Reflecting on Kittle and My YA Pedagogy

I think in some ways, Kittle and Buehler complement each other, but also have different voices. They both believe that promoting independence is important and that literature teaches students life lessons. Both of them even touch on how essential engagement is when it comes to reading. Kittle and Buehler talk on slightly different subjects when discussing engagement, but their overall message is similar.

One of the first things that Kittle (2013) states that stands out to me is: "Teaching reading will never be a script of simple steps at the end of which all readers become efficient. Teaching is far more complex than any publisher or program can imagine. But teaching is the only way to improve readers" (16). This statement doesn't complicate my thinking about teaching YA literature, but it does reinforce it. Before this, Kittle speaks of why students don't read the assigned texts, and she comes to the conclusion that the readings outmatch the students' skills. She also touches on the fact that although teachers are aware that their students aren't reading, they still assign readings that they know their students won't read because they feel pressured by the curriculum to do so. This statement also stands out to me as both a teacher in training and a student because, as a student, I know that my friends and I thought that we were so sly about not reading the assigned readings. I never knew that the teachers were aware that we weren't reading. I believe that Kittle's voice urges teachers to teach towards their students' interests and skill levels, and I agree with her.

I believe that supporting independent readers in my classroom is very important. To support them, though, they need "guidance to choose well and develop sustained independent engagement" (Kittle 2013, 19). Kittle challenges me to rethink my YA pedagogy when she claims that teaching literature is only half the job - we must also lead our students to engage in "satisfying and challenging reading lives," something we haven't done enough of (19). This challenges my current YA pedagogy because I had never thought of this second half of teaching literature too much. Yes, I believe that promoting a sustained reading life is essential, but I never considered it to be the second half of teaching literature before. I do plan on incorporating this belief into my future teaching because I think it's important. And just as Kittle suggests, I plan on teaching toward life lessons and creating stamina for college. I also believe that grading is a necessary evil, but I still have a hard time deciding on how to grade my future students on their reading. The relationship between teacher and student is a crucial component of my classroom management or behavioral management style. Engagement in the topic is more important to me than anything because communicating with one another about what you've learned or read helps students understand the material better.

As I read about teaching YA literature more and more, my YA pedagogy keeps evolving. Now, I will incorporate teaching students how to sustain a satisfying and challenging reading life. I still want to promote the love of reading to my students and to be able to engage my students with the texts while promoting self-efficacy, agency, and autonomy.