On the first day of my Brit Lit I survey, I typically give my students the following writing prompt:
The answers are remarkable. First, hardly anyone ever chooses something that applies to their major. Second, they always mention the teacher. Third, there’s a pattern of rewriting the script: they take a class they don’t think they will like and end up loving it.
Some of those classes include:
- A college survey of the Old Testament
- A high school course on children’s literature
- An AP Us History course
- A management/leadership course
- A high school physics course
- A senior AP Calculus course
- A freshman writing-about-literature course
Here’s my takeaway. A Brit Lit course can make a difference in these students’ lives, even if they never take another English class.