Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I think every college-bound HS student should read 1984 and Animal Farm in some HS class.

Anonymous wrote:My child is taking 11th grade DE through FCPS and they haven't read even one book. 9th grader in honors also hasn't read one book. Just "excerpts". Honestly, its very disappointing.

Anonymous wrote:Shakespeare was primarily meant to be seen and heard, in performance. Reading it is secondary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an English teacher. Yes, I have taught Orwell: 1984, Animal Farm, and an extensive collection of his essays

…and I’m saddened by OP’s question. There are so many works out there. So many. This teacher shouldn’t be criticized because she isn’t familiar with one of them.

I had a parent call me out for not being intimately familiar with Tolstoy. I recall being horrified that my 20 years of successful teaching were being erased because I wasn’t ready for an impromptu discussion about Anna Karenina. Somehow that became such a fault, as if I couldn’t teach a proper thesis statement because Tolstoy was absent from my nightstand.

You should not be teaching

Orwell is 100 percent required reading for a competent English teacher

I wrote that I’ve taught Orwell. One can assume, therefore, that I’ve also read it. Can I keep my teaching certification? Is that okay with you?

Now what about Fitzgerald? Morrison? Whitman? Hawthorne? Elliot? Faulkner? Salinger? Hurston? Vonnegut? Angelou? Baldwin? Poe? Bradbury? Kerouac? London?

Which authors are required reading for “competent” English teachers? Let’s get that list compiled so we can start firing right away. I mean, there’s a TON of people out there begging to try out the workload of an English teacher. We should give them a chance (as long as they’ve read Orwell).

This. Anyone who's studied English will tell you there is no "cannon" that everyone has read.

And that's also not a terribly helpful way to look at the study of English. It's not about having read a certain list of books. It's about teaching how to read, to recognize how authors are employing certain tactics, and how to write about literature. No AP English test just grills you on random books, it's a test of analysis.

I was actually discussing this with my mom, we studied literature in college (she majored, I minored) almost 40 years apart and our experiences were actually very different. We both read Moby Dick, for instance, but my mom's class approached it as this very serious book whereas my class fully embraced pointing out the humor and sex jokes.

There is a canon, though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an English teacher. Yes, I have taught Orwell: 1984, Animal Farm, and an extensive collection of his essays

…and I’m saddened by OP’s question. There are so many works out there. So many. This teacher shouldn’t be criticized because she isn’t familiar with one of them.

I had a parent call me out for not being intimately familiar with Tolstoy. I recall being horrified that my 20 years of successful teaching were being erased because I wasn’t ready for an impromptu discussion about Anna Karenina. Somehow that became such a fault, as if I couldn’t teach a proper thesis statement because Tolstoy was absent from my nightstand.

You should not be teaching

Orwell is 100 percent required reading for a competent English teacher

I wrote that I’ve taught Orwell. One can assume, therefore, that I’ve also read it. Can I keep my teaching certification? Is that okay with you?

Now what about Fitzgerald? Morrison? Whitman? Hawthorne? Elliot? Faulkner? Salinger? Hurston? Vonnegut? Angelou? Baldwin? Poe? Bradbury? Kerouac? London?

Which authors are required reading for “competent” English teachers? Let’s get that list compiled so we can start firing right away. I mean, there’s a TON of people out there begging to try out the workload of an English teacher. We should give them a chance (as long as they’ve read Orwell).

Of those? London, Kerouac, Bradbury, Baldwin, Hurston, Salinger and Hawthorne would not be required.

Why is Hawthorne more worthy of study than Bradbury? I’d love to hear your argument.

Personally, I can’t believe that you so easily dismissed Hurston. Is it because you aren’t as familiar with her work and its place in American literary history?

Ultimately, there are far more authors worthy of study than there is time to study them. The OP’s teacher didn’t have the opportunity to study Orwell. Somebody else didn’t get the opportunity to study Chaucer, who is also part of the Western Canon. Is one more qualified to teach English than the other?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, Op's 11th grader is suggesting Animal Farm as a high school curriculum option. I read it in middle school a gazillion years ago, and my MCPS 8th grader is also reading it in 8th grade.

