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.

No, it’s not. HS English is supposed to get to kids to want to read novels and encourage engagement . It doesn’t have to be Beowulf. How boring.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which Beowulf? The original (which is ridiculous for high schoolers to read, it's not in anything that I would call "English") or the Seamus Heaney translation?

The Heaney.

Anonymous wrote:Which Beowulf? The original (which is ridiculous for high schoolers to read, it's not in anything that I would call "English") or the Seamus Heaney translation?

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.

No, it’s not. HS English is supposed to get to kids to want to read novels and encourage engagement . It doesn’t have to be Beowulf. How boring.

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.

No, it’s not. HS English is supposed to get to kids to want to read novels and encourage engagement . It doesn’t have to be Beowulf. How boring.

From my perspective as a parent, I want them to read, be engaged, and improve their writing. Engaging, relatable text is far more likely to elicit engagement in the writing process than many of the classics.

Did your kids read "Captain Underpants" in elementary school as well? What you read is just as important is that you read (especially for writing). School should be the place to engage the kids, we agree on that. But reading and discussing in school should be focused on exposing kids to the beautiful, true and deep. Things that have been valued as the basis of our shared discourse, not the "Book of the Month Club." The kids have a teacher to help them see how to make these books exciting and relevant to them. If that isn't happening, it is either poor teaching, the fact that they are reading books far above their reading and cultural literacy or the fact that kids have not been taught to develop their attention span. All of these speak poorly of both our educational system and our parenting.

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.

Yet they were popular theater plays attended by people of all classes in England. If your teacher makes Shakespeare boring, they are not skilled, at all.