SparkNotes Vs Literature

Today SparkNotes has completely taken over high school, and even college literature courses. Students no longer feel the need to read an assigned book if they can simply read a few pages from a SparkNotes book. This is a problem because as a student and future teacher I can say that there is absolutely no substitute for reading the novel. It is impossible for SparkNotes to cover everything in a entire novel. But do not worry fellow educators, there is a solution!

A recent professor gave mentioned this idea to me about two weeks ago and I thought it was brilliant! As a project have the students compare and contrast SparkNotes to the actual book. This forces the student to read the actual novel and critique it themselves. The professor that has tried this found that there are countless errors in SparkNotes. A student would have never figured this out if he studied the SparkNotes alone. Also it helps the students take a closer look at the piece of literature, including figuring out their own themes, motifs, and character analysis!

Kean’s Education Majors

Kean University is known for it’s education program, but are they asking too much of their students? About three fifths of Kean graduates end up in the field of education, but compared to other majors they have quite a workload.

Kean takes their education department very seriously, in fact they take it so seriously it often makes their students stressed. Students who plan on majoring in secondary education(and this goes with most other types of education) must go through a entire application process after they are accepted into the university. At Kean being accepted into the university, does not necessarily mean you are accepted into their education program. There are several steps you must go through in order to officially be accepted.

First you must have a minimum of a 2.75 GPA. Although this usually isn’t that hard it’s a lot higher then what is expected of most majors. You must also receive a B- in all Subject Specialization and education classes. After completing a list of prerequisite classes, you are then able to go through the application process. This includes filling out numerous forms, having at least two recommendations, writing a personal statement, and an interview with the program coordinator. Before handing in the application you must also complete a speech/language screening test and a MAPP test(with a minimum score of 435). After doing all of this a teacher is required to take a Praxis test before graduating.

I understand that Kean University holds their education program above any other major, but the academic advisers are barely there for support and to lead these students in the right direction. After going through this myself, I have found a new respect for all education majors at the University!