Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1984
The Hate U Give
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Short Stories/Book TBA
The Kite Runner

Gosh, another bad list. Who doesn’t love Kite Runner, and I thoroughly enjoyed ELIC. But, let’s be honest these are books to read for pleasure. I was under the assumption that high school reading selections are supposed to expose our children to works that they would not read otherwise because of their difficulty, challenging themes or inaccessibility? In fact, English class is supposed to teach high schoolers *how* to read & analyze challenging books. Not read & analyze easy books.

There are challenging themes in each of the above. Kite Runner has the same Lexile range as Catcher in the Rye and is far above The Grapes of Wrath and A Farewell to Arms. THUG is on par with A Farewell to Arms. Just because you would read them for pleasure does not mean that the average or even bright 15 year old would. So, what would be on your list for 10th grader? Obviously it can't be anything that you would read for "pleasure" - it must be "work" and children must not like it for it to be at all worthwhile. I, for one, am thrilled that my child is being exposed to points of view and ways of writing that are not the product of the Dead White Guy canon.

Thank you. I wanted to express a similar sentiment, but you said it better. If the classics are so important to you, work with your child in your own time.

For those who against the inclusion of new viewpoints, you will hate my kids' list, which includes:

The Crucible
The Great Gatsby
Raisin in the Sun
The Poet X
Americanah

Couldn't you say the same in the other direction? In many ways, it's probably easier to read contemporary literature as part of a book club with your kid if the goal is to see new points of view.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1984
The Hate U Give
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Short Stories/Book TBA
The Kite Runner

Gosh, another bad list. Who doesn’t love Kite Runner, and I thoroughly enjoyed ELIC. But, let’s be honest these are books to read for pleasure. I was under the assumption that high school reading selections are supposed to expose our children to works that they would not read otherwise because of their difficulty, challenging themes or inaccessibility? In fact, English class is supposed to teach high schoolers *how* to read & analyze challenging books. Not read & analyze easy books.

There are challenging themes in each of the above. Kite Runner has the same Lexile range as Catcher in the Rye and is far above The Grapes of Wrath and A Farewell to Arms. THUG is on par with A Farewell to Arms. Just because you would read them for pleasure does not mean that the average or even bright 15 year old would. So, what would be on your list for 10th grader? Obviously it can't be anything that you would read for "pleasure" - it must be "work" and children must not like it for it to be at all worthwhile. I, for one, am thrilled that my child is being exposed to points of view and ways of writing that are not the product of the Dead White Guy canon.

Thank you. I wanted to express a similar sentiment, but you said it better. If the classics are so important to you, work with your child in your own time.

For those who against the inclusion of new viewpoints, you will hate my kids' list, which includes:

The Crucible
The Great Gatsby
Raisin in the Sun
The Poet X
Americanah

One of the great things about reading challenging and/or classical literature in school is that there are people to then have discussions with and help delve deeper into the meaning, effect etc of the work.

The same can be said for reading contemporary literature offering different points of view than what may be in one's comfort zone (heteronormative, white male POV). A 15yo that only knows relative privilege can learn so much walking in the path of another through literature - and that literature does not have to be classically difficult to provide meaningful classroom discussions about the meaning of the work, literary structure, plot devices, character, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1984
The Hate U Give
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Short Stories/Book TBA
The Kite Runner

Gosh, another bad list. Who doesn’t love Kite Runner, and I thoroughly enjoyed ELIC. But, let’s be honest these are books to read for pleasure. I was under the assumption that high school reading selections are supposed to expose our children to works that they would not read otherwise because of their difficulty, challenging themes or inaccessibility? In fact, English class is supposed to teach high schoolers *how* to read & analyze challenging books. Not read & analyze easy books.

There are challenging themes in each of the above. Kite Runner has the same Lexile range as Catcher in the Rye and is far above The Grapes of Wrath and A Farewell to Arms. THUG is on par with A Farewell to Arms. Just because you would read them for pleasure does not mean that the average or even bright 15 year old would. So, what would be on your list for 10th grader? Obviously it can't be anything that you would read for "pleasure" - it must be "work" and children must not like it for it to be at all worthwhile. I, for one, am thrilled that my child is being exposed to points of view and ways of writing that are not the product of the Dead White Guy canon.

