Today's guest blogger is Carmelita Seufert. Carmelita is a teacher in a New York high school. She has a very interesting perspective on using the works of Stephen King in the classroom and we are happy to welcome her to WORD.
My very first encounter with the terrifying world of Stephen King was about 25 years ago. My much older cousins decided that 'Salem's Lot was an appropriate film to view while babysitting four-year olds. Needless to say, I viewed most of the film from behind my aunt's couch cushions. The image of that vampire floating up into the open bedroom window haunted me and my brother's imaginations to the point where we convinced my mother that a crucifix in our window would be our only salvation.
Cut to today. I am on the phone with a parent who is beside herself because I have just assigned her daughter, a student in my 9th grade Honors English class, an essay on King's short story, "Suffer the Little Children" (from the book Nightmares and Dreamscapes). The woman is distraught that I am teaching such a "disturbing" story, yet when I remind her that I am using it in conjunction with Edgar Allan Poe, she claims to approve Poe's work because he is "a classic."
She has just stepped on sacred ground.
I am one of those individuals who grows furious when King is denied a spot on the shelf with Poe and the rest of the "classics" gang. From a teacher's perspective, King is one of the most "teachable" modern writers we have. While there are some issues with mature language and sexual content, many of King's novels and stories feature characters and themes that adolescents can easily relate to and become excited writing about--which is one of my main goals each year.
