Classics
I assume a lot. I've read so many books as an editor and as an avid reader, and one of my majors was English, and so I have read most of the "classics." In fact, I've re-read most of them. I'm now making my way through Tolstoy. And I tend to assume--wrongly so--the same breadth of knowledge of classics in . . . well . . . everybody who writes. Why I assume this, I can't tell you. But it seems to me if you're going to sit down and write a novel, you MIGHT consider checking out Hemingway or Steinbeck.
I've also seen that list that makes its way around--how many of these classic books have you read, or 100 books you MUST read. There's one from the Telegraph, I think. And there is this one.
By the same token, the BANE of my existence this summer has been The Scarlet Letter. Why? Because Oldest Son has to read it for Honor English and he loathes it. I think there's really something stronger than loathing . . . but suffice it to say he STILL hasn't finished and every time I tell him to read a chapter, he acts like I'm recommending waterboarding. He's a fifteen-year-old 2010 American boy, and face it . . . Hawthorne? Is this teacher kidding me?
And I guess it makes me sad. Because he had actually gotten into reading, and now he's back to hating it. HATING it. And if you want kids to love reading, there are so many amazing classics that aren't going to bore them to kingdom come.
I'm not a believer in, "So what, it's good for them." Because I do believe there are better choices right there, available.
So . . . here's my Friday question for you. What is ONE [yes, you can only choose one] classic you would require of high schoolers today and WHY?
Me? I would pick a new classic. The Book Thief. And I would choose it with a companion piece of Diary of Anne Frank. I know, I said pick one, but . . . the point is in this case, the comparative would illuminate diaries [an element in both], as well as, of course, Nazi Germany. And I do believe there ARE modern classics.
Thoughts? What's your high school English class reading? :-)
27 comments:
Edith Hamilton's mythology and my daughter despises it because she can't relate. This is a 14 year old kid that loves Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Piccoult and writers like them.
My son told me they pick these 100 year old books that are way outdated because it means the school doesn't have to deal with controversy. He had to read Jane Eyre.
Ian has Honors English this year, which meant he had a bunch of summer reading. Pride & Prejudice, which he despised. MacBeth, which he seems somewhat neutral about. A couple others.
I'm surprised he hadn't read Lord of the Flies yet, which I would recommend for most high school students.
I'd also recommend the Greek play Lysistrata, simply because you KNOW they'll pay attention to it.
Richmond:
I loved Jane Eyre, but I can't imagine the average high school boy relating to it!
No one would graduate from my high school who hadn't read Huckleberry Finn.
Mark:
I do feel every kid should do Shakespeare--but taught by a teacher who can make it come alive.
And oh YEAH Lysistrata.
Stephen:
Now there is a classic that I think kids could grasp. Same with Mark's suggestion of Lord of the Flies, though I am pretty sure my son's done that one in school in 8th grade. I always like Pig Man, too. A modern classic, but . . . .
And Carson McCullers.
And To Kill a Mockingbird.
I've got a few contenders ...
Atonement
Cold Mountain
The Corrections
By the way, did you see yesterday's PW piece on The Book Thief (which is amazing)? It's sales trajectory has been steadily going UP for years now. It's still on best-seller lists and has been adopted into curricula all over the country. I think it's well on its way to becoming a classic—and deservedly so.
Jon:
I didn't love Atonement, but I recognize how well-written it is. Cold Mountain . . . good one. I think high schoolers could relate to it, too. The Corrections was fabulous--a great candidate.
Actually, I think Chabon's Yiddish Policeman's Union would yield amazing high school discussions. I'm making my "class" read it. LOL!
Lord of the Flies was my favorite high school read, and I hope that it's still a recommended read in some schools. I still read it, in fact, still have my high school copy. (P.S. I graduated in 1972.)
But, I feel for your son. Maybe it's not the book, but the teacher. I recall the force-feeding of Shakespeare - some teachers made it painful while others made it interesting. But, you're right, there are more enjoyable classics that a kid can wrap their brain around. 1984, Animal Farm, Catcher in the Rye, to name a few.
Looking back on my kids literary education, I have to conclude that the teacher was the key to whether they loved the book or hated it. Interestingly enough, it was not an English teacher who turned my kids onto the classics. It was their drama teacher who required them to read and study the books of the plays they performed. OFten he assigned them four or five books to read and together they decided which plays they would perform, even writing their own scripts if one didn't exist.
English classes? It was Spark Notes that they actually read, not the books. Yet in drama, they devoured the classics like they were the drug of choice.
For me to choose one classic for my children to read I would give them a choice (because I couldn't possibly choose just one) of Huckleberry Finn, The Grapes of Wrath, My Antonia, the Diaries of Anne Frank, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.
I've been on vacation and have spent the morning catching up on your posts. Always wonderful reads, thought provoking, and inspiring. Thanks!
I can't stick to one, E, but you're quite used to the fact that I don't play by the rules :-)
Lord of the Flies I read in either 7th or 8th, and honestly I couldn't get into it... Other school curriculum I wasn't thrilled with included Animal Farm and The Catcher in the Rye. I know that makes me flippin' odd, those are the ones they throw at you to try to make it interesting.
