Read this...or else?

I hated every single book I was forced to read in high school.

Something happens to me when I am told that I have to do something: I don't want to do it! (who knew?) You could say I have a problem with authority, or I like to be my own boss, but really I just like to have a choice. Whether it's what I am going to read next or the content and design of my library website, I like to have options and be able to make my own decisions.*

The topic of forcing teens to read certain things is something I have been passionate about for years. I have discussed it with so many people and found it intriguing to hear other people's experiences.

This subject came to my attention again today when I read a blog post by the incomparable Meg Cabot; in it, she linked to this New York Times article and from there I found this slide show.

All 3 of those links are worth checking out, in my opinion.

Side tangent: I am forwarding the NYT links to my principal. I know he will appreciate them; he would foster self-selected reading if he could get away with it. Last year at a meeting after school we had a huge debate about summer reading, and why certain books are picked, and what about letting the students choose what they want to read? Principal and I were on the same team, but we had one major roadblock: the English department. They completely freaked out about changing things and letting the students have a choice and the main question we came up with was: what is the point of summer reading? More on this later.

Back to the original topic:
WHY do we make students read the things we make them read? The notion of self-selected reading/reading workshops really, really excites me. But mentioning this to the English teachers at my school would NOT go over well. I understand the teachers have a curriculum they need to follow, but I wonder: does the curriculum say 'students absolutely must read Animal Farm [the book I despised most in high school!**] or does the curriculum state that students should explore literature to learn about totalitarianism and the abuse/misuse of language? [etc]

I get so tired of hearing my students complain to me [their young, sympathetic librarian *wink*] that they 'don't have time to read anything cool from the library because they are being forced to read stupid stuff for class.' [Their words, not mine...but those probably would have been my words about 12 years ago.]

On one hand, teenagers have lots of great excuses for why they can't do things...but on the other hand, I am sympathetic to the long list of things vying for their attention, ie get good grades, play sports, work, get into a good college...oh, and read several long texts that they have no interest in. I'd probably die of shock if a student ever came in and said 'Hey Mrs. E! I am really enjoying this book I'm being forced to read for class!'

Please note: I do not believe that required reading should be completely replaced with self-selected reading. I think the best solution would be a combination of the two. To quote my twitter twin @bookhouseboy [aka Gregory Taylor] in a recent tweet: "Literature studied in a group, if done right, fosters greater insights and more thoughtful reading, improving the experience of ALL reading." Well said, twin; I fully agree.

I promise to step off the soapbox soon. Before I do, I need to clarify something: not all of the English teachers at my school are unwilling to update their reading lists. Major props especially to one particular teacher who, after I read and recommended a book to her last year, ended up working it into her curriculum to great success. I appreciate that she is flexible in her teaching and keeps up with current literature.

I'd love to close with an fitting story of one of the best experiences I had in high school: My 9th grade English teacher announced one day: 'Class, in the back of your textbook you will find the novel Great Expectations. You can read this, or you may go to the back of the classroom and choose a novel from the bookcase.' I remember looking at a friend and knowing we were both going to choose our own book. We both picked out A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I still remembered how empowered I felt, that this teacher trusted me to read something that I picked! I ended up loving the book...and I know that because I wasn't forced to read it, this made the novel all that more enjoyable. Thanks, Mrs. C.


*Yet another reason why I get along so well with my high school students!
**Also, I disliked my teacher that year AND she beat that book to death over the course of an entire semester! Ugh.