Current Events > why did HS reading lists suck so much

(+) Yeah! (+)

I can't have been the only one forced to read depressing-as-hell tripe such as The Outsiders and A Separate Peace
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A lot of them were bad, but I got to read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series so it evened out.
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The Outsiders is elementary reading material.
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Because people cried about everything until we have a non-offensive list of garbage. The classics hurt too many butts, essentially. Thats why modern children are so uneducated and unintelligent.
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There's a lot of classic literature that's very dense and difficult for an unaccomplished reader(i.e. most high school students) to fully comprehend and appreciate.
It's why you see stuff like To Kill A Mockingbird and The Grapes of Wrath so much: they're very straightforward stories(and at least the former is legitimately great.)

Frostshock posted...

The Outsiders is elementary reading material.

This
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southcoast09 posted...

Because people cried about everything until we have a non-offensive list of garbage. The classics hurt too many butts, essentially. Thats why modern children are so uneducated and unintelligent.

You do realize that in this case, the right wingers were the ones mostly crying right
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Stay gold pony boi
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_Lyonidias posted...

southcoast09 posted...

Because people cried about everything until we have a non-offensive list of garbage. The classics hurt too many butts, essentially. Thats why modern children are so uneducated and unintelligent.

You do realize that in this case, the right wingers were the ones mostly crying right

lol, usually the case
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YookaLaylee posted...

Frostshock posted...

The Outsiders is elementary reading material.

This

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Because the curriculum haven't changed for like 60 years and they pick books they feel are accessible for children instead of books that are socially important or great works of literature in their own right. They also tend to avoid, or at least put little emphasis, on anything that might be controversial, like 1984.

Dash_Harber posted...

Because the curriculum haven't changed for like 60 years and they pick books they feel are accessible for children instead of books that are socially important or great works of literature in their own right. They also tend to avoid, or at least put little emphasis, on anything that might be controversial, like 1984.

Thats not really true. When I was in high school a few years ago we read controversial stuff like 1984, Invisible Man and To Kill a Mockingbird. And we also read novels that came out within the last 20 years. The problem isnt the books we read. It sucked because teachers forced us to over analyze every detail and sucked all the fun out of reading. There isnt much enjoyment to be had when you have to write papers every week explaining every single theme, motif, reference and example of symbolism in a book.
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YookaLaylee posted...

Dash_Harber posted...

Because the curriculum haven't changed for like 60 years and they pick books they feel are accessible for children instead of books that are socially important or great works of literature in their own right. They also tend to avoid, or at least put little emphasis, on anything that might be controversial, like 1984.

Thats not really true. When I was in high school a few years ago we read controversial stuff like 1984, Invisible Man and To Kill a Mockingbird. And we also read novels that came out within the last 20 years. The problem isnt the books we read. It sucked because teachers forced us to over analyze every detail and sucked all the fun out of reading. There isnt much enjoyment to be had when you have to write papers every week explaining every single theme, motif, reference and example of symbolism in a book.

I was completely convinced that I hated history, research and learning about society. turns out it was just the way many things were presented to me. I love all of the above.
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My high school let us do book reports on whatever we wanted, we just had to censor ourselves if the book was violent or controversial. My HS even back before the wave of PC culture had a lot of angry parents complaining about things that their kids brought home, hence the limits.

Elementary, the book had to have the John Newberry Lit award or you were shit out of luck.
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Agreed. I found The Outsiders, Of Mice and Men and the various Shakespeare plays we read all rather bland. Although I did enjoy One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Would have much preferred exemplary works like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451.
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YookaLaylee posted...

Dash_Harber posted...

Because the curriculum haven't changed for like 60 years and they pick books they feel are accessible for children instead of books that are socially important or great works of literature in their own right. They also tend to avoid, or at least put little emphasis, on anything that might be controversial, like 1984.

Thats not really true. When I was in high school a few years ago we read controversial stuff like 1984, Invisible Man and To Kill a Mockingbird. And we also read novels that came out within the last 20 years. The problem isnt the books we read. It sucked because teachers forced us to over analyze every detail and sucked all the fun out of reading. There isnt much enjoyment to be had when you have to write papers every week explaining every single theme, motif, reference and example of symbolism in a book.

Dude 1984 was like 34 years ago. What are talking about. I mean other than that your right. But still....

:-P
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YookaLaylee posted...

Frostshock posted...

The Outsiders is elementary reading material.

This

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They made me read The Great Gatsby. It was the most boring stupid book I've ever read

YookaLaylee posted...

Dash_Harber posted...

Because the curriculum haven't changed for like 60 years and they pick books they feel are accessible for children instead of books that are socially important or great works of literature in their own right. They also tend to avoid, or at least put little emphasis, on anything that might be controversial, like 1984.

