A Modern Reading List for High School?

[SoloAJ]

I do hope this thread elicits some responses. More to the point, I hope that it elicits discussion.. As I am planning to teach high school english, this is something that I find particularly fascinating.

Anyway, for one of my classes we received an assignment in reaction to an article.

Article: Here.

Her reading list: Book Choices.

Summary: Basically, the article states that most high school reading lists are quite dated, and incredibly mundane for the average 9th and 10th graders. Therefore, we should make an effort to modernize the reading material.

Consider, very few high school pieces are geared TOWARD children. The Odyssey? Canterbury Tales? Obviously not. So, the idea here is to come up with some books that bring something fresh to the students world, perspective and all.

The Assignment: Create a 10 book canon that you would like to see students to have read by the time they finish 10th grade. Bear in mind things like the medium and form (graphic novels? movies? memoirs?). Also, very few books that kids read in high school have any comedic value...and I think we know that in high school, most kids like to laugh and joke around. So maybe that is something to consider.


So, this seemed, to me, like it would be a very good idea for the Lounge. I really hope it hasn't already been done (I tried a quick search). I would be very interested to hear what the Loungers would include in their ten book canon for 9th and 10th graders. The truth is, I respect a lot of Loungers' ideas from the times I have frequented this forum. So I'm hoping you can all offer me some insight, we can have some words said, and maybe, .maybe. I will end up being able to read and teach some of the gems you all have picked out.

((I'm not asking just to have you 'do' my coursework. I am going to post my list in a bit here once I get it leveled down a little more. Besides, my list is still mostly dead white guys because I'm mostly only using works that I have personally read, and I haven't read too much outside the box yet)).

[SoloAJ]

In my assignment we have to informally justify why we chose what we chose. I will try to do so. If nothing else, maybe this will elicit responses. Additionally, as I said, my list isn't ideal by any means. A lot of books this guy assigned for class, I haven't yet read..but I could see them ending up on the list.

(1) Of Mice & Men / The Great Gatsby - I link these two together because I think I could only teach one of the two. They aren't really that similar, but yet I link them together in my mind for the purposes of this list. Someone once told me that Gatsby is the great adolescent novel because "it's about failed relationships, and isn't that what high school is all about?" Not for me it wasn't, but I can see that.

(2) Catcher in the Rye - This one, of course, faces banning issues. Whatever. Ideally, I think everyone should read it. I find it amazing that the book was written in the 50s, yet it probably would be more popular with kids each year that passes. It was emo before emo became hip. Plus, it is the type of novel that I think kids needs to read just so that when they reread it in a decade, they can see the differences in appreciation.

(3) Hamlet - I've included only one work of Shakespeare and I did so because it is probably my favorite play (though Cyrano de Bergerac could run with it). This is the sort of thing that you have to handle it right as a teacher to get the kids involved. It is a fascinating play if you focus on the plot and depth instead of the language (for kids I mean).

(4) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead - One of the works I have not read that I included. I watched the movie though, and I found it amazing. So really, if time was an issue, I would have them do Hamlet and then just watch the movie for this. I think it adds humor to a story that is incredibly dark. Plus, Oldman and Roth, good times.

(5) Fahrenheit 451 / I, Robot / Ender's Game - I want to include Sci-Fi because I find it to be a growing genre. Plus it is a genre that a lot of kids get turned onto literature through. 451 is probably the frontrunner of these. I love that book. Some may argue something else by Asimov, but I, Robot is all that I have read of his. Plus, it is in like six(?) short stories, so I could choose just one or two for a class. Finally, Ender's Game is amazing. Parts of it, unfortunately would be over the students' heads and it is a 300 page novel. So it ranks 3rd on possible inclusion.

(6) 1984 / Brave New World - This was the hardest inclusion. I am a huge fan of dystopian novels, obviously. It is hard to include either of these, because I think they both fall in that "next of the classics to get replaced by modern works" in schools. They're amazing novels, but are they still necessary at the high school level? I don't know.

(7) A few short stories by James Joyce - I prefer The Dead. I read that as a senior though and parts of it were too heavy for half the class. Araby is apparently a big hit. I didn't much like Araby, but maybe I just need to reread it. Either way, Joyce is imperative to this list.

