Talking texts with teachers #5

An interview with Annabel Barton from McKinnon Secondary College about the best (and worst) texts she's taught, and how English teachers can guide young people to become better humans.

Annabel Barton is a Literacy Learning Specialist at McKinnon Secondary College, in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs. She was previously the Head of English at Richmond High School. While she didn’t consider herself a bookworm growing up, Annabel has embraced reading more in her adult years, and her Goodreads reading challenge slowly increases each year. Passionate about literacy in education, Annabel firmly believes in the transformative power of a strong literacy foundation to shape a person’s life, and actively champions the joy that reading brings.  

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What is the best text you've ever taught, and why?

I had such a great time teaching the film Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn, to a Year 11 cohort. I knew the film had a bit of a cult following but I hadn’t seen it before. Diving into the themes and messages with the students was really interesting and enjoyable, especially as we made connections to our current complex world. Chris McCandless’ story is so intriguing, and it sparked some amazing conversations in class.

What is the worst?