Thank you. I wanted to express a similar sentiment, but you said it better. If the classics are so important to you, work with your child in your own time.

For those who against the inclusion of new viewpoints, you will hate my kids' list, which includes:

The Crucible
The Great Gatsby
Raisin in the Sun
The Poet X
Americanah

One of the great things about reading challenging and/or classical literature in school is that there are people to then have discussions with and help delve deeper into the meaning, effect etc of the work.

Anonymous wrote:Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

First one is a "graphic novel", aka comic book. Not really on board with that. Also doesn't seem like a lot to me. Ditto THe Hate U give, which has a very low lexile level.

Agrees with your thoughts. Perhaps if they added a few more like Shakespeare and Atwood and then just quickly used the two you mentioned as important discussion pieces. The graphic novel you mention is about the Iranian revolution but they could meat it up a bit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1984
The Hate U Give
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Short Stories/Book TBA
The Kite Runner

Gosh, another bad list. Who doesn’t love Kite Runner, and I thoroughly enjoyed ELIC. But, let’s be honest these are books to read for pleasure. I was under the assumption that high school reading selections are supposed to expose our children to works that they would not read otherwise because of their difficulty, challenging themes or inaccessibility? In fact, English class is supposed to teach high schoolers *how* to read & analyze challenging books. Not read & analyze easy books.

There are challenging themes in each of the above. Kite Runner has the same Lexile range as Catcher in the Rye and is far above The Grapes of Wrath and A Farewell to Arms. THUG is on par with A Farewell to Arms. Just because you would read them for pleasure does not mean that the average or even bright 15 year old would. So, what would be on your list for 10th grader? Obviously it can't be anything that you would read for "pleasure" - it must be "work" and children must not like it for it to be at all worthwhile. I, for one, am thrilled that my child is being exposed to points of view and ways of writing that are not the product of the Dead White Guy canon.

Thank you. I wanted to express a similar sentiment, but you said it better. If the classics are so important to you, work with your child in your own time.

For those who against the inclusion of new viewpoints, you will hate my kids' list, which includes:

The Crucible
The Great Gatsby
Raisin in the Sun
The Poet X
Americanah

I'm the one who disliked the reading list with Kite Runner. Oh believe me, it wasn't because I'm against inclusion of other viewpoints. Whatever you're imagining in your head, you have me wrong. Your list is good, minus Americanah and PoetX.

I don't like contemporary fiction in English lit classes. I think they should be used sparingly. Classics CAN BE pleasurable and that is one of the great discoveries of high school english class. I like using the books above for summer reading or other assignments. Regarding Shakespeare - I agree that we should stop including them to the degree we do. They are extremely hard to teach, tedious and require unusual reader maturity.

Well we can definitely agree to disagree on that. Contemporary lit does not mean bad. Great Gatsby, Great Expectations where all contemporary to their time.

+1 "classics" change. I hated Madame Bovary. I hated all the characters and the plot. I would not be happy if my DC had to read that crap. Worse book ever.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1984
The Hate U Give
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Short Stories/Book TBA
The Kite Runner

Gosh, another bad list. Who doesn’t love Kite Runner, and I thoroughly enjoyed ELIC. But, let’s be honest these are books to read for pleasure. I was under the assumption that high school reading selections are supposed to expose our children to works that they would not read otherwise because of their difficulty, challenging themes or inaccessibility? In fact, English class is supposed to teach high schoolers *how* to read & analyze challenging books. Not read & analyze easy books.

There are challenging themes in each of the above. Kite Runner has the same Lexile range as Catcher in the Rye and is far above The Grapes of Wrath and A Farewell to Arms. THUG is on par with A Farewell to Arms. Just because you would read them for pleasure does not mean that the average or even bright 15 year old would. So, what would be on your list for 10th grader? Obviously it can't be anything that you would read for "pleasure" - it must be "work" and children must not like it for it to be at all worthwhile. I, for one, am thrilled that my child is being exposed to points of view and ways of writing that are not the product of the Dead White Guy canon.

Thank you. I wanted to express a similar sentiment, but you said it better. If the classics are so important to you, work with your child in your own time.