Thats not really true. When I was in high school a few years ago we read controversial stuff like 1984, Invisible Man and To Kill a Mockingbird. And we also read novels that came out within the last 20 years. The problem isnt the books we read. It sucked because teachers forced us to over analyze every detail and sucked all the fun out of reading. There isnt much enjoyment to be had when you have to write papers every week explaining every single theme, motif, reference and example of symbolism in a book.

oh no, you mean you actually had to do work and learn things in an english class? you poor thing
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Joelypoely posted...

Agreed. I found The Outsiders, Of Mice and Men and the various Shakespeare plays we read all rather bland. Although I did enjoy One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Would have much preferred exemplary works like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451.

this is jogging my memory a bit. think i had to read the outsiders in middle school, rumble fish.
high school was lord of the flies and to kill a mocking bird.

there was probably more but i can't seem to remember.
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averagejoel posted...

YookaLaylee posted...

Dash_Harber posted...

Because the curriculum haven't changed for like 60 years and they pick books they feel are accessible for children instead of books that are socially important or great works of literature in their own right. They also tend to avoid, or at least put little emphasis, on anything that might be controversial, like 1984.

Thats not really true. When I was in high school a few years ago we read controversial stuff like 1984, Invisible Man and To Kill a Mockingbird. And we also read novels that came out within the last 20 years. The problem isnt the books we read. It sucked because teachers forced us to over analyze every detail and sucked all the fun out of reading. There isnt much enjoyment to be had when you have to write papers every week explaining every single theme, motif, reference and example of symbolism in a book.

oh no, you mean you actually had to do work and learn things in an english class? you poor thing

Stfu lol. The problem isnt that we had to work or learn. The problem is that teachers make kids think that reading is lame because they dont let us just enjoy a work of fiction. Over analyzing every little detail feels tedious and the entertainment value is gone. Books are supposed to be wonderful escapes from reality. Sometimes teachers read into stuff that and come to conclusions that the author didnt even intend. Its just not a good experience
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I think my books were Gilgamesh (I loved it), Things Fall Apart by Achebe (I enjoyed it), Great Gatsby (garbage), The Joyluck Club (some stupid mother daughter book), Beowulf (great), and that's all I can remember. We had about four books every summer to read. But those stick out the most to me. Oh yeah Animal Farm. That was good too.
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YookaLaylee posted...

averagejoel posted...

YookaLaylee posted...

Dash_Harber posted...

Because the curriculum haven't changed for like 60 years and they pick books they feel are accessible for children instead of books that are socially important or great works of literature in their own right. They also tend to avoid, or at least put little emphasis, on anything that might be controversial, like 1984.

Thats not really true. When I was in high school a few years ago we read controversial stuff like 1984, Invisible Man and To Kill a Mockingbird. And we also read novels that came out within the last 20 years. The problem isnt the books we read. It sucked because teachers forced us to over analyze every detail and sucked all the fun out of reading. There isnt much enjoyment to be had when you have to write papers every week explaining every single theme, motif, reference and example of symbolism in a book.

oh no, you mean you actually had to do work and learn things in an english class? you poor thing

Stfu lol. The problem isnt that we had to work or learn. The problem is that teachers make kids think that reading is lame because they dont let us just enjoy a work of fiction. Over analyzing every little detail feels tedious and the entertainment value is gone. Books are supposed to be wonderful escapes from reality. Sometimes teachers read into stuff that and come to conclusions that the author didnt even intend. Its just not a good experience

you can enjoy something on an intellectual level while also enjoying it for entertainment. they aren't mutually exclusive.

I'm not sure what you mean by "over analyzing every little detail", but I honestly can't say I've encountered it from any english teachers in high school or beyond

books are not necessarily supposed to be " wonderful escapes from reality." don't judge everything by your own narrow arbitrary parameters that aren't necessarily even applicable to certain books in the first place.

I'm not really sure what you mean by "reading into stuff", but again, I've read a lot of stuff for english classes and I don't think I've ever encountered a prof talking out their ass. why do you think that your interpretation of what the author did or didn't intend is better than your teacher's?
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Because you're not meant to read them for fun
You read them to be told what to think

the outsiders is great
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Dash_Harber posted...

Because the curriculum haven't changed for like 60 years and they pick books they feel are accessible for children instead of books that are socially important or great works of literature in their own right. They also tend to avoid, or at least put little emphasis, on anything that might be controversial, like 1984.

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Darklit_Minuet posted...

They made me read The Great Gatsby. It was the most boring stupid book I've ever read

Thank you. I've been saying that for like 8 years and nobody has ever agreed with me.
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Dash_Harber posted...

They also tend to avoid, or at least put little emphasis, on anything that might be controversial, like 1984.

I read 1984, Anthem, and Brave New World in high school, for some reason.

We had Stephen King on our list. Green Mile, Shawshank, and The Body.
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Even my old high school taught 1984, culturally relevant Shakespeare plays, To Kill a Mockingbird, and others.

