Recommended school books

Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by Gonissa, May 14, 2012.

  1. Gonissa

    Gonissa New Member

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    The trouble with Arthur Miller's book is that it's the opposite of educational: it's propaganda. The Communist scare was real, and historical revisionists were quick to jump on it. I'm sure that the FBI did go overboard at times, but there were real Communists who threatened actors in Hollywood and tried to push their themes in film. Some even threatened to throw acid in Ronald Reagan's face, being as he was the president of the Screen Actor's Guild at the time and not stopping the FBI from investigating.

    See, that's my problem with school reading books, Erato. They're frequently propaganda, and even when they're not they teach very little about history or good writing. Like the Great Gatsby, for example. Now, a good book is a good book, but if it's not educational in one way or another, it's not for school reading. Sad thing is, a lot of the time the books chosen aren't even good books. In fact, so many of them are depressing that it gives teenagers the impression that literature, or even the world itself, is depressing, egotistical, and unable to be changed. It's a subtle influence, but it's there.

    I mean, I can talk to you about books and you'll understand them and their influence, but we're all writers here. Most people are not fiction writers (I consider nonfiction writers in a different category), and thus are not always able to interpret messages or catch propaganda, especially in the young teenage years. By my suggesting a book for school reading, I'm saying that the book in question will not only teach things to a student, but good things.

    Now, a depressing book here and there is fine, and there are some good depressing books out there. But what a student needs to learn from school, if they learn nothing else, is their ability to change things for good. They need to learn both wisdom and gumptiousness, not that life will bat them back down if they try. That's the entire point of education. Even if life stinks for the student in question, education is supposed to be freedom.
     
  2. BFGuru

    BFGuru Active Member

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    Actually, The Crucible was a launching pad for me and American history. We knew Miller used a lot of artistic liscensure and what point he was trying to make. However, we were encouraged to study Salem for ourselves and I ran with it. A mastermind of exploitation, and land ownership abuse abounds in the actual historical aspect. It's also a grim reminder of what unchecked theocratic societies can succumb to. It's not only the book and what the author has to propagate. In a healthy learning environment, the literature is merely a tool to use in order to find the real story. And yes, the FBI did go overboard in many cases, putting their own citizens to death without a trial. We'd be wise to learn from those mistakes in this day and age, however, few people my age (30's) even know there was the fiasco of the "Marxist Witch Hunts" anymore. I have to wonder what they actually did read in school at that point.
     
  3. Erato

    Erato New Member

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    I'm certainly not trying to say that students should read only depressing books. I think they should read books that show as large a picture of real life as possible. And that means they read about people's successes and happinesses, about people's strengths and weaknesses, and about people's failures. They should read books that make them think about life. And those books will be the most useful and helpful for them later, especially if they are well written and believable.
     
  4. BFGuru

    BFGuru Active Member

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    Just please, don't put Les Miserables on the reading list for students. It will take their entire highschool career to get through it. LOL As much as I love Hugo's poetry, Les Mis was simply dreadful during his history lessons that lasted for entire chapters. It took every ounce of energy to keep from skipping entire chapters to get back to the story line.
     
  5. Gonissa

    Gonissa New Member

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    But that's the thing, they weren't simply "witch hunts". There really were Communist spies. Because of one spy, the Russians knew about nukes three years before the Americans/British were willing to tell them. And if you're referring to the Rosenburgs when you say FBI put innocent people to death, then sorry, but I'm afraid that they were truly spies. Crap, simply referring to that situation by the term "witch hunt" implies an inaccurate portrait of what actually happened. The Communists did spread their beliefs by sending in their "revolutionaries" to any country they thought they could sway. They infected young people who didn't know any better with their dogma, making them believe that Communism would solve the problems of that particular country. They did in America what they succeeded with in China, and unfortunately many young people are still swayed by the bullcrap of Communism -- it hasn't simply disappeared. Sure, it's not like it was back in those days, but the sad truth is that many "intellectuals" of this country still think there's something to Marx's nonsense.

    Oops, getting off topic here. Anyway, Erato, you're saying you can't think of at least one book that can improve on public school fare?
     
  6. Erato

    Erato New Member

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    I'm not saying that, I think I made some suggestions already... classics, in general. *cough* Well, maybe I shouldn't actually be on this thread as I wasn't publicly schooled... but I think it's good for kids to read a wide variety of good books, and it seems that the best books are classics to some degree or another, and if kids in school are being given classics to read, then I don't think that can necessarily be improved upon.
     