OP here. Yes, we moved here from DC and my son had also read it as a middle schooler. His teacher was looking for suggestions for the general-level 9th grade English class, not the honors English class.

That said, our first year here, DC was in 9th grade, and took Honors English. That teacher decided it would be too hard for the students to read the Shakespeare play they were required to study under the district syllabus, so instead they watched the Leonardo DiCaprio/Claire Danes movie. In Honors English.

The PP who said to appreciate the education available in DC has a point!

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is going to have some gaps in what they've read, but Orwell is a weird one for someone who teaches high school English, yeah.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, Op's 11th grader is suggesting Animal Farm as a high school curriculum option. I read it in middle school a gazillion years ago, and my MCPS 8th grader is also reading it in 8th grade.

OP here. Yes, we moved here from DC and my son had also read it as a middle schooler. His teacher was looking for suggestions for the general-level 9th grade English class, not the honors English class.

That said, our first year here, DC was in 9th grade, and took Honors English. That teacher decided it would be too hard for the students to read the Shakespeare play they were required to study under the district syllabus, so instead they watched the Leonardo DiCaprio/Claire Danes movie. In Honors English.

The PP who said to appreciate the education available in DC has a point!

Wha do you mean "instead"?

It takes weeks to study a play, but 3 days to watch the movie.

Also, FYI, Shakespeare wasn't a novelist. Shakespeare was a playwright.

By “instead” I mean that instead of reading even one act, they read nothing and watched a movie as a substitute for reading the play. That is not an adequate substitute for reading the play.

I’m not sure why you are pointing out that Shakespeare is not a novelist, but you are correct. Shakespeare was a playwright. 👍

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an English teacher. Yes, I have taught Orwell: 1984, Animal Farm, and an extensive collection of his essays

…and I’m saddened by OP’s question. There are so many works out there. So many. This teacher shouldn’t be criticized because she isn’t familiar with one of them.

I had a parent call me out for not being intimately familiar with Tolstoy. I recall being horrified that my 20 years of successful teaching were being erased because I wasn’t ready for an impromptu discussion about Anna Karenina. Somehow that became such a fault, as if I couldn’t teach a proper thesis statement because Tolstoy was absent from my nightstand.

You should not be teaching

Orwell is 100 percent required reading for a competent English teacher

I wrote that I’ve taught Orwell. One can assume, therefore, that I’ve also read it. Can I keep my teaching certification? Is that okay with you?

Now what about Fitzgerald? Morrison? Whitman? Hawthorne? Elliot? Faulkner? Salinger? Hurston? Vonnegut? Angelou? Baldwin? Poe? Bradbury? Kerouac? London?

Which authors are required reading for “competent” English teachers? Let’s get that list compiled so we can start firing right away. I mean, there’s a TON of people out there begging to try out the workload of an English teacher. We should give them a chance (as long as they’ve read Orwell).

Of those? London, Kerouac, Bradbury, Baldwin, Hurston, Salinger and Hawthorne would not be required.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an English teacher. Yes, I have taught Orwell: 1984, Animal Farm, and an extensive collection of his essays

…and I’m saddened by OP’s question. There are so many works out there. So many. This teacher shouldn’t be criticized because she isn’t familiar with one of them.

I had a parent call me out for not being intimately familiar with Tolstoy. I recall being horrified that my 20 years of successful teaching were being erased because I wasn’t ready for an impromptu discussion about Anna Karenina. Somehow that became such a fault, as if I couldn’t teach a proper thesis statement because Tolstoy was absent from my nightstand.

You should not be teaching

Orwell is 100 percent required reading for a competent English teacher

I wrote that I’ve taught Orwell. One can assume, therefore, that I’ve also read it. Can I keep my teaching certification? Is that okay with you?

Now what about Fitzgerald? Morrison? Whitman? Hawthorne? Elliot? Faulkner? Salinger? Hurston? Vonnegut? Angelou? Baldwin? Poe? Bradbury? Kerouac? London?

