--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Teaching literature is teaching how to…" description: "\"Teaching literature is teaching how to read. How to notice things in a text that a speed-reading culture is trained to disregard, overcome, edit out, o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/barbara-johnson-8544_books_teaching-literature-is-teaching-how-to-r_1465510.png" --- # Teaching literature is teaching how to read. How to notice… ![“Teaching literature is teaching how to read. How to notice things in a text that a speed-reading culture is trained to disregard, overcome, edit out, or explain away; how to read what the language is doing, not guess what the author was thinking; how to take evidence from a page, not seek a…” quote by Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/barbara-johnson-8544_books_teaching-literature-is-teaching-how-to-r_1465510.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/barbara-johnson-8544_books_teaching-literature-is-teaching-how-to-r_1465510.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/barbara-johnson-8544_books_teaching-literature-is-teaching-how-to-r_1465510.png) > “Teaching literature is teaching how to read. How to notice things in a text that a speed-reading culture is trained to disregard, overcome, edit out, or explain away; how to read what the language is doing, not guess what the author was thinking; how to take evidence from a page, not seek a reality to substitute for it.” [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature teaching trains readers to engage deeply, noticing nuances ignored by fast‑reading habits. **In simple terms:** Teach deep reading over speed. Key Takeaway Cultivate careful, evidence‑based reading. Themes education literacy critical thinking Mood thoughtful analytical Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - classroom instruction - self‑study - academic research Key Concepts close reading textual analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can you slow down reading for insight? - What evidence supports your interpretation? A Different Perspective Speed reading may miss essential context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Disregard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disregard/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-teaching-2084135/) [Overcoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcoming/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-culture-2348562/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) [Substitutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substitutes/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Teaching Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching-literature-1723094/) [Teaching Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching-read-447032/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“By teaching them all to read, we have left them at the mercy of the printed word. By the invention of the film and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/by-teaching-them-all-to-read-we-have-left-them-at-the-mercy-of-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I'm entranced by the idea of reading the culture back to itself, because I'm conscious that we as people and also as a culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-gottlieb/i-m-entranced-by-the-idea-of-reading-the-culture-back-to-itself/) [Daphne Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-gottlieb/) > [We will always return to the private and inviolable act of reading as our culture's way of developing an individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/we-will-always-return-to-the-private-and-inviolable-act-of-reading-as/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [Teaching how to read isn't the easiest thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-oshie/teaching-how-to-read-isn-t-the-easiest-thing/) [T. J. Oshie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-oshie/) > [Business students are very oriented to playing a role in the real world and accomplishing something, not training themselves to be scholars and contribute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/business-students-are-very-oriented-to-playing-a-role-in-the-real/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [My passion has always been books and literature, and teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/my-passion-has-always-been-books-and-literature-and-teaching/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [Because I don't have to be careful of people's feelings when I teach literature, and I do when I'm teaching writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/because-i-don-t-have-to-be-careful-of-people-s-feelings-when-i-teach/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Teaching literature is impossible; that is why it is difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/teaching-literature-is-impossible-that-is-why-it-is-difficult/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“Ahhh, teaching literature. A noble calling! For we are all stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-weber/ahhh-teaching-literature-a-noble-calling-for-we-are-all-stories/) [Carolyn Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-weber/) > [Novels are routinely denigrated when characters are not found to be likable. Is Raskolnikov likable? Is King Lear? The plethora of such naive readers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/novels-are-routinely-denigrated-when-characters-are-not-found-to-be/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [In my teaching, I try to expose my students to the widest range of aesthetic possibilities, so I'll offer them stories from Anton Chekhov…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/in-my-teaching-i-try-to-expose-my-students-to-the-widest-range-of/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [“You can’t apply academic rules to art of any kind. As soon as you begin to have rules, you begin to say, “Well, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-trevor/you-can-t-apply-academic-rules-to-art-of-any-kind-as-soon-as-you/) [William Trevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-trevor/) > [The triangle of truisms, of father, mother and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-triangle-of-truisms-of-father-mother-and-child-cannot-be/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I am surprised that many people disregard the fact that the end for almost all drug dealers ends up being the cemetery or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-pablo-escobar/i-am-surprised-that-many-people-disregard-the-fact-that-the-end-for/) [Juan Pablo Escobar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-pablo-escobar/) > [The propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-propitious-smiles-of-heaven-can-never-be-expected-on-a-nation/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) ## More by Barbara Johnson > [Forgiveness is a stunning principle, your ticket out of hate and fear and chaos. ... I know what regret feels like; I've earned my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/forgiveness-is-a-stunning-principle-your-ticket-out-of-hate-and-fear/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [Change is a process not an event.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/change-is-a-process-not-an-event/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [We can choose to gather to our hearts the thorns of disappointment, failure, loneliness, and dismay in our present situation. Or we can gather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/we-can-choose-to-gather-to-our-hearts-the-thorns-of-disappointment/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [If things are tough, remember that every flower that ever bloomed had to go through a whole lot of dirt to get there. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/if-things-are-tough-remember-that-every-flower-that-ever-bloomed-had/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [How will you use the years God gives you? Will you be remembered for being a fault-finder? Or will you be known for your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/how-will-you-use-the-years-god-gives-you-will-you-be-remembered-for/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [Worry is the senseless process of cluttering up tomorrows opportunities with leftover problems from today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/worry-is-the-senseless-process-of-cluttering-up-tomorrows/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [“Men are like parking spaces, the good ones are already taken and the ones left are running out of their metres”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/men-are-like-parking-spaces-the-good-ones-are-already-taken-and-the/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/never-let-a-problem-to-be-solved-become-more-important-than-a-person/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [If we give someone a piece of bread and butter, that's kindness, but if we put jelly or peanut butter on it, then it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/if-we-give-someone-a-piece-of-bread-and-butter-that-s-kindness-but-if/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [Violets are God's apology for February.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/violets-are-god-s-apology-for-february/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [Don’t let your life speed out of control. Live intentionally. Do something today that will last beyond your lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/don-t-let-your-life-speed-out-of-control-live-intentionally-do/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [God will never let you sink under your circumstances. He always provides a safety net and His love always encircles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/god-will-never-let-you-sink-under-your-circumstances-he-always/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [Winners see an answer for every problem; losers see a problem in every answer!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/winners-see-an-answer-for-every-problem-losers-see-a-problem-in-every/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [We spend our lives dreaming of the future, not realizing that a little of it slips away every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/we-spend-our-lives-dreaming-of-the-future-not-realizing-that-a-little/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [Motherhood: if it were going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/motherhood-if-it-were-going-to-be-easy-it-never-would-have-started/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) [Explore all 80 Barbara Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Teaching literature is teaching how to read. How to notice things in a text that a speed-reading culture is trained to disregard, overcome, edit out, or explain away; how to read what the language is doing, not guess what the author was thinking; how to take evidence from a page, not seek a reality to substitute for it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/teaching-literature-is-teaching-how-to-read-how-to-notice-things-in-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/teaching-literature-is-teaching-how-to-read-how-to-notice-things-in-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/barbara-johnson-8544_books_teaching-literature-is-teaching-how-to-r_1465510.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/barbara-johnson-8544_books_teaching-literature-is-teaching-how-to-r_1465510.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/barbara-johnson-8544_books_teaching-literature-is-teaching-how-to-r_1465510.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Teaching literature is teaching how to read. How to notice things in a text that a speed-reading culture is…” — Barbara Johnson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Teaching literature is teaching how to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/teaching-literature-is-teaching-how-to-read-how-to-notice-things-in-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/teaching-literature-is-teaching-how-to-read-how-to-notice-things-in-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```