But I loooooooooved Romeo and Juliet (with the companion West Side Story, a great way to do it). I adored MacBeth, and The Merchant of Venice (okay, any Shakespeare). I also really loved To Kill A Mockingbird (I think every person should have to read this to enter adulthood - it's that good), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Fortunate Pilgrim, A Separate Peace... my list can go on and on and on...
I, however, was not your average case in reading taste. That's the problem, tastes are subjective. I liked Hawthorne. Most kids probably wouldn't. So when they devise the curriculum it isn't taking into consideration the number of kids it might turn off, it's a best guess-timate on the number of kids whose reading comprehension might be improved. And it is a guess. They can tell you hell's an ice factory, but it takes a few years before they even know how the current curriculum did - and they guess those estimates by the how the kids test - not really reliable when they don't consider the variable that each kid has different comprehension and ability and they're weighing one class grade against a new one with different kids.
And The Book Thief... yeah, that's another one I'd like to make required reading for everyone.
Kath:
School hasn't started yet. It's the book, LOL! Looking at it, it's not super-accessible . . . I think when I look back, it's the themes I recall, but really, no . . . the writing is tough and it's certainly not grabbing him, LOL!
Thanks, Beth. And you have GREAT choices. I would pick all of them!
Merry:
He did A Separate Peace last year. I loved that book.
And believe me . . . I get the choices. But I do think there are some astounding "new" classics and some really awesome old ones that feel just as current and wonderful. I also think there are inherent differences--at least in my kid's case--between boys and girls and what interests them. The other thing is he is in all honors/AP track . . . but his true love is math, so reading has always been something he HAD to do--unless he found a book he adored, in which case, he devoured it (Hobbit, for example). He's hit or miss that way.
I had trouble getting through a few chapters of YIDDISH POLICEMAN'S UNION but I own it so I may pick it up again at some point.
I'd suggest, especially for boys, some SF, like FEED is my current favorite, of course a lot of Asimov's work, etc from that time period, and for some comparison, maybe Paolo Bacigalupi's futuristic short story collection, PUMP SIX and maybe some other current SF, though he's the current favorite (likely about to win the Triple Crown of SF awards for THE WINDUP GIRL-- waiting on the HUGO announcement this weekend). That way they could learn across the curriculum: science, literature, math, social studies, comparing what we thought the future would bring 25 or 50 years ago (and how history affected our thought), how life is now, and what we think the future might be (analyzing how current events affect our thoughts on the future). I think boys especially would dig that.
Jeez, can you tell I'm a teacher? I just rewrote our district's HS curriculum in 100 words or less. :D
I can remember hating The Scarlet Letter too, LOL.
I don't think anyone has mentioned The Old Man and the Sea yet. That would be on my list. And I don't think any survey of 20th century lit would be complete without Raymond Chandler.
There's a modern retelling of The Scarlet Letter set in high school coming out on the 17th, called "Easy A." It looks kick ass--I can't wait for it, and the trailers look great. Maybe that will help somewhat? (I suspect that's why the teacher assigned it, if she's any good.) There's the Demi Moore & Harvey Keitel movie, too... not very faithful, but perhaps it could help draw him in?
I'd say The Hunger Games Trilogy, but parents would balk at the violence. I find that silly since a sad number of the kids could be fighting in a war in a couple years. That's okay but reading about war is not?!
I think that if girls have to read boy books, then boys should have to read girl books, so yeah: Jane Eyre. However, I've seen the difference between public school and all-girl's and all-boys' schools in hundreds of students, so ideally I'd split them up.
Also, if you made sure it wasn't the ONLY thing he read, then perhaps he could use CliffNotes as a companion to the book?
I know it's illegal, but if the language is hard, knowing what he's reading before he reads it could help. Like... read the summary of the story, talk about the some of the themes, and then he could read the summary of each chapter before he read the chapter. It's how the brain learns: that's why the Dummies and Idiot's Guides are so successful and helpful.
Starbucks:
He liked Westerfield's books (Uglies, etc.). Good choices.
Yiddish Policeman's Union was such an audacious concept piece. And given the history of Israel's formation would yield great discussion.
Jude:
Old Man and the Sea. Yes!
Natasha:
I know about the movie. Yeah . . . looks interesting.
The movie? OMG, hilarious (the Demi Moore one). She rewrote it. I mean, I'm no big Scarlet Letter FAN, but to give it a happy ending? You have to be friggin' kidding me.
Natasha:
Yeah, I don't mind the Cliff's Notes as long as he reads it for the language too.
I can already tell it's gonna be a long year. All he REALLY wants to do is learn C++ programming. :-)
Ugh, the Scarlett Letter. That was a tough one for me. I did enjoy To Kill A Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451 and The Great Gatsby - all books that were required in my high school, but there were many that I hated.
High school reading killed reading for my husband - to this day, he still doesn't read. Granted, he knows the story lines of all my books, but he's never read any of them.
I just asked him if there were any books that he did enjoy back then and he said he did like Lord of the Flies and The Hobbit.
Nadine:
My mom and I talked about it last night--how there's just this wealth of amazing books that could light up the world of reading for kids. I feel like it's a shame. And I'd love to see more "new classics" being used.
I didn't like Lord of the Flies or anything by Hemingway. I devoured Shakepeare. I read The Scarlet Letter in a condensed version (Reader's Digest) at 10 years old, and I loved it. I read it again in its complete version and it was meh! Go figure.
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