Literature and America: Education Outside of the Classroom: Young Adult Literature

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The Giver. The Outsiders. These classics are being taught in schools across America but is there something more to them? Yes. They are part of a sect of literature known as "Young Adult Literatre" or YAL. YAL is defined as a novel written for students ages 12-18, and includes a protagonist within that age range. With new super-series out there for teens like Harry Potter and Twilight, YAL is skyrocketing. Cecelia Goodnow, of "Seatlle PI", reports that over the past 10 years YAL sales have increased by a quarter. We are now experiencing the biggest boom in YAL since the 1940s. This is a good thing. Goodnow states that this increase has a lot to do with authors trying to reach an older audience. When YAL first came around, authors targeted students 11-14 years old but now, most YAL contain protagonists around 16-18 years old. Goodnow reports, "There has been an increase in the age of the protagonist, the complexity of the plotting and the content -- the gravity of the content. I think it may be a reflection of a more sophisticated teenage population." This change comes very welcomed. Research has shown that teens who read outside of school perform better in school. According to Goodnow, the teens that are reading are reading some deep books. These students are getting an education outside of school that is providing them with advanced vocabulary and filling their minds with abstract thoughts. This is wonderful. Students are no longer sitting around, waiting to go to the library on a school trip. With advances in technology, students are researching new, hip books online. Goodnow says, "Noting that the Web has been used to 'hype, announce and promote books,' Cornaby, 16, the Shorecrest 10th-grader, said, 'I don't have to go to my school's library anymore to find out what the latest books are, and I can also get a book on audio and put it on my iPod if I really want to.'"

Reading has become the "cool" thing again. With movie adaptations of YAL topping the box office, teens are becoming interested in stories. Bringing this excitement into the classroom has got to be a necessity for all teachers. English teachers, especially, need to be promoting recreational reading. Some ways of encouraging outside reading are giving extra credit, establishing a book club, and including a library in your classroom. To read is to learn. It doesn't matter what they read, as long as they are reading. I encourage all you teachers out there to do your own research and try some Young Adult Literature...who know, you might be the next Twilight or Harry Potter obsessee!

Goodnow, Cecilia. "Teens buying books at the fastest rate in decades." Seattle PI Mar. 2007, Books sec.Online.
http://www.seattlepi.com/books/306531_teenlit08.html