As I have continued to explore the Literature Network Forum,
I have been intentionally observing the digital citizenship that is taking
place within this online community. This week I spent a good amount of time
reading through discussion threads dedicated to specific authors. I spent a
good amount of time reading through threads specifically related to the works
of Shakespeare. What I noticed was that digital citizenship was pretty
positive. For the most part, discussions consisted of members answering questions
posed by others or affirming the interpretations of others. I was pleased to
see that the discussions surrounding Shakespeare had sparked such positive
responses.
After reading through numerous Shakespeare threads, I
decided to explore the discussion of other well-known authors. Though I do not
teach American Literature, I greatly appreciate many of the authors whose works
have influenced this literary compilation. For this reason, I decided to read
through some threads dedicated to one of my favorite American authors, F. Scott
Fitzgerald. I stumbled upon an interesting discussion surrounding the teaching
of The Great Gatsby. A high school English teacher posed this question: “Do you
believe that allowing students to watch a film version of The Great Gatsby, either while reading the novel, or after
finishing the novel, is beneficial for comprehension? If so, which version do
you recommend?” Another English teacher responded to the post and expressed
that they felt it did help students better understand the text and that they
are excited to show their students the new film version this year. In response
to this post, yet another high school English teacher chimed in and gave a
rather longwinded response sharing their thoughts on the matter. Before sating
their opinion, they made sure to cite their educational and professional
credentials in an effort to justify their response. This Stanford graduate,
with twenty-three years of teaching experience, expressed that a “good” teacher
would not need to show a film version in order for their students to understand
the novel and that anyone who thought that Luhrmann’s adaptation of the novel
was worth watching should not be permitted to teach English. This response also
included some inappropriate language that I felt revealed the immaturity of the
forum member. Though it was disappointing to read this response, I was pleased
to read further and see that the forum member who had posted this question
replied to the post in a very dignified manner and expressed that they felt the
response was a bit harsh.
As an English teacher myself, it was fascinating to read the
dialogue of other professionals. I was most surprised at the fact that a simple
question sparked such a heated response. Despite this instance of poor digital
citizenship, the literature forum seems to be a pretty safe place to share
opinions. I am looking forward to getting involved in conversations taking
place in this community.
