In high school, teens are made to read the classics - Shakespeare, Hawthorne, Bronte, Dickens - but there are a lot of books out there never taught in schools. So if you had the power to change school curriculums, which books would you be sure high school students were required to read?
As a person with an education background, this topic has me rubbing my hands together in glee!!!
Idealistically, literary required readings are there because they contain truths that endure...but it takes an amazing teacher sometimes to convey that message to teens.
So...I propose adding two units to the required curriculum.
First, some Dystopian. The kind that uses features from our present to get readers thinking about our future:
-Advertising
-Televised Violence
-Body image
THE SECRET LIFE OF PRINCE CHARMING -Girl's perspective
-Guy's perspective
Ahhh. What a nice dream...time to wake up now and get back to reality.
What about you? What books do you think should be required reading?
Yay for Will Grayson, Will Grayson! All teenagers should read that one. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd yay for FEED, that's a great choice, what a wonderful list!
ReplyDeleteohmygosh - LOVE that you put Will Grayson on your list. And I keep bypassing Feed at the library. WHY?!?!?! Must go check that out. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat list! I too have an education background and the thought of crafting a reading list makes me giddier than is probably normal. Ah, a girl can dream, right?
ReplyDeleteI *really* need to read FEED and UGLIES. Like, a lot.
ReplyDeleteGood list!!
Those are terrific choices. I honestly can't think of other ones I would choose.
ReplyDeleteI have Will Grayson sitting at home and now I need to read it. My son is reading a book about the cello player who used to play in the streets of Sarajevo, so that's a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteHow did I fail to include FEED? That book needs to be taught!
ReplyDeleteGreat list
I was right in line with you on the dystopians! It feels so pertinent to today's teens especially.
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought about adding Will Grayson Will Grayon too---there's so much there to make teens love reading AND think critically. (I would ask kids in my class if they wanted to put on Tiny's musical in lieu of essays, LOL, purely for my own enjoyment.)
Oh, definitely UGLIES, yes. I actually heard HUNGER GAMES actually was on some school curriculums--I couldn't quite believe it, with the violence in the book. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, some of the "classics" just don't reach teens, and having some of these more contemporary books on a curriculum would not only be more interesting to them, it would help support modern publishers and authors!!
Awesome list! I thought about including UGLIES, FEED, and WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON. Glad you represented them :) Such amazing books and great for discussions of social issues.
ReplyDeleteLove how you organized this! As a former teacher, I think your units are brilliant. :) And great book choices... I really need to get on reading FEED.
ReplyDeleteNice! Will Grayson Will Grayson is an awesome choice and I hadn't thought about Uglies, but it would spark some great classroom discussions.
ReplyDeleteHaven't read Uglies yet, and only read a sample of Will Grayson, so I'll have to remedy those two soon. Aagh, too much good stuff comes out of these RTWs to keep up with!
ReplyDeleteGreat choices. I think you have a good mix of books that kids would enjoy reading.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly second *Feed*. When I was in H/S we read (covertly, it wasn't on the syllabus) A Clockwork Orange. You could do a segment just on dystopias, which would be huge fun: 1984, Farenheit 451, Player Piano, Handmaid's Tale, Feed, Hunger Games. The kids would have a blast.
ReplyDeleteThose are great choices--very well-rounded, with selections for both guys and girls! That's important to remember when selecting for school. *makes a note to her self* Thansk!
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