Book Rant (Blog #14 11/14/08)

So I have a hypothetical friend. Let’s call her “Karen.” Who has hypothetically gifted kids in a hypothetically gifted program. If you are the parent of a gifted child, finding suitably challenging curriculum and materials to meet that child’s need is an ongoing struggle, no matter where they go to school. We have gone through phases with Cameron where he wanted more from his reading, but we didn’t/don’t feel it would be appropriate to have him read some of the books he had his eye on. Some we have done as read-alouds, where I’ve edited out the too-mature passages. Finding something mature enough to meet his intellectual curiosity at be suitable for his emotional/social level and our values…it’s tough.

Our school uses a reading assessment that takes into account not only the student’s reading fluency and comprehension, but assesses how much the student reads, the number of genres they read from, and their ability to interact with (orally and in writing) and understand the underlying themes and messages of what they’re reading. Even in first grade. What it means is that students who are often considered stellar readers actually score a bit lower—someone who can read a book and tell you what’s going on can miss all the richness and depth and subtlety of a book. I saw that in the last year or so with Cameron, who was assigned to read a couple books that I thought were pretty easy…until he was asked to discuss themes of whether people are inherently good or evil, or the response of towards a community that knowingly turns a blind eye on children perpetuating racial crimes against another group. Suddenly the books weren’t so simple.

Which brings me to “the list.” Not a lot of things get me fired up, but boy, this one did. This list is from the website of Entertainment Weekly. It’s titled “The 100 New Classic Books.” I don’t have a problem with that. I have read probably ½ of them. Most of them I’ve really enjoyed. The few that I haven’t, I have struggled with themes that really challenged me or my beliefs. Some of them I found challenging in terms of their structure. What I was appalled at was that this list was given to 8th grade students for their reading list for book reports. I only recognized 6 on the list that are considered adolescent literature. Here’s a sample of the more eye-opening titles:

Presumed Innocent (Scott Turow) A murder/courtroom drama involving a violent murder/rape and a prosecutor (possible murderer?) who is sexually obsessed with the victim.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (Ann Fadiman) Nothing wrong with the themes in this book. I loved it, but it’s very difficult to read. It requires an understanding of culture, of religion, of insurmountable differences between two groups of people. I have read it at least 4 times and each time I’m challenged about my own beliefs about culture.

The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver) Again, nothing wrong per se, but the themes of culture, of missionary work, are quite deep. The book’s structure, also, which adds to that richness and depth, might be difficult to unlock.

The Things They Carried (Tim O’Brien) This was one I didn’t like. The “things they carried” is a metaphor for the baggage of Vietnam soldiers. Their stories—of sexual activity, of insane drug use, of some of the atrocities committed by the men—may not be fodder for the middle school set.

Naked (David Sedaris) One of my favorite essayists. In high school some of his essays would be great reads. He is gay, he went through a period of serious drug use, and there are quite a few themes that made me put my copy out of Cameron’s reach.

Bridget Jones’s Diary (Helen Fielding) It was fun. In my world, harmless. But I’m not interested in my son reading about Bridget’s perpetual cigarette and calorie counting and obsessing over sex when she’s not having sex.

On Writing (Stephen King) My favorite popular author. I love this book and recommend it to anyone who is interested in writing. If you don’t mind his off-hand comments about his sex life and his liberal use of the “f” word. Really pretty liberal use.

Blindness (José Saramago) This very disturbing book (in which everyone goes blind for some unknown reason and people are herded into mental hospitals and schools and basically left to forage like animals) features very violent graphic rape scenes.

I suppose one could argue that “kids today” don’t find classics interesting, that they aren’t easily accessible to kids. Well, whatEVER. Classics are interesting, they are timeless, they are great—that’s what makes them classics. But they require initiation, to read them and discuss them with someone who’s on fire for them. Not all classics are interesting to all students, of course. But I’m pretty sure that in the annals of American and British literature alone there must be 100 books that could fill the job of turning kids onto good literature, challenging their beliefs, and tackling literary themes and styles in a way that makes kids say “wow.” After all, they can grab the books on this list at the library any old time—but they probably wouldn’t. Because these books aren’t the sorts that kids read. Or should read.

What about the Newberrys? The Caldecotts? Books that librarians and educators have recommended for years? Books with great themes, great action, great stories. Books that don’t curl my hair when I think of 12-14 year olds reading them.

I suspect strongly that the teacher has not read many of these books. I don’t understand why a book list of popular novels from Entertainment Weekly would be a good substitute for lists compiled by educators and librarians. I wonder if the thinking was “bright kids need more mature reading.” Bright kids need more challenging reading. Bright kids (like all children) need material that challenges them intellectually and creatively and still meets them at their social and emotional level. A gifted child may be able to read the books, but is probably years and years away from having the ability to put the information into a proper context. There are so many wonderful books that can stimulate, challenge, and entertain students. Why push them into themes and content they are not ready for? Some of these books are, in my opinion, “R” rated books. