GOAL #1

Goal #1: Personal Professional Knowledge: Understanding Transactional Theory

As an English teacher, I am enamored by the idea of students engaging with a text in an aesthetic way.  In her text The Reader, he Text, the Poem: the Transactional Theory of the Literary Work, Louise Rosenblatt discusses transactional theory on a spectrum of efferent to aesthetic (p. 22-25).  I find this idea to be profound, but I am also challenged by it; how do I encourage the joy of the aesthetic within my students while also meeting the academic requirements that are based strictly on an efferent approach?  I felt that I fell short when it came to developing a love of literature in students who were not interested in reading anything, let alone a classic novel – the reading that is prescribed by the school administration. In my final reflection, I mapped the ideas of transactional theory onto the views I shared in my personal practical knowledge assignments. I noted:

In the English classroom, my ultimate goal is for students to reach an aesthetic appreciation of the texts that we study; however, because of the constraints of time and curriculum, it is more likely that we ask students to take a more efferent approach in the English classroom; … I was merely asking students to regurgitate knowledge instead of developing a more aesthetic approach to the text. 

Since writing this piece, I have continued to reflect upon the necessity of, and the ways to achieve, an aesthetic appreciation of literature within each student.  The tension exists within the system itself which dictates the outcomes that a student must meet – nowhere in the curriculum does it suggest that students should have an interaction or an appreciation of the texts that they read.  This is a great frustration for me, since I wish to infuse a more aesthetic approach to my teaching practices while meeting the curriculum needs.  I ask myself: can one truly learn if they are not engaged with a text? It is my goal as an English teacher to move beyond the boundaries of curriculum and allow students to interact with texts in meaningful ways that are relevant to their lives so that they are able to truly benefit from the aesthetic interaction while developing their learning skills. 

This reflection on the tension between theory and the rigours of curriculum has led to a shift in my practice in various ways.  Foremost, building relationships with students in various ways is tantamount so that I can offer material that is accessible to all learners and students can engage in more in depth ways with each text.  One of the ways that I build relationships with my students to ensure that I am engaging them with authentic texts is to hold personal conversations where I learn about their interests; I can then direct them to texts about those topics.  Levin(2003) suggests that twenty minutes can build a meaningful relationship with a student; I wish to go beyond building relationships that build a positive classroom community, but also use their knowledge and interests to guide the materials and ways in which I ask them to interact with texts.  Through these means, I attempt to move students along the spectrum away from a strictly efferent interaction with a text, but towards the appreciation of the aesthetic. 

I continually shape my practices with each new group of students so that they are able to move beyond the efferent towards an aesthetic appreciation.  Yet, my shift in thinking and practice has not stopped with the understanding of transactional theory, it has lead to my deeper understanding of the importance of fostering relationships in order to achieve in the three other program goal areas.