At the (public) boarding school I go to now we were required to read The Scarlet Letter, many short stories, The Great Gatsby, Gilgamesh, Dante's Inferno, all just last year.

The Outsiders was a middle school book.
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God forbid you guys read classic literature instead of the novelization of Halo.
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lol you had to read the ousiders" people fight with knives?
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Some books arent meant to be read in school anymore cause the times have past them by. They arent bad but they are over analyzed to death. The great Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye are the two biggest offenders for this. They have no pay off other than being examples of specific time periods at this point. Yet were big when they were published.

The Outsiders is an easy read but it took me till 7th grade to understand it and the time period. The story is ok but the name of the main character is weird by anyones standard. It works if you arent into it but that takes some doing.

To Kill a mocking bird is good though. Also so is Shakespeare and Les Mis. But they require wanting and liking to read cause they are not easy books to read at all
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ToadallyAwesome posted...

The great Gatsby

Nah TGG is definitely still relevant and important. Besides just being interesting as a piece of literature and the dynamics of characters like Nick.
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Doe posted...

ToadallyAwesome posted...

The great Gatsby

Nah TGG is definitely still relevant and important. Besides just being interesting as a piece of literature and the dynamics of characters like Nick.

Plus, it's short and pretty obvious as to what it's about.
Like, contrast that with something like Frankenstein. Or worse, anything by Dostoevsky.

imagine actually doing your homework in high school

We read some boring stuff, but most of what I remember was pretty good. But then, I got to read A Clockwork Orange and I don't think that's standard for most schools.
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ElatedVenusaur posted...

Doe posted...

ToadallyAwesome posted...

The great Gatsby

Nah TGG is definitely still relevant and important. Besides just being interesting as a piece of literature and the dynamics of characters like Nick.

Plus, it's short and pretty obvious as to what it's about.
Like, contrast that with something like Frankenstein. Or worse, anything by Dostoevsky.

I read The Brothers Karamazov on my own in high school lol. I liked it a lot, actually.

I remember not liking Gatsby, but I thought Babylon Revisited by Fitzgerald was a pretty great story.
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Tale of Two Cities master race
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Nowadays?

There's a lot of academic essays (ie college/phd level) dissecting the books, so there's a lot of source material to teach from

Easily identifiable plot points/elements in the stories

They usually have themes that stand out and don't take too much digging, but enough to get a crash course on forming semi complex arguments

I think it has more to do with ease of grading papers/forming quizzes than anything else- especially cus a lot of the books are short.
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crime and punishment shook up my world it was so good, so I support my hs
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The great Gatsby, Romeo Juliet, Hamlet, 1984 a bunch of more Shakespeare and Edgar Allan poe stuff....
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Dash_Harber posted...

Because the curriculum haven't changed for like 60 years and they pick books they feel are accessible for children instead of books that are socially important or great works of literature in their own right. They also tend to avoid, or at least put little emphasis, on anything that might be controversial, like 1984.

Avoid 1984? Is there an american hs that DOESNT teach it?
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RebelElite791 posted...

Dash_Harber posted...

Because the curriculum haven't changed for like 60 years and they pick books they feel are accessible for children instead of books that are socially important or great works of literature in their own right. They also tend to avoid, or at least put little emphasis, on anything that might be controversial, like 1984.

Avoid 1984? Is there an american hs that DOESNT teach it?

I didn't read it but some kids in different English classes did.
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It's been a decade since I got out of high school so I've forgotten a lot of what I was made to read but I was a really avid reader all through grade school. From what I remember...

Lots of Shakespeare- Enjoyable, I like Shakespeare a lot.

Things Fall Apart- Great book

Swallowing Stones- I wonder how common this book was. Either way it was miserable and I remember voicing that to my teacher.

The Crucible- It was ok

Night- It was ok

Frankenstein- Very dry, but not terrible. The rest of the class struggled with it pretty hardcore though.

The Importance of Being Earnest- I can't believe our teacher let us do this of all things. It was a high point of the english lit class in senior year, I love Oscar Wilde.

Pride and Prejudice- Whew, this was sleep-inducing. Our class was so horrible at keeping up with it that the teacher literally gave up and skipped ahead to Frankenstein

The Three Musketeers- One of my favorite novels

Crime and Punishment- Another one of my favorite novels.

That's all I remember. I'm sure there were more though. I'm really confused at so many people reading The Outsiders in highschool though.
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I heard a lot of schools read 1984

...

mine didnt :@
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Darklit_Minuet posted...

They made me read The Great Gatsby. It was the most boring stupid book I've ever read

Joke post

Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, Brave New World and Anil's Ghost (because Canada). Night was in there somewhere as well. Anil's Ghost was kind of a slog, but other than that the others were okay. TKaM is probably the one I liked the most.

For plays we had Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and The Crucible. Weakest was probably R&J, and the strongest would be Macbeth.
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