For those who against the inclusion of new viewpoints, you will hate my kids' list, which includes:

The Crucible
The Great Gatsby
Raisin in the Sun
The Poet X
Americanah

I'm the one who disliked the reading list with Kite Runner. Oh believe me, it wasn't because I'm against inclusion of other viewpoints. Whatever you're imagining in your head, you have me wrong. Your list is good, minus Americanah and PoetX.

I don't like contemporary fiction in English lit classes. I think they should be used sparingly. Classics CAN BE pleasurable and that is one of the great discoveries of high school english class. I like using the books above for summer reading or other assignments. Regarding Shakespeare - I agree that we should stop including them to the degree we do. They are extremely hard to teach, tedious and require unusual reader maturity.

Well we can definitely agree to disagree on that. Contemporary lit does not mean bad. Great Gatsby, Great Expectations where all contemporary to their time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1984
The Hate U Give
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Short Stories/Book TBA
The Kite Runner

Gosh, another bad list. Who doesn’t love Kite Runner, and I thoroughly enjoyed ELIC. But, let’s be honest these are books to read for pleasure. I was under the assumption that high school reading selections are supposed to expose our children to works that they would not read otherwise because of their difficulty, challenging themes or inaccessibility? In fact, English class is supposed to teach high schoolers *how* to read & analyze challenging books. Not read & analyze easy books.

There are challenging themes in each of the above. Kite Runner has the same Lexile range as Catcher in the Rye and is far above The Grapes of Wrath and A Farewell to Arms. THUG is on par with A Farewell to Arms. Just because you would read them for pleasure does not mean that the average or even bright 15 year old would. So, what would be on your list for 10th grader? Obviously it can't be anything that you would read for "pleasure" - it must be "work" and children must not like it for it to be at all worthwhile. I, for one, am thrilled that my child is being exposed to points of view and ways of writing that are not the product of the Dead White Guy canon.

Thank you. I wanted to express a similar sentiment, but you said it better. If the classics are so important to you, work with your child in your own time.

For those who against the inclusion of new viewpoints, you will hate my kids' list, which includes:

The Crucible
The Great Gatsby
Raisin in the Sun
The Poet X
Americanah

I'm the one who disliked the reading list with Kite Runner. Oh believe me, it wasn't because I'm against inclusion of other viewpoints. Whatever you're imagining in your head, you have me wrong. Your list is good, minus Americanah and PoetX.

I don't like contemporary fiction in English lit classes. I think they should be used sparingly. Classics CAN BE pleasurable and that is one of the great discoveries of high school english class. I like using the books above for summer reading or other assignments. Regarding Shakespeare - I agree that we should stop including them to the degree we do. They are extremely hard to teach, tedious and require unusual reader maturity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1984
The Hate U Give
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Short Stories/Book TBA
The Kite Runner

Gosh, another bad list. Who doesn’t love Kite Runner, and I thoroughly enjoyed ELIC. But, let’s be honest these are books to read for pleasure. I was under the assumption that high school reading selections are supposed to expose our children to works that they would not read otherwise because of their difficulty, challenging themes or inaccessibility? In fact, English class is supposed to teach high schoolers *how* to read & analyze challenging books. Not read & analyze easy books.

There are challenging themes in each of the above. Kite Runner has the same Lexile range as Catcher in the Rye and is far above The Grapes of Wrath and A Farewell to Arms. THUG is on par with A Farewell to Arms. Just because you would read them for pleasure does not mean that the average or even bright 15 year old would. So, what would be on your list for 10th grader? Obviously it can't be anything that you would read for "pleasure" - it must be "work" and children must not like it for it to be at all worthwhile. I, for one, am thrilled that my child is being exposed to points of view and ways of writing that are not the product of the Dead White Guy canon.

Thank you. I wanted to express a similar sentiment, but you said it better. If the classics are so important to you, work with your child in your own time.

