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A Look Inside 11th Grade Advanced Aesthetic Inquiry
In Dr. Reed’s 11th grade Advanced English class, students gathered for a Socratic seminar activity with a student-centered discussion on Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle.” The class has been practicing the technique of literary close reading, which means looking at what is actually on the page, rather than some idea “behind the text.” After a preparatory reading quiz that asked students to define a handful of unusual words from this unusual story, they discussed the one word that they found to be the most important. Prime candidates included “hen-pecked,” “azure,” “approbation,” “addled,” and “Babylonish.” No matter the word, the question was the same: why is this the most significant word in the story?
Students brought out the merits of each term by discussing its relevance with larger themes of oppression, freedom, gender relations, and the question of what it means to live an ethical life. These themes are relevant both in our turbulent time and in Rip’s own, since he begins his infamous nap as a British subject and wakes up an American citizen. Students further discussed the concept of a literary sketch, which is driven like democracy itself by an interest in individual character, and how it differs from traditionally plot-driven forms like the short story or novel. Dr. Reed’s students noted how the absurdist events of the story mimic the nature of gossip in a small town, that is to say, things just happen in small plot points with relatively little description. In the end, students asked if Rip Van Winkle's 20-year slumber was a loss at all. After all, he got a pretty good story out of it. How far can we go in praise of idleness? Washington Irving’s lovely, rolling sentences had this student-shaped discussion going, well, pretty far.
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