(8) Glance through the Odyssey and watch O Brother Where Art Thou This is probably my "most clever" addition to the list. I agree with Shannon Hale that the story is what is important for The Odyssey. There are references to it in literature all over the place. And hey, there happens to be a movie that loosely parallels the story. I include the movie also becuase I think a lot of people in this (midwest) aren't exposed to something that is so rich in southern beauty (the landscapes and the music).

(9a) The Things They Carried - This is a * addition. I haven't yet read it. I have heard nothing but rave rave rave about it. ANd I have seen it taught in high school classes before. Therefore, it is on the list until I get proven otherwise. Plus it offers some sort of "foreign" ideas I'm guessing (Vietnam based..something most 9th graders don't know about too well).

(9b) Slaughter House Five - Also a * addition. I just can't decide if a 10th grader could handle this story. But it IS funny, and it adds humor through satire. If the kids would take to it with an open mind, I think a lot of them would really enjoy it.

(10) Freakonomics - I haven't read this in a while so I don't know how appropriate it would be. However, I think it would offer some "real world" and some "humor" to my list. Those are two things that most high school lists are just lacking entirely. You can't take this book TOO seriously, but I think it would offer a lot to a class of 10th graders.

(11) Batman: The Killing Joke / V for Vendetta - Appropriate? I don't know. I haven't read either of these yet. But they're both incredibly popular, and the Batman one is incredibly different from the rest of the list. I think that I will have to teach a graphic novel of some sort by the time I teach in a class, they're just too popular anymore not to. That said, I haven't read like...uhh....any. So these two are on there for now based on recommendations.

(12) Short Stories! - This is going to be my favorite part as a teacher I think. Mostly because I have some I love dearly, and I think that short stories are the best chance you have to get kids to read and analyze. Here is my list, with no specific reasoning given unless asked (I know this post is long enough).
The Lottery
The Ones Who Walked from Omelas
The Lady or the Tiger
The Most Dangerous Game
The Necklace
Tell Tale Heart
A Modest Proposal
Bartleby the Scrivener
The Yellow Wallpaper.


Whew, that is my current status. I really hope SOMEONE reads that post, haha. If not, well...it looks like I basically typed out most of my assignment just now. So good times!

Note: My list openly lacks any good foreign literature. I don't know what to include. I've read one Amy Tan book, but it wouldn't be good for this matter. Shrug.

[EMc]

Catcher in the rye is the only book that many people I know in college actually read and liked in high school including me.

I also like your suggestion of freakanomics. Hamlet, well, IDK, ive read it 4 times in a classroom setting, so I guess im biased.

I also liked Of Mice and Men, I think most people I read it with did too.

I was a little upset I never got to read 1984 or F 451 in school.

Overall I think your list is solid.

[Peter666]

"Don Quixote," "Robinson Crusoe," "Pride and Prejudice," and "Crime and Punishment" should all be required reading for 9-10th grade. "Romeo and Juliet" would be a good start for Shakespeare, and I would save Hamlet and the other plays for later grades.

Also, something by Stephen King would stimulate them enough to get them into the habit of reading.

[boscoboy]

[ QUOTE ]
(8) Glance through the Odyssey and watch O Brother Where Art Thou This is probably my "most clever" addition to the list. I agree with Shannon Hale that the story is what is important for The Odyssey. There are references to it in literature all over the place. And hey, there happens to be a movie that loosely parallels the story. I include the movie also becuase I think a lot of people in this (midwest) aren't exposed to something that is so rich in southern beauty (the landscapes and the music).


[/ QUOTE ]

i like this idea.

[diebitter]

Sorry for my ignorance, but what age are 9th and 10th graders? 13 and 14?

[TheDudeAbides]

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry for my ignorance, but what age are 9th and 10th graders? 13 and 14?

[/ QUOTE ]

15 and 16

[diebitter]

I like a lot of your list, but other suggestions I think are worth considering are:

Lord of the Flies William Golding - This is a good one for talking over, as it delves so nicely into the problems in human nature.

