Edgar Allen Poe

Edgar Allen Poe is an essential author to study when it comes to English education. I remember learning Edgar Allen Poe in every step of my education. I even remember reading books for fun that had to do with Poe. In elementary school, I remember reading them as scary stories for fun. When I was in middle school I learned the history of Edgar Allen Poe and even wrote a parody of "The Tell-Tale Heart" for an 8th-grade assignment. High School was when it finally came time to dissect the stories and learn about the symbolism and messages in each story. We ready The Raven, of course, but I don't remember any other stories popping up much until I got into college. In one of my first college classes we read Fall of the House of Usher and the Mask of Red Death, but I had not read the Cask of Amontillado until now. But, clearly, Edgar Allen Poe has been in education throughout my life, and I am glad that it has.

Having the collection that students can read is a good idea to get them interested in reading Poe. Most will probably jump to The Raven or Tell-Tale Heart, but on the way they may read some more and that is what is important. I wish that I would have been exposed to more Poe in my younger years besides the classics to learn that Poe's work was more than "scary stories" to read on your own time. But, at the same time, Poe is aimed at a more mature audience to comprehend it more than just being scary. High school or late middle school, like where I was taught it, is probably the best time to be teaching it to students. It will be interesting to see where the presenters decide to put their lessons and how they decide to teach it.

I would love to teach Edgar Allen Poe in the classroom and really dive into some of the more obscure works for the students to read. I might introduce the students to Poe by reading the more well-known stories to the class, and then have them pick unknown works to read on their own to expose them to more. I am not sure how I would teach it to the class because some of the stories are complicated and take a bit to understand. I know I struggled a little bit even when I read them in college. I want to see how the presenters decide to teach the class and see different ways that it can be taught. Edgar Allen Poe is already being taught widely in the classroom, and I definitely think he should be here to stay.