A Response to Taking Risks with Literature: An Exploration into the Resilience of Pupil Response to the Study of a Challenging Text at GCSE, by Katherine Erricker

     In this article, Katherine Erricker poses the problem that many students with learning disabilities face when analyzing English literature.  The GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) is for a certain subject, in this case English, for students 14-16 years of age. The article is a study done on grade 10 students, with one class consisting of 15 students, 12 of which with learning disabilities, and the second class consisting of 30 "higher-achieving" students. The study is qualitative, and uses a series of classroom recordings and surveys for evidence. According to the article, learning disabled persons have much less resilience when faced with the stress of either failure or potential failure. This means that they have a harder time regaining confidence and learning from mistakes. When faced with failure students with learning disabilities would respond with feeling "dumb," "annoyed," and "frustrated," contrasting some of the higher achieving students whose response to the survey was to "try harder next time" (90). The main idea behind the article was to use the evidence to argue that students with learning disabilities needed more care and attention from the teacher, which is opposed to the idea that teachers should not guide these students and allow them to work among their peers.

     The problem with these students working with their peers is that they have not learned the necessary ability to communicate their analysis in both a casual and academic way. Because of this trouble in communication, many students become uncomfortable with challenging texts, such as Shakespearean plays. The higher achieving students could pepper their academic analysis with slang and informal language and the students with learning difficulties could not. "This kind of linguistics manipulation is sophisticated and not only requires a skilful use of language but also an awareness of the expectation of one's audience"(92). This statement means that the students with learning disabilities require the teacher to guide the conversation and to be present to help them build this ability if possible. Ultimately Erricker concludes by claiming that these student's voices are not sufficiently heard, as they have a difficult time speaking their views; thus, teachers must help them develop not only the ability to analyse the text, but also the ability to use academic discourse among their peers.