Cannery Row Another good work by Steinbeck that covers all sorts of human frailties, and could spark a lot of discussion

Martian Chronicles Bradbury here covers all sorts of ground concerning human nature, including identity, ambition to escape and move forward, and hopes.


The Hobbit Tolkein - just a very fun adventure, and the kids might dig this now they are familiar with some of the characters from the Lord of the Rings movies.

The Body by Stephen King. A good analysis of friendship among older kids. The language will probably be too fruity though (for the parents I mean, not the kids)? Also I think it only comes as a collection called 'Different Seasons', which contains 'Apt Pupil', which is probably way too strong for this age.


I like your scifi choices, but another one might be Dune by Frank Herbert, given how it examines the nature of politics, different belief systems and their interaction, and basically conjures up an entirely different world and universe whilst the characters are still fundamentally human.


Macbeth This is a good corollary to Hamlet, as here we have a man damned by his actions rather than his inaction. There's also a stomping good film version by Polanski that the kids can squeal over (it's pretty gory).

[Tigermoth]

I disagree that Ender's Game is too hefty for them. Most students that age (and younger) feel they can relate to Ender. I think this is a good choice.

The Things They Carried is excellent literature, but I don't know that a single reading of it in high school does it justice. It was required reading for a couple university courses of mine, and I appreciated it more and more with every reading. When I read it for the first time at 18 or so, I just didn't see the beauty of it. Did you get the rave reviews from teacher/adults or from students?

What about some poetry? Paul Muldoon has done some remarkable stuff that could well turn kids on to poetry. Plus, he's still alive and writing.

Your list seems to have a bunch of dead white guys. Talented dead white guys, but you should try to diversify a bit more.

For dystopian literature, I'd go for We over Animal Farm or Brave New World.

What about Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer? A lot of history, it's excellently written, it's new, and there's a great movie made from it.

My advice to you: Teach things they wouldn't otherwise pick up. Try to go for new authors, female authors, foreign authors, but not any one book just because it satisfies one of those criteria. Pick things that are short and easy to read, but that can be picked apart on different levels. Don't make them read Romeo and Juliet. Don't underestimate their intelligence. Challenge them.

I wanted to go to UC-Irvine just because Ngugi wa Thiongo taught there. Maybe learning about Paul Muldoon will motivate some kids to try to go to Princeton? I almost accepted a place at Breadloaf (summer Master's program in Lit) because Muldoon was there. I really like the idea of having kids read current authors, especially ones that are teaching.

As a side note, I'm a big fan of post-colonialist literature, especially in the classroom. It makes students think about where they come from in entirely new ways, while introducing them to foreign authors.


I leave you with "Symposium" by Paul Muldoon.

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it hold
its nose to the grindstone and hunt with the hounds.
Every dog has a stitch in time. Two heads? You've been
sold
one good turn. One good turn deserves a bird in the hand.

A bird in the hand is better than no bread.
To have your cake is to pay Paul.
Make hay while you can still hit the nail on the head.
For want of a nail the sky might fall.

People in glass houses can't see the wood
for the new broom. Rome wasn't built between two stools.
Empty vessels wait for no man.

A hair of the dog is a friend indeed.
There's no fool like the fool
who's shot his bolt. There's no smoke after the horse is
gone.


Edited to make it ramble less. Most likely a failure [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Tigermoth]

Just read the article and list from the OP, and it seems the author and I are in agreement about some things.

A couple of her choices seemed odd, though. Dickens I'd avoid. If students are inclined to read Dickens, they will on their own. Everyone else will be bored. Also, as much as I love Grendel, it shouldn't really be read without having first read Beowulf, which shouldn't be read unless you plan on spending a lot of time on it.

I also disagree with the author's inclusion of Alice in Wonderland, Where the Wild Things Are, and A Wrinkle in Time. These are all excellent books that are well appreciated by children and adults, but not by teenagers. If you hand a 16-year old a copy of Where the Wild Things Are, he'd likely be offended.

Something I meant to add before: Students this age are basically adults who are tired of being treated like kids. Don't underestimate their intellectual capabilities, and don't underestimate how sensitive they can be about being treated like children.