Should Students Study Pop Songs in English Class?

1. Set Focus
Frame the inquiry with this essential question: What determines whether a text has “literary value”?

2. Read and Discuss
Have students read the debate and then answer the following questions:

• What is the issue being debated? How does it relate to current events? (The issue is whether some popular songs are works of art worthy of study. The issue is timely because a growing number of high school English teachers and college professors are putting pop music on their syllabi­.)

• Evaluate why these two authors might be interested in and qualified to comment on this issue. (Rebecca Rice designs curricula to help teachers make their classes more engaging. Liza Libes helps students prepare for the college admissions process.) 

• Analyze Rice’s view. (Rice argues in favor of teaching pop songs. She says that pop songs contain the same literary devices as poetry, such as metaphor and alliteration, and are about contemporary issues that teens will find more interesting than literary works from long ago.)

• Analyze Libes’s view. (Libes argues against teaching pop songs. She says that the main purposes of studying literature are to gain a broader world view and to challenge oneself intellectually through exposure to unfamiliar ways of writing and different ways of thinking.)

4. Writing Prompt
In an essay, evaluate one of the debaters’ arguments. Assess whether the reasoning is valid and whether it’s supported with evidence. Point out biases or missing information.

5. Classroom Debate
Should students study pop songs in English class? Have students use the authors’ ideas, as well as their own, in a debate.

6. Vote
Go online to vote in Upfront’s poll—and see how students across the country voted.