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Interesting discussion folks. And I very much agree that everyone has different tastes in lit. What I find intriguing is that only certain tastes are represented in the school selection because, as has been mentioned in this thread, it's to force you to read things you wouldn't otherwise, or to expose you to something of historical or social significance. Ok, but then why is not the reverse true -- to force those who would not read, say Sci-Fi to read 2001 or Rama?
In speaking of Shakespeare, why is it always Romeo & Juliet. Which, at least both my HS, and my kids, is taught as a romance, when it is in reality a tragedy. Why in the world would HS lit class romanticize a couple of spoiled teenagers committing suicide? Because that's what happens. I can recall even from my HS days how the girls thought it was so romantic that she killed herself for him and the guys thinking "this is stupid." And if you want something that is really relevant, why not Othello? It projects the tragedy of racism quite clearly. (Though one problem is, at least our HS, is they moderate most Shakespeare to HS social standards because it is very "earthy" in it's language.)
A related issue with the standard book set is it seems everyone must reach the same conclusion from reading them, which is the accepted interpretation. Alternative views are not accepted. Can't think of a better way to turn kids off than to not only tell them what they must read, but they must get the desired interpretation from it or else.
DD had much more fun in our college comparative lit because alternate views were encouraged.
In the end, it seems that one school of taste dominates in the school system and is taught in such as way to turn off good readers.
Interesting discussion folks. And I very much agree that everyone has different tastes in lit. What I find intriguing is that only certain tastes are represented in the school selection because, as has been mentioned in this thread, it's to force you to read things you wouldn't otherwise, or to expose you to something of historical or social significance. Ok, but then why is not the reverse true -- to force those who would not read, say Sci-Fi to read 2001 or Rama?
In speaking of Shakespeare, why is it always Romeo & Juliet. Which, at least both my HS, and my kids, is taught as a romance, when it is in reality a tragedy. Why in the world would HS lit class romanticize a couple of spoiled teenagers committing suicide? Because that's what happens. I can recall even from my HS days how the girls thought it was so romantic that she killed herself for him and the guys thinking "this is stupid." And if you want something that is really relevant, why not Othello? It projects the tragedy of racism quite clearly. (Though one problem is, at least our HS, is they moderate most Shakespeare to HS social standards because it is very "earthy" in it's language.)
A related issue with the standard book set is it seems everyone must reach the same conclusion from reading them, which is the accepted interpretation. Alternative views are not accepted. Can't think of a better way to turn kids off than to not only tell them what they must read, but they must get the desired interpretation from it or else.
DD had much more fun in our college comparative lit because alternate views were encouraged.
In the end, it seems that one school of taste dominates in the school system and is taught in such as way to turn off good readers.
That speaks to greater problems across education. The idea that modern schooling is just about training automatons to sit and be quiet receptacles is good training to become a cubicle farmer some day.
High School Lit I loved: TKAM, Of Mice and Men, The Scarlet Letter, Brave New World, MacBeth, Pride and Prejudice, and Great Expectations. I pretty much loved everything I was assigned. Well, except Heart of Darkness. Did not enjoy it at all, but I was glad I read it when I picked up Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible years later.
My husband read and enjoyed Shakespeare, especially MacBeth. He does not recall reacting negatively to much of anything he was assigned to read in high school, and he devoured SF in his spare time. He even admitted to liking The Scarlet Letter, just as I did, so perhaps we're well matched.
My seventh grader recently finished Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Lord of the Flies, which he chose himself as independent reading, and he liked both. His English class completed a study of Beowulf a few weeks ago. For all the talk about boys being left out because of a death of science fiction, let me just say that it's my daughter who adores SF, not my sons. My oldest two both loved Rebecca, which cracks me up, because my husband did, too.
Last edited by randomparent; 04-05-2015 at 10:35 AM..
In speaking of Shakespeare, why is it always Romeo & Juliet. Which, at least both my HS, and my kids, is taught as a romance, when it is in reality a tragedy. Why in the world would HS lit class romanticize a couple of spoiled teenagers committing suicide?
Well I disagree. Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the most universally accessible thing that Shakespeare ever wrote.
Had a long discussion with my 9th grader last night which came around to this: Why do they pick such boring books and plays for high school literature? Which made me think back to my own school years and I have to agree. It seems almost as if the literature chosen is designed to make kids hate reading.
They're in the midst of To Kill a Mockingbird, and might get to Romeo & Juliet this year. This isn't a kid who hates reading, but would like variety. He's already stated he much rather study Macbeth, Hamlet, Henry V, or Othello instead of Romeo & Juliet because they have more action and appeal to a boy.
Let's be honest: How many people would really read Mockingbird or Anne Frank if they weren't required reading in school? Is it merely social relevance and tradition that ties us to the same things when there are many books that would stir the imagination better and capture young readers for a lifetime if that's really the goal?
What about the students who love the required reading books? Should they then be forced to read books they don't like because your son would prefer others? Books are chosen for a reason, and the mentioned books have obvious reasons (Romeo and Juliet really being that, culturally, it's an important story to know.) Also, who's to say they won't read some of those other Shakespeare books in later years? We read one each year in high school, including Macbeth and Hamlet.
Interesting discussion folks. And I very much agree that everyone has different tastes in lit. What I find intriguing is that only certain tastes are represented in the school selection because, as has been mentioned in this thread, it's to force you to read things you wouldn't otherwise, or to expose you to something of historical or social significance. Ok, but then why is not the reverse true -- to force those who would not read, say Sci-Fi to read 2001 or Rama?
In speaking of Shakespeare, why is it always Romeo & Juliet. Which, at least both my HS, and my kids, is taught as a romance, when it is in reality a tragedy. Why in the world would HS lit class romanticize a couple of spoiled teenagers committing suicide? Because that's what happens. I can recall even from my HS days how the girls thought it was so romantic that she killed herself for him and the guys thinking "this is stupid." And if you want something that is really relevant, why not Othello? It projects the tragedy of racism quite clearly. (Though one problem is, at least our HS, is they moderate most Shakespeare to HS social standards because it is very "earthy" in it's language.)
A related issue with the standard book set is it seems everyone must reach the same conclusion from reading them, which is the accepted interpretation. Alternative views are not accepted. Can't think of a better way to turn kids off than to not only tell them what they must read, but they must get the desired interpretation from it or else.
DD had much more fun in our college comparative lit because alternate views were encouraged.
In the end, it seems that one school of taste dominates in the school system and is taught in such as way to turn off good readers.
Kids at the school I teach at read 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World as did I when I was in high school in addition to books like The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird. If your schools are limiting the books kids read perhaps you should take that up with the school board. The only book I took offense to was Rabbit Run. That was too pornographic for my tastes. I found the Diary of Anne Frank very interesting.
Different people have different tastes. Literature classes expose you to styles of writing you wouldn't otherwise read. I would never choose to read a book like The Grapes of Wrath on my own but I don't think the school was wrong in having me read it. It's good to step outside of your box now and again.
Too many teachers think that a book has to be from decades past to impart valuable messages. Not true. History is fine, but save it for the history classes. Assigned lit should be from and about occasions more relevant to the present and the future today.
Honestly, I was never really engaged in my English classes because they focused too much on things completely irrelevant to the real world.
I'd much rather see books like Console Wars, Blink, Freakonomics, Girls of Kabul, and Innovators featured in the curriculum than the dusty hard-to-relate-to books written in unnecessarily fluffy, unclear, not concise language (modelling poor writing habits for the real world) -- all because they're arbitrarily deemed 'classics'.
History is fine, but save it for the history classes.
I could not disagree more. Consider me a true believer in the cross-curriculum humanities approach.
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