  7. Keildra

    Keildra New Member

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    I must admit I was forced to read certain books, at my school I always had a choice. Although I was given a list to choose from but the list always seemed to have something for everyone.
    Also as it goes with modern authors my teachers had a pretty good mix. I remember distinctly when we were covering mystery novels we read both Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark. I read many books that were written within the 1900's but I don't know what is considered modern.
     
  8. Afion

    Afion New Member

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    If you force kids to read 'good' books that they don't enjoy, you're in danger of putting them of reading for life. Stories should be for enjoyment, not education :)
     
  9. Gonissa

    Gonissa New Member

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    Uh....not when you're trying to teach kids the actual ability of reading. I mean, I'd understand that statement if you were talking about parents, but it's a teacher's job to teach. That's like saying don't teach kids history or else they'll hate history forever. Honestly, the whole problem is in the definition of "good" when educators say good books. Well, and in kids not giving a crap about school anymore.

    You weren't publicly schooled, Erato? That's cool. Were you in private or homeschooled?
     
  10. BFGuru

    BFGuru Active Member

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    We aren't side trackting (tracting, tracking? whatever is the appropriate word?) the conversation to politics. LOL.

    The point I was making was not one of communism, it was that regardless of it it is propaganda or not, the book was a launching point for much more and I took that leap and ran with it. There were other books you might label as propaganda, that had the same effect on other students.

    A wide variety of classics and modern literature are what make for a complete education, not sticking with one form or another. Some texts the student won't like; others they will love. We can't shy away from classics or insist they are all we do. It's part of a well balanced education. I also think at each step along the way students should be given an opportunity to expound on literature of their choice. Our school does this with my children, in that they are graded for Library time. They are encouraged to pick a book on the theme of that week sometimes, and others encouraged to find something they really like. They are graded on participation.
     
  11. Gonissa

    Gonissa New Member

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    Launching point to a false belief of history. I'm sort of shocked at how people ignore Communism's part in history, and quite frankly, that book encourages people to do so.

    In any case, the main point of a school book is to either teach kids about (accurate) history, or teach them how to read and write. While having kids pick out their own books at times is probably a good thing, it's much easier for a teacher to come up with curriculum when they pick out something they know is educational.
     
  12. Erato

    Erato New Member

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    I agree with that. I read a sad amount of not terribly good books up through middle school, because I picked them out, and I certainly enjoyed them, but the ones that made a more lasting impression on me were the ones my parents gave me. (Because yes, I was homeschooled.) And that goes to show that kids don't really know best... imagine every kid doing what I did. Worldwide intellectual stagnation is not a particularly attractive picture.
     
  13. Gonissa

    Gonissa New Member

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    Oh cool. I was home-schooled for four years. It's cool stuff.

    Yeah, the thing about human nature is that we tend to do the things that are easier and not harder. Necessity is the mother of invention because a lot of the time it takes necessity to stir us up and get us to do stuff.
     
  14. kamikazepilot42

    kamikazepilot42 New Member

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    It's high school. The bottom line is that at that age, it's going to be difficult to find things that appeal to the general population. Just look at how many people here, who are obviously writers and interested in books, hated half the things they read in high school? I'm not sure that you can come up with a magic list of books that will suddenly appeal to teenagers while still teaching reading, writing and the history of literature.

    With that said, I do think that some things can be done to mix up the reading list a little bit and incorporate some more contemporary works. There are tons of outstanding contemporary writers, and very few of them are being taught at the high school level. I encountered most of those once I got to college.

    I saw Tim O'Brien's 'The Things They Carried' mentioned here. This book, in my opinion, should absolutely be taught. It's probably my favorite book of all time, and one of the few that I can think of that I think every person should have to read. I was given it in college, but I don't see why it couldn't be taught earlier. Maybe at the high school level they shy away from some of the harsher language and situations? That's something that could work against more modern stuff, as the language tends to incorporate more things that parents might not deem appropriate for high schoolers (irregardless of the fact all those kids talk like that or worse in their free time). Think about it, there was a long time when Catcher in the Rye was scandalous, and nowadays it's tame.

    When I was in high school we read Jurassic Park and The Hot Zone, which are far from high literature, but are certainly more modern and were more interesting to the average high school student.

    But there is definitely merit in almost all the books that are taught. Maybe there just need to be some new ways of teaching the old books. How can you not teach Shakespeare? Of The Great Gatsby? (which, ironically, is probably one of the least-complained-about books by high school students).
     

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