambake in P.E.I.” describes the uniqueness of each province. The maritime provinces are involved in fishery while the prairie provinces are rich in resources such as wheat. Different regions have their own identity and their unique identity makes up Canada as a whole. There are things that Canadian enjoys “I’m a clown in Quebec during carnival. I’m a mass in the cathedral of St. Paul. I’m a hockey game in the forum”. These things that Canadian take part in make them distinct from other countries.
She does not understand why the older and well-known authors are not being read in high school. Prose uses a personal experience from her son’s sophomore English class. He had to read a “weeper and former bestseller by Judith Guest” (424), about a dysfunctional family dealing with a teenage son’s suicide attempt. “No instructor has ever asked my sons to read Alice Munro, who writes so lucidly and beautifully about the hypersensitivity that makes adolescence a hell,”(424). She again mentions books she approves of that should be read in English classes.
My English Literature major has helped me to achieve an outstanding level of appreciation, enjoyment, and knowledge of both American and British Literature. As a high school AP English student, I struggled through great works like Hamlet and To the Lighthouse. My teacher’s daily lectures (there was no such thing as class discussion) taught me merely to interpret the works as critics had in the past. I did not enjoy the reading or writing process. As a freshman at Loras, I was enrolled in the Critical Writing: Poetry class. For the first time since grade school, my writing ability was praised and the sharing of my ideas was encouraged by an enthusiastic and nurturing professor. Despite the difficulty of poetry, I enjoyed reading it.
Former prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, believed greatly in what he thought Canada was to become. “The nineteenth century was the century of the United States. I think that we can claim that is it Canada that shall fill the twentieth century. “ was said by Laurier and his words passed almost without notice at the time. However, it did not take long before his words had somehow been transformed into the most famous phrase in Canadian history, “The twentieth century belongs to Canada.” His words showed great confidence and pride in the actions that Canada was supposedly to take to fulfill his vision. He believed that Canada would fill the century, not in size or military might but in progress, growth, and quality of life. Ultimately, he
In the article “Advancing the Canadian Ideal” by Hugh Segal, he argues how Canadian history mirrors it’s Canadian ideal, but in order to defend this our challenge is to adapt to our policies (Segal 170). He further describes the way we move forward as a society, is to determine what the canadian ideal is allowing us to sustain it (168). In this essay I will argue that Segal makes a good argument because through my evaluation and assessments of his premises, it supports his main idea and his main allegation. Canada is a country full of history discovered by the Europeans, and civilized by the Aboriginals (Segal 169). A country known for its fur trade, lumber and minerals, and the greatest national debate over the Trans Canada pipeline
For thousands of years, different ancient societies from all over the world have played a part in creating each other. These societies have opened doors to better lives for their citizens to come. As humans have evolved, they have learnt new things from the people before them, and adapted these skills to make everyday life better. One society that has greatly influenced Canada today is the Romans. The Romans were an advanced society for their time. By conquering a substantial amount of land in Europe the citizens of Rome had a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. This meant that Rome’s people learnt different skills from people across Europe. Overtime, these skills that Romans learnt made their way into North America, more specifically Canada.
In literary education, from childhood to maturity, individuals are taught how to write not to improve themselves as critical thinkers, but to fulfill the requirements given to them in a prompt. Whether to analyze or argue, this form of writing has led to a cease of literary improvement in students today, making many question the effectiveness of writing classes. Mike Bunns, in his article “To Read like a Writer”, explores this topic and stresses the necessity for young readers to critically examine the author’s choices in order to improve their own pieces of work. Bunns effectively argues to his audience of college students that improved comprehension comes from focusing on the rhetorical choices authors decide to make in their compositions by tying personal narratives with repetitive questioning throughout his article.
This essay originally titled Studying Literature in Grade 12, has an abundance of information regarding and convincing the readers that the grade twelve English course should be composed of Canadian literature. The grammar in this essay however, was weak. The subject did not agree to their pronouns, making many sentences awkward. Overall, improvements could have been made. Some of these include MLA format, the title, introduction paragraph, grammar, punctuation and the citation format.
Reading contributes to a major part in a high school student's life. Whether it's reading a textbook, notes, a novel, or even posts on social media, we are continually absorbing new information through reading. Canada Reads hosted by CBC has been celebrating marvellous works of Canadian literature since 2002. This annual battle of the books features five novels consisting of a common theme. Each book is then defended by a representative, by the end of the four series podcast they will chose one book they believe all Canadians should read. Participating in this event was incredible. I was able to learn new things along with improving my reading and writing skills. Therefore, Canada Reads should become a part of the grade eleven curriculum due
Near the top of the textbook, right near the title, there is a British flag. Britain had a gargantuan impact on Canadian history, as Canada was a British colony and Britain continues to influence Canada today. For example, in Canada we often use British spelling instead of American spelling, like the words colour, instead of color, and grey, instead of gray.
The contrary side may infer that all students of high school English must read particular texts, such as literary canon books because they are most genuine, preeminent and beneficial. This is quite erroneous, though. According to George P. Landow’s article, “The Literary Canon,” “To enter the canon, or more properly, to be entered into the canon is to gain certain obvious privileges” (Source A). Landow, in essence, states that to become part of a “canon,” a literary work must transcend certain criteria. For example, dramatic works, such as “To Kill Mockingbird” and “Romeo and Juliet,” have been inaugurated into a canon, known as the “literary canon,” due to their profound, cohesive and well-accepted form of writing. Consequently, the opposition desires for all students of