On The Current Situation And Future Prospects Of High School Literary Education

Literary education is an important component of high school Language Arts. However, its integrity has been impugned for a long time by concentrating on isolated extracts and demanding extensive practice due to the overemphasis on the practical use of language. The problem becomes more pronounced in the ongoing reform of high school curricula, especially as people are seeking humanity of Language Arts in recent years. This thesis reviews the historical development of high school literary education. It analyzes the evolution of perspectives on literary Education in different stages and the conflicts between various perspectives at the current stage. Based on the analysis, the thesis suggests that the eventual goal of high school literary education is to enrich students' cultural knowledge and improve their accomplishments. The author further suggests that literature should be set up as a separate course in high school with an independent responsibility. Finally, a few suggestions are made to change the current situation of high school literary education haunted by emptiness and overwhelming stress on practical gains. Literary education reform should focus on students and encourage them to expand their soul horizon by self-experience and reading classical literature. Meanwhile, the extracurricular reading should be combined with in-class activities to nourish students emotionally, and facilitate their lifelong development.