1984 and Animal Farm quick-reads?

[jpveedubs]

I have a student that I'm tutoring who "doesn't like to read" and is uncooperative when asked to do so. He's somehow in AP Literature for this next year, though he and his parents seem to have identified that he lacks many skills for analyzing and discussing themes and such in literature. Nonetheless, the agency I work for is trying to help him out as best we can.

For developing critical and analytical skills, we have short-reads with questions that he should read and answer, but he is uncooperative, even when the passages are half a page long and have only about four questions accompanying them. He keeps saying he "don't like to read", and has suggested that since these activities don't pertain to his book assignments, that they're a waste of his time - in spite of what we tell him.

Problem is, he's not making it through his books very quickly (to his credit, he is a very busy kid, working quite a lot over the summer, and living some distance away), either. And we don't have enough overall time to let him sit and read with us and still get through the lessons he may need to prepare for the fall class.

The book choices are Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984; I'm wondering if there may be some public-domain lessons or units pertaining to these books, or an "alternate" way that the books might be presented to him - perhaps as graphic novels? I haven't been successful finding any in my (admittedly brief) searches, but I thought to ask and see if anybody here had some ideas. I have no problem investing some money in these things (reasonably, of course), as I could simply use them for my own classroom in the future, anyhow.

[Charles Darnay]

I know there is a Manga of 1984: you can find it on Amazon....not sure about Animal Farm.

[Calidore]

Questions:

1. How the hell did he end up in an AP Literature class if he not only doesn't like reading but is actively resistant to it? Normally, that placement would mean that his teacher thought it would be a fit for him. If that's the case, then I wonder if he's a perfectly fine reader at school, but is just being a grumpy teenage pain-in-the-*** at home. Have you or the parents talked to the teacher about why he was placed there?

2. Is it possible that he has a learning disability related to reading comprehension, and his uncooperativeness is due to embarrassment and/or a reluctance to struggle with something that really is more difficult for him than most people?

3. Has he always been a reluctant reader, either because his parents haven't stressed it or because that's just his personality?

If yes to the last (and assuming he's a teen, because AP Literature sounds like a high school class), I don't know how easy it's going to be to get him to start reading now. I do know that forcing him to read Literature as opposed to something he might actually enjoy reading on his own is always going to be a struggle. Especially over summer vacation.

Leading to question 4: Whatever his reasons, if he's determined not to cooperate, there's only so much you can do. I don't see how he's going to be ready for AP Literature in three months if he's refusing even cliffnotes-type versions now. Can you convince his parents to change that class? Your work with him is still important, but that will take a great deal of the pressure off, and that pressure may be leading to some of his pushing back as well.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I was wondering Calidor's first question, also. How/why is he in that class? Are his parents forcing it on him?

[Charles Darnay]

In Ontario for example, a school cannot exclude a student from an offered course if pre-reqs are met. They could strongly discourage, but if a bad parent cares more about hypothetical academic esteem than the well being of their kids, the school's hands are tied.

[jpveedubs]

I've only personally met the parents once, and briefly. They seem a bit...demanding (of us, at least), and the kid has expressed the idea that he's banking on wrestling scholarships (or somesuch) to get him into school, although he has expressed few other interests that might suggest what he would/could study once he has said scholarships. I'm willing to bet that he or his parents or even his teachers weaseled him into AP Literature to make him look like a better student, as well as an allegedly-exceptional athlete, and as such a better candidate for these scholarships - but I don't really know.

What I do know is that it is expected of us (mainly me, it seems, as his typically-assigned-tutor) to successfully "get him through" the work that needs doing (in this case, reading the novels and understanding what's going to be expected of him), "whatever the cost", I guess.

As long as he's been receiving tutoring through us, he has been a reluctant reader, but the beginning of this summer has been the worst so far, and he's only been in three times. We're not outright required to know whether any student has learning disabilities or not, but we encourage parents (or the students, themselves) to share such information, anyway. If they don't, we can't make them. And there is no such thing that applies to this kid that I'm aware of.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

In the school I student taught for, and so I suspect many others, if the parents make enough noise about it, they can get their kid into AP classes no matter what the grades. It's pretty ridiculous. There were several students whose parents were told that they would be better seved in a non-AP class, but they wouldn't have it.

It sucks when teachers are put in your position, jpv.

[Calidore]

As far as your original question, there are films of both books. Maybe watching and hearing them performed first would help him get through the books (worked for me with Lord of the Rings). If the movies are involving enough, maybe he'll actually get interested in the books, and you can then use that to get him interested in others.

Though that's only if he can be won over. If he's absolutely determined to avoid having to read at this level, and his parents are absolutely determined that he must, then you're in a no-win situation. In that case, you'll need to either find a way this can work, most likely by meeting with both the student and parents (and maybe your supervisor) to lay everything out and seek common ground; or request from your supervisor an assignment where you can actually do some good for someone who really wants help.

[jpveedubs]

As far as your original question, there are films of both books. Maybe watching and hearing them performed first would help him get through the books (worked for me with Lord of the Rings). If the movies are involving enough, maybe he'll actually get interested in the books, and you can then use that to get him interested in others.

Definitely thought about this, and I definitely have no problem obtaining copies of them, either; that said, however, we can't exactly watch movies in the tutoring center. There's nowhere to do it, first of all, and second, if there was, it would distract the other students working in the center.


Though that's only if he can be won over. If he's absolutely determined to avoid having to read at this level, and his parents are absolutely determined that he must, then you're in a no-win situation. In that case, you'll need to either find a way this can work, most likely by meeting with both the student and parents (and maybe your supervisor) to lay everything out and seek common ground; or request from your supervisor an assignment where you can actually do some good for someone who really wants help.

He's been in before these classes, and he's "wanted help" in the past; he's not copping (much of) an attitude, anyway, and there's really no room to allow for it in the center, anyhow; we have no discipline policy (short of what we might be able do if he lunges at us, or something - which he won't) and teachers are expected to "get students through" X lessons in Y hours, on average (they're pretty lenient in general, and based on comments; if a student is consistently refusing to do work, or not understanding it, as long as we communicate that, they don't really expect us to be able to get that student to perform better all by ourselves - that's when we'd meet with the student and/or their parents), so if he's not doing something, the "best course of action" (as in, the one that may produce the most results, quantitatively - even if it's not "best" for that student at that time in that subject) is to simply take the book from them, say "Okay, well, let's do something else," and then start another lesson with them. Given that I usually have two other students to tend to, simultaneously, on this same one-on-one basis, it would also be unfair to those students (and the expectations of their parents) to favour this student over them because if his uncooperativeness, and thus not produce the desired results for anybody. A little sad, but, that's how it has to work out at the center. Now, if I were privately tutoring the guy, I wouldn't have as much of a problem...

In short, though I do wish I could get this kid to read on his own and think for himself, our agency (and, as such, myself) is being paid to get this kid "through the books". However possible.

My goal? To motivate him to do it himself, somehow. But, alas...