Disturbing Assigned Reading

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the classics question, there is more to being educated that just reading books a bunch of old dead white men wrote.

I take it you've never read Jules Verne. You missed out. The classics are classics for a reason. It is a shame you don't appreciate them or recognize their value.

And the reason is that the people who get to decide what is a classic decided that it's a classic. So your mention of Jules Verne is funny, because the classic-deciders have never decided that Jules Verne was a classic for assigned high school reading, as far as I know. (Also, he actually is an old dead white man.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it Kite Runner? My child had to read that in ninth grade and found it extremely disturbing.

Mine had to read it in 6th but they never said anything about it or led me to believe it was violent.

Your child read the Kite Runner in 6th grade?? I find that incredibly hard to believe.

My child read Animal Farm and Things Fall Apart as assigned reading in 6th grade. Which, ok, but even at the time, I wondered what they thought an 11-year-old would get out of it.

DC read Things Fall Apart at EasternMS magnet. Out of college now & still describes it as “favorite book ever”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it Kite Runner? My child had to read that in ninth grade and found it extremely disturbing.

Mine had to read it in 6th but they never said anything about it or led me to believe it was violent.

Did you read it yourself?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the classics question, there is more to being educated that just reading books a bunch of old dead white men wrote.

I take it you've never read Jules Verne. You missed out. The classics are classics for a reason. It is a shame you don't appreciate them or recognize their value.

And the reason is that the people who get to decide what is a classic decided that it's a classic. So your mention of Jules Verne is funny, because the classic-deciders have never decided that Jules Verne was a classic for assigned high school reading, as far as I know. (Also, he actually is an old dead white man.)

Okay, what about Sophocles?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it Kite Runner? My child had to read that in ninth grade and found it extremely disturbing.

Mine had to read it in 6th but they never said anything about it or led me to believe it was violent.

Did you read it yourself?

Why would I? Also, 20,000 leagues under the sea may be a classic but the translation is very awkward especially for a kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the classics question, there is more to being educated that just reading books a bunch of old dead white men wrote.

I take it you've never read Jules Verne. You missed out. The classics are classics for a reason. It is a shame you don't appreciate them or recognize their value.

And the reason is that the people who get to decide what is a classic decided that it's a classic. So your mention of Jules Verne is funny, because the classic-deciders have never decided that Jules Verne was a classic for assigned high school reading, as far as I know. (Also, he actually is an old dead white man.)

Okay, what about Sophocles?

What about Sophocles?

My kid read Antigone this year in high school. I also read Antigone in high school. I don't think reading Antigone makes you educated, and I also don't think a person who hasn't read Antigone is uneducated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it Kite Runner? My child had to read that in ninth grade and found it extremely disturbing.

Mine had to read it in 6th but they never said anything about it or led me to believe it was violent.

There was a violent rape of a teen boy among other things.

Definitely not appropriate for minor children. And yes, they are still children but the ‘adults’ in charge don’t seem to care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would tell my kids to feel lucky.

Yes, stop reading and talk to the teacher. Also, the above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it Kite Runner? My child had to read that in ninth grade and found it extremely disturbing.

Mine had to read it in 6th but they never said anything about it or led me to believe it was violent.

There was a violent rape of a teen boy among other things.

Definitely not appropriate for minor children. And yes, they are still children but the ‘adults’ in charge don’t seem to care.

So Ten Thousand Splendid Suns is inappropriate for a high school senior who is 17, but appropriate for a high school senior who is 18? How about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it Kite Runner? My child had to read that in ninth grade and found it extremely disturbing.

Mine had to read it in 6th but they never said anything about it or led me to believe it was violent.

Your child read the Kite Runner in 6th grade?? I find that incredibly hard to believe.

My child read Animal Farm and Things Fall Apart as assigned reading in 6th grade. Which, ok, but even at the time, I wondered what they thought an 11-year-old would get out of it.

DC read Things Fall Apart at EasternMS magnet. Out of college now & still describes it as “favorite book ever”

Agreed that they need a lot more context to understand Things Fall Apart. But there aren't many "African classics"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it Kite Runner? My child had to read that in ninth grade and found it extremely disturbing.

Mine had to read it in 6th but they never said anything about it or led me to believe it was violent.

Your child read the Kite Runner in 6th grade?? I find that incredibly hard to believe.

My child read Animal Farm and Things Fall Apart as assigned reading in 6th grade. Which, ok, but even at the time, I wondered what they thought an 11-year-old would get out of it.

DC read Things Fall Apart at EasternMS magnet. Out of college now & still describes it as “favorite book ever”

Agreed that they need a lot more context to understand Things Fall Apart. But there aren't many "African classics"

Yep, Things Fall Apart is apparently the only novel ever written by anybody in sub-Saharan Africa in any language, or so one would conclude from the general school curriculum.

[Anonymous]

I would tell my child to grow up, honestly. This is why we do not teach the truth of slavery to our young people to the point that we don’t actually teach it at all. The truth, the present and the past can be ugly. Until we face it, we will always hide and ignore it. I would tell my daughter, besides having nightmares, what else could she do about this specific topic that seems so disturbing to her?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t HS kids today read the classics?

I found Lord of the Flies to be very disturbing. We read that in 1983.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it Kite Runner? My child had to read that in ninth grade and found it extremely disturbing.

A Thousand Splendid Sons by the same author.

Your 12th grader should be able to read that without issues. It sounds like she is very sensitive.

[Anonymous]

Maybe if every American read it, we would not have left Afghanistan like we did - women are suffering there again.