Answer/Quote: “The title of
this piece (‘Grand Conversations: An Exploration of Meaning Construction in
Literature Study Groups’) comes from a remark Jim Higgins made to a group of
teachers when he was at Arizona State University as a visiting scholar in the
spring of 1985. He was describing how literature is used in American classrooms
and he said something like ‘what you most often get are gentle inquisitions,
when what you really want are grand conversations.’ Bryant Fillion (1981)
echoed this theme with his remark that when he listened to tapes of literature
classes—his own as well as others—he was struck by how often they sounded like
inquisitions rather than real discussions.” P. 4.
Quote: “The fact that
rich discussions occurred even with novice group leaders makes us wonder what
sorts of discussions might occur when group leaders are experienced,
knowledgeable about literature, and are also willing to become group discussion
members who will share their own personal transactions with the text but will
not insist that theirs is the only possible one.”
Quote: “If critics
and teachers can become, as Probst
(1986) suggests, not authorities on meaning, explicators of text, or sources of
answers, but simply other readers with whom to talk, the grand conversations
about literature may indeed be possible.” P. 28.
Comment: The key is purpose. If the teacher wants
discussion, not direction of interpretation, then this description of
discussion fits. There’s a time for that. But also for critical analysis, which
will probably lead to teacher direction or inquisition, if you will. RayS.
Title: “Grand
Conversations: An Exploration of Meaning Construction in Literature Study
Groups.” M Eeds and D Wells. Research in
the Teaching of English (February
1989), 4-29.
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