For those who against the inclusion of new viewpoints, you will hate my kids' list, which includes:

The Crucible
The Great Gatsby
Raisin in the Sun
The Poet X
Americanah

Above poster here - that looks like a good list, too! For the record, my well-read, public-school educated kid has already read Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Hobbit, and other "greatest hits" of dead white guys in lower grades. I WISH I had been assigned in high school something like The Poet X, and, for that matter, Persepolis. I have always had a hard time finding meaning in poetry, and I think I would have benefitted from something like The Poet X or Kwame Alexander's The Crossover. Similarly, I am also lacking in the visual literacy that's required for a graphic novel like Persepolis (or, for that matter, MAUS and/or March) and I would have greatly benefitted from classroom discussions and analysis. I am glad that this generation is getting the tools they need to be able to do that analysis.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1984
The Hate U Give
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Short Stories/Book TBA
The Kite Runner

Gosh, another bad list. Who doesn’t love Kite Runner, and I thoroughly enjoyed ELIC. But, let’s be honest these are books to read for pleasure. I was under the assumption that high school reading selections are supposed to expose our children to works that they would not read otherwise because of their difficulty, challenging themes or inaccessibility? In fact, English class is supposed to teach high schoolers *how* to read & analyze challenging books. Not read & analyze easy books.

There are challenging themes in each of the above. Kite Runner has the same Lexile range as Catcher in the Rye and is far above The Grapes of Wrath and A Farewell to Arms. THUG is on par with A Farewell to Arms. Just because you would read them for pleasure does not mean that the average or even bright 15 year old would. So, what would be on your list for 10th grader? Obviously it can't be anything that you would read for "pleasure" - it must be "work" and children must not like it for it to be at all worthwhile. I, for one, am thrilled that my child is being exposed to points of view and ways of writing that are not the product of the Dead White Guy canon.

Thank you. I wanted to express a similar sentiment, but you said it better. If the classics are so important to you, work with your child in your own time.

For those who against the inclusion of new viewpoints, you will hate my kids' list, which includes:

The Crucible
The Great Gatsby
Raisin in the Sun
The Poet X
Americanah

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1984
The Hate U Give
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Short Stories/Book TBA
The Kite Runner

Gosh, another bad list. Who doesn’t love Kite Runner, and I thoroughly enjoyed ELIC. But, let’s be honest these are books to read for pleasure. I was under the assumption that high school reading selections are supposed to expose our children to works that they would not read otherwise because of their difficulty, challenging themes or inaccessibility? In fact, English class is supposed to teach high schoolers *how* to read & analyze challenging books. Not read & analyze easy books.

There are challenging themes in each of the above. Kite Runner has the same Lexile range as Catcher in the Rye and is far above The Grapes of Wrath and A Farewell to Arms. THUG is on par with A Farewell to Arms. Just because you would read them for pleasure does not mean that the average or even bright 15 year old would. So, what would be on your list for 10th grader? Obviously it can't be anything that you would read for "pleasure" - it must be "work" and children must not like it for it to be at all worthwhile. I, for one, am thrilled that my child is being exposed to points of view and ways of writing that are not the product of the Dead White Guy canon.

Anonymous wrote:Pride and Prejudice
Henry IV, Part 1
Romeo and Juliet
Importance of Being Earnest
Beowulf
Canterbury Tales

Serious question: why are kids still required to read Shakespeare?

Impossibly dull, difficult to understand, and far more relevant texts out there for the themes. I was an honors English student (years and years ago). I hated it then and hate it even now. I can't think of one useful thing it gave me. And, almost everyone in HS used crib notes for at least some understanding of it. From talking to HS kids now, that remains the same.

Pride and Prejudice
Henry IV, Part 1
Romeo and Juliet
Importance of Being Earnest
Beowulf
Canterbury Tales

Anonymous wrote:1984
The Hate U Give
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Short Stories/Book TBA
The Kite Runner

Gosh, another bad list. Who doesn’t love Kite Runner, and I thoroughly enjoyed ELIC. But, let’s be honest these are books to read for pleasure. I was under the assumption that high school reading selections are supposed to expose our children to works that they would not read otherwise because of their difficulty, challenging themes or inaccessibility? In fact, English class is supposed to teach high schoolers *how* to read & analyze challenging books. Not read & analyze easy books.

Anonymous wrote:Persepolis is an amazing graphic memoir about a woman's experiences growing up in Iran. It has won numerous accolades. Just because it's not Moby Dick doesn't mean it's not worthwhile.

Ohh, I’ll look it up, it sounds fantastic for my 11 year old. She loves graphic novels.

1984
The Hate U Give
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Short Stories/Book TBA
The Kite Runner