The wonders of fictional reading and creative writing: The Studio Story (5)

 

Again a moment post dated August 9, 2015 evoked so many memories and emotions…

When I started Studio Education back in the summer of 2013, I didn't know what it would become, or, really, whether it would ever develop into much more than me teaching a bit of literature at the weekends. But I did know that there were some families in Shanghai whose children were ready for real English lessons like English is taught at the best schools in the UK or the US. So it has been a joy to watch over the past two years and to see so many children come to study literature and writing at Studio, first middle school students and then more and more primary school students.

 

In particular, it has been a joy to develop the Kids Canon program with Mr Diaz. One of the biggest challenges of English teaching both in Shanghai and back home is that primary school students are so infrequently challenged to read novel-length literature and then study it in real depth. Too frequently, schools fall back on anthologies of short stories or textbooks with extracts for comprehension exercises; when there should be more reading and analysis of longer texts. And how much more serious the gap is here in Shanghai! That's why it's been so gratifying to work with Mr Diaz over the past year in developing the wonderful Kids Canon and Writing (KCW) programme. These inspiring, deep, engaging courses involve reading six novels ("chapter books") over two semesters (thirty sessions), selected from the greatest literature ever written for children. That means our students have been studying literature written as literature, not written to be "accessible" or "teachable" but written to be profoundly imaginative, communicating the truths of the human condition, and written with younger readers in mind. Mr Diaz has now created new book lists for graduates of KCW, and these will be available as Teens Canon and Writing.  

 

—— To be continued ——

These stories are told from Studio perspective. Every family has its own story with Studio. We’d like to hear and publish yours too. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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