Cooper 7th Grade Book List

[Anonymous]

My kid just started 7th grade at Cooper and he's not in AAP. The book list from his English class contains about 40 books. I looked at the books and was shocked to see that none of the books are classics. There's no Tom Sawyer, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Great Expectation or Oliver Twist, which in my mind, are great books for this age, even though the language might be different. (I'm a 50-yr old immigrant who speaks English as a second language, for background)

The first 5 books are:
1. A good kind of trouble, by Lisa Moor Ramee, keyword when I searched county library catalog suggests BLM;
2. All American Boys by Brenan Kiely and Jason Reynolds, library catalog keyword racism;
3. Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed, keyword Pakistan/family
4. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, keyword homosexuality
5. Blended by Sharon M. Draper, keyword black father white mother

While I personally hold nothing against the topics above, when did English class become a brain washing course with hidden agenda? Why can't the kids simply learn the beauty of the English language, and be inspired by the great minds, even from a complete different time? Or am I living in such a sheltered life that the topics are prevailing way of life now? Shouldn't all the current events be part of civics class?

I don't know if the list is specific to his class or to Cooper, but my question to the wise readers here--what should I do? Tell my kids not to read these books which means going against the school? Or ask for an alternate list?

[Anonymous]

Why do you think kids can't learn the beauty of English through these books? These books are addressing social issues of the time -- just like Charles Dickens did through his books. Why do you value past books more than present books?

[Anonymous]

Well at least your 8th grader hasn’t been assigned a book with a rape scene.

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to remember the titles of the books that DC read last year. Several were "topical" books like the ones in your list, OP. They also read The Outsiders, which is sort of a classic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid just started 7th grade at Cooper and he's not in AAP. The book list from his English class contains about 40 books. I looked at the books and was shocked to see that none of the books are classics. There's no Tom Sawyer, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Great Expectation or Oliver Twist, which in my mind, are great books for this age, even though the language might be different. (I'm a 50-yr old immigrant who speaks English as a second language, for background)

The first 5 books are:
1. A good kind of trouble, by Lisa Moor Ramee, keyword when I searched county library catalog suggests BLM;
2. All American Boys by Brenan Kiely and Jason Reynolds, library catalog keyword racism;
3. Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed, keyword Pakistan/family
4. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, keyword homosexuality
5. Blended by Sharon M. Draper, keyword black father white mother

While I personally hold nothing against the topics above, when did English class become a brain washing course with hidden agenda? Why can't the kids simply learn the beauty of the English language, and be inspired by the great minds, even from a complete different time? Or am I living in such a sheltered life that the topics are prevailing way of life now? Shouldn't all the current events be part of civics class?

I don't know if the list is specific to his class or to Cooper, but my question to the wise readers here--what should I do? Tell my kids not to read these books which means going against the school? Or ask for an alternate list?

Thank you for sharing this.
I have a kid in Cooper 7th grade.
The English teacher DC got didn't teach anything. Among four days with English class in these two weeks, three days are for introduction, one day for library.
I didn't check the book list. I am going to look into it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to remember the titles of the books that DC read last year. Several were "topical" books like the ones in your list, OP. They also read The Outsiders, which is sort of a classic.

^ We are at a different middle school and DC is in 8th now and was in 7th last year.

[Anonymous]

How did you get the book list?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How did you get the book list?

We got it at the open house event.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid just started 7th grade at Cooper and he's not in AAP. The book list from his English class contains about 40 books. I looked at the books and was shocked to see that none of the books are classics. There's no Tom Sawyer, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Great Expectation or Oliver Twist, which in my mind, are great books for this age, even though the language might be different. (I'm a 50-yr old immigrant who speaks English as a second language, for background)

The first 5 books are:
1. A good kind of trouble, by Lisa Moor Ramee, keyword when I searched county library catalog suggests BLM;
2. All American Boys by Brenan Kiely and Jason Reynolds, library catalog keyword racism;
3. Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed, keyword Pakistan/family
4. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, keyword homosexuality
5. Blended by Sharon M. Draper, keyword black father white mother

While I personally hold nothing against the topics above, when did English class become a brain washing course with hidden agenda? Why can't the kids simply learn the beauty of the English language, and be inspired by the great minds, even from a complete different time? Or am I living in such a sheltered life that the topics are prevailing way of life now? Shouldn't all the current events be part of civics class?

I don't know if the list is specific to his class or to Cooper, but my question to the wise readers here--what should I do? Tell my kids not to read these books which means going against the school? Or ask for an alternate list?

DC's teacher told the students not to read the books on this list by their own, because she might pick the books from the list for class use. In that case, you won't be able to make your kids avoid exposure to the stuff you feel inappropriate.

[Anonymous]

This is 5 books out of 40. What were the other books?

[Anonymous]

What you should do is read the 5 books instead of just listing a key word. Immigrant/family sounds like a lovely keyword. It’s 5 out of 40 and you haven’t even read them.

Also, Great Expectations and To Kill a Mockingbird (keywords prejudice/rape) are in High school

[Anonymous]

The list includes books your child will get to choose from. Instead of being assigned one book (classic or modern), MS students in FCPS are now given a short list of books to choose from for units that involve novel study. The hope is that all students find something they are interested in and can enjoy or get something out of. The lists are shared with parents so that you can tell your child if you don't want them to pick certain titles, or steer them toward others.

[Anonymous]

I've read all five of those books and found them all valuable contributions to understanding the world outside of our microsociety. I have no concerns about my children reading those books or any books like them.

Have your child read Oliver Twist, To Kill a Mockingbird, and other classics at home, independently. All reading and learning does not need to be done in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well at least your 8th grader hasn’t been assigned a book with a rape scene.

What is wrong with that? Rape is unfortunately a human experience and something that far too many women (and men) have had to deal with. At 13/14, a teen should be able to handle the description of what happens.

[Anonymous]

I have no issue with any of these books.

Last year’s 7th grade book lists at our school were almost totally books written in the last 20yrs. As much as I think the issues being addressed in current novels are important, at that age I had my first introduction to Shakespeare in class, we read Beowulf in 8th.

There is value in classics as well, and it does disappoint me that our schools no longer find ways to help kids find the value in classic works as well. We do them a disservice by presuming they won’t like something that isn’t modern fiction.