The Importance of Literature in Education
English Literature in a lot of school curricula is a compulsory subject that allows your children to read and understand stories and build a lot of transferable skills from childhood all the way through to higher education and future careers.
This private school in Ireland has put together a guide towards showing your child the main reasons why English Literature is a key subject in their own personal development.
Lessons from English Literature
A lot of Literature lessons in school, especially in your younger years, often includes comprehension exercises, writing and reading in groups. The aim of these classes is to allow the class to understand plot points in the story, how they impact characters and try to understand what specific characters could be feeling at the time.
These techniques allow your child to understand a range of different feelings, interactions and thoughts, therefore improving their cognitive functions and judgements of character – both great skills to develop for future life.
Essay development and writing ability
A lot of GCSE English exams involve writing and being able to produce sentences grammatically correct. Starting English Literature from an early age will give your child the skills to improve their grammar, sentence structure and to be able to construct essays for use in mock exam practice and in preparation for the real exam.
Being able to write succinctly and with the correct grammar will boost your child’s confidence, comprehension skills and a multitude of transferable skills should they continue into higher education.
Understanding different cultures and history
A lot of books showcase a countries’ specific history, or are completely fictional worlds that are built from real life locations, where your mind is allowed to roam free. Understanding a different culture, be it based on real life or fiction, allows your child to learn about the world, its many different people, races and cultures.
It also makes your child more creative and explorative if they enjoy reading in their spare time. A great hobby to have is to read a new book each month and share with the class what you thought about the book and if you would recommend it.
English Literature provides a lot of different benefits to children that they often use in different subjects, higher education and in future careers. But it’s also a subject that allows your child to be creative, open and inquisitive about the world, learning about key points in history and how to respond to human interactions. It’s a great subject that often covers a lot more than just writing and reading skills.
