Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thinking about this topic it occurred to me that in high school we read books like Animal Farm and 1984.
I can see why those aren't read. The system doesn't want people to know that the end result of socialism is that "all animals are equal; but some animals are more equal than others".
We read Hemingway and Shakespeare, and I can't remember what all else. Lord of the Flies was a book that we were assigned to read. I'm not sure what value can be taken from Lord of the Flies, but we read it and discussed it.
Because so many people decide that they don't enjoy reading, maybe the schools should put more emphasis on books that are entertaining or pleasant or interesting and work on getting students interested in reading instead of thinking of it as a punishment.
Let them read James Mitchener if you want something with historical value that is interesting to read.
We are not talking about Animal Farm. We are talking about books like Gender *****. It's a graphic novel with images of sex between boys and men. This is just one example. n
Sexually explicit content does not belong in the 10th grade English classroom.
I was telling a friend about the books in school libraries. The one I sent him a photo from was a graphic image of sex between a boy and a man. He said, I hope they have hetero sex in there, too. I was like ARE YOU KIDDING? Why do you want ANY graphic sex in your libraries.
calgirlinnc I understand that you're upset and your daughter is upset by the her reading assignment and the books listed. But there is another side to this as well.
During the past decade at higher education but also high school, there's been a new culture of trigger warnings, safe spaces, and general coddling from ideas and words that are controversial. This has caused students to become more fragile and over-protected.
While a good parent does not want their child to be hurt and wants to protect them from all harm, things have gone too far in protecting the children. Kids won't grow if parents keep them from being exposed to things that challenge them. By coddling them and treating even teens as young children, parents risk hurting their future prospects and making it more difficult for them to succeed in the adult world.
Here's a good book called "The Coddling Of The American Mind" which goes into more detail with this.
I can't believe this is serious. In Loudin County, VA, a 'trans' boy raped two girls. The district covered it up. Finally, it all came out and the superintendent was fired and brought up on criminal charges. They tried to silence the father of one of the girls at a school board meeting.
If you people are all about 'protecting' the kids, like you say you are, what do you say about this?
Because so many people decide that they don't enjoy reading, maybe the schools should put more emphasis on books that are entertaining or pleasant or interesting and work on getting students interested in reading instead of thinking of it as a punishment.
.
Hear, hear! Or at least, if not pleasant and entertaining, at least--absent graphic, horrific violence. I discovered some years ago, that one of the authors we read, whose novel involved a graphically-described murder and the perpetrator's grizzly attempt to destroy the evidence, had written other work, including a short story, that dealt with the same themes of social inequities, but without the violence. In short story form, it was easily digestible, which meant one could actually appreciate the writing style, which was lost in the longer works, because students were struggling just to keep up with the lengthy reading assignments. The story was actually a pleasure to read, an experience that was not part of the highschool literature courses.
We had a discussion here a year or two ago, about how highschool literature teachers rarely select work that's age-appropriate. Someone said, they were given a book to read in freshman or sophomore year, that they were assigned again in their senior year, because they were told they were too young to be able to understand it as young teens. When I looked it up, I found an article by a university professor, who said he found, that even undergrad students were too young to be able to understand it. He dropped it from his undergrad lit courses, and only assigned it to graduate students thereafter.
I think this was part of the problem, and possibly still is, in highschool lit courses, part of the reason many students feel lost, and get turned off to fiction. Another reason is the scenes of violence. Doesn't anyone ever write any inspiring, ultimately upbeat novels?
My daughter can't believe her students have such a limited vocabulary. The words she (& her peers) knew in 10th grade, only a little more than a decade ago, are a mystery to 10th graders now. The decline has been steep.
Among the many words we learned in 7th grade vocabulary are two that stick out: prosaic and dais (or daïs)
When was the last time you heard, let alone used, those words?
I agree that there are some books that are not appropriate and are of little value. But keep in mind that kids today have seen graphic violence and porn from very tender ages on the net. You'd be shocked. Of course they don't share this with their parents and other adults in their environment. You ain't shielding them from much
Sooo, maybe for the most part, absent absolute dreck, stick to the classics selected down through the ages. They have stood the test of time. For a reason. IMO, I would put my money on the English teachers selecting the best books for their students rather than the choices of the parents.
And also, some parents need to get lives and leave the teaching to the teachers. Enough hovering. Maybe some benign neglect would be in order....
I agree that there are some books that are not appropriate and are of little value. But keep in mind that kids today have seen graphic violence and porn from very tender ages on the net. You'd be shocked. Of course they don't share this with their parents and other adults in their environment. You ain't shielding them from much
Sooo, maybe for the most part, absent absolute dreck, stick to the classics selected down through the ages. They have stood the test of time. For a reason. IMO, I would put my money on the English teachers selecting the best books for their students rather than the choices of the parents.
And also, some parents need to get lives and leave the teaching to the teachers. Enough hovering. Maybe some benign neglect would be in order....
This is by far the most ridiculous argument I have ever heard. I am sure boys of my generation had seen Playboy but didn't have it in school library. Do you HEAR yourself?
BTW, they guy who said he hoped they had hetero sex in libraries too is a partner in a major law firm and graduated with his MBA from a Pac Ten very highly regarded school.
Re-read the first sentence of my first paragraph. My point was that I agree there are certainly inappropriate books published recently. However, students would not be shocked by content that YOU so clearly are. They've grown up with content that YOU never did. I abhor the violence to be sure but with the trans, gay etc. reference, most students would be nonplussed because they've grown up with it. I guess we both agree on a hard "no" on the violent content. Should a pix of ANY folks pictured having sex on the cover be in a school library? Not of any sexual persuasion. Playboy is some pretty tame stuff but no it shouldn't be in the library.
My other point was to stick to the classics. Then you've avoided the controversy, no? Life is too short too get so bent out of shape about what you seem to think I said. Why be so angry and defensive.
Actually, we agree on more than you think we do. That is. Read the classics in school. They can choose to read the other books on their down time.....
I think your friend was pulling your leg BTW.
Never lose your sense of humor...
My argument is by far the worst you've ever heard? tee hee. I've been called out for worse.....
I agree that there are some books that are not appropriate and are of little value. But keep in mind that kids today have seen graphic violence and porn from very tender ages on the net. You'd be shocked. Of course they don't share this with their parents and other adults in their environment. You ain't shielding them from much
Sooo, maybe for the most part, absent absolute dreck, stick to the classics selected down through the ages. They have stood the test of time. For a reason. IMO, I would put my money on the English teachers selecting the best books for their students rather than the choices of the parents.
And also, some parents need to get lives and leave the teaching to the teachers. Enough hovering. Maybe some benign neglect would be in order....
The thing is, highschools want to cover contemporary authors as well as the classics. That's where the issues arise. Also, the classics were mostly written by what the director of Undergraduate Advising at the U of WA called "DeWMs": Dead White Males (pronounced: "dooms", in case you missed it). No diversity. Some of the African authors are quite good. There are plenty of good authors outside of the classics.
It's mainly a matter of putting enough thought and discernment into one's selections. I honestly suspect, that many literature teachers randomly chose works from a list, rather than take the time to look more broadly at select authors' published works to make more fitting choices.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