Which authors are required reading for “competent” English teachers? Let’s get that list compiled so we can start firing right away. I mean, there’s a TON of people out there begging to try out the workload of an English teacher. We should give them a chance (as long as they’ve read Orwell).

Anonymous wrote:My child is taking 11th grade DE through FCPS and they haven't read even one book. 9th grader in honors also hasn't read one book. Just "excerpts". Honestly, its very disappointing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an English teacher. Yes, I have taught Orwell: 1984, Animal Farm, and an extensive collection of his essays

…and I’m saddened by OP’s question. There are so many works out there. So many. This teacher shouldn’t be criticized because she isn’t familiar with one of them.

I had a parent call me out for not being intimately familiar with Tolstoy. I recall being horrified that my 20 years of successful teaching were being erased because I wasn’t ready for an impromptu discussion about Anna Karenina. Somehow that became such a fault, as if I couldn’t teach a proper thesis statement because Tolstoy was absent from my nightstand.

You should not be teaching

Orwell is 100 percent required reading for a competent English teacher

I wrote that I’ve taught Orwell. One can assume, therefore, that I’ve also read it. Can I keep my teaching certification? Is that okay with you?

Now what about Fitzgerald? Morrison? Whitman? Hawthorne? Elliot? Faulkner? Salinger? Hurston? Vonnegut? Angelou? Baldwin? Poe? Bradbury? Kerouac? London?

Which authors are required reading for “competent” English teachers? Let’s get that list compiled so we can start firing right away. I mean, there’s a TON of people out there begging to try out the workload of an English teacher. We should give them a chance (as long as they’ve read Orwell).

This. Anyone who's studied English will tell you there is no "cannon" that everyone has read.

And that's also not a terribly helpful way to look at the study of English. It's not about having read a certain list of books. It's about teaching how to read, to recognize how authors are employing certain tactics, and how to write about literature. No AP English test just grills you on random books, it's a test of analysis.

I was actually discussing this with my mom, we studied literature in college (she majored, I minored) almost 40 years apart and our experiences were actually very different. We both read Moby Dick, for instance, but my mom's class approached it as this very serious book whereas my class fully embraced pointing out the humor and sex jokes.

There is a canon, though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an English teacher. Yes, I have taught Orwell: 1984, Animal Farm, and an extensive collection of his essays

…and I’m saddened by OP’s question. There are so many works out there. So many. This teacher shouldn’t be criticized because she isn’t familiar with one of them.

I had a parent call me out for not being intimately familiar with Tolstoy. I recall being horrified that my 20 years of successful teaching were being erased because I wasn’t ready for an impromptu discussion about Anna Karenina. Somehow that became such a fault, as if I couldn’t teach a proper thesis statement because Tolstoy was absent from my nightstand.

You should not be teaching

Orwell is 100 percent required reading for a competent English teacher

I wrote that I’ve taught Orwell. One can assume, therefore, that I’ve also read it. Can I keep my teaching certification? Is that okay with you?

Now what about Fitzgerald? Morrison? Whitman? Hawthorne? Elliot? Faulkner? Salinger? Hurston? Vonnegut? Angelou? Baldwin? Poe? Bradbury? Kerouac? London?

Which authors are required reading for “competent” English teachers? Let’s get that list compiled so we can start firing right away. I mean, there’s a TON of people out there begging to try out the workload of an English teacher. We should give them a chance (as long as they’ve read Orwell).

This. Anyone who's studied English will tell you there is no "cannon" that everyone has read.

And that's also not a terribly helpful way to look at the study of English. It's not about having read a certain list of books. It's about teaching how to read, to recognize how authors are employing certain tactics, and how to write about literature. No AP English test just grills you on random books, it's a test of analysis.

I was actually discussing this with my mom, we studied literature in college (she majored, I minored) almost 40 years apart and our experiences were actually very different. We both read Moby Dick, for instance, but my mom's class approached it as this very serious book whereas my class fully embraced pointing out the humor and sex jokes.