Teaching College Literature- First Impressions, Showalter, and The Great Gatsby

Up until this point, my experience with teaching college anything has been limited to grading for two 2000 level World Literature classes. And while I think I've gotten the hang of handling the mechanics of an online class, the idea of planning and executing an entire course as the section instructor scares the bejesus out of me.

I know how to talk about literature. I know how to write about literature. And I'm beginning to understand how to ask students about literature. But, I struggle with how to point a student toward a correct, deep reading. My brain works in such a random way that I despair of ever translating my process into lesson plans.

Elaine Showalter's Teaching Literature goes a long way to assuage some of my anxieties. I've seen how a class works from the student's perspective and Showalter is helping me see the teacher side of it. I'm much more comfortable with the idea of class being a production: staging, costumes, a script. I don't think I want to teach directly from lecture notes, though I know that it is necessary in some cases. I've worked at a theme park for nearly a year now; I can direct and hold the attention of several hundred people at a time. Whether that translates to inspiring students remains to be seen.

This is the first time I've read Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, but I can see why it's so widely taught. The text itself is open to so many different interpretations and readings. I think that it could translate into a lively class discussion. 

I, personally, must admit that I'm not the biggest fan so far. I think, though, if I sat down and read it at a clip rather than performing a careful close reading, I would enjoy it much more. I, sometimes, can't see the forest for the trees, if you'll excuse the cliche. We'll see how I feel at the end.