I am currently a student at the University of Texas at El Paso and I am majoring in English and American Literature. The specific kind of work that can be done in my field is an elementary school teacher, a newspaper journalist, a magazine editor, and a copywriter. To be more precise, teachers can teach at elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, or colleges and universities. They can also teach either English or reading. I would like to use my degree to teach reading to elementary school students. The specific issue in the English and American Literature field is that with the age of technology, young people are reading less and using electronics more. Why is literature so important? C.S. Lewis once described literature as: "Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become." If young children are caught up in the non-reality of today’s technology, what damage does this cause to their future? Does the age you start reading have any significance in the long run? Does someone who enjoys reading succeed more in life than someone who does not? These are all questions I hope to answer by the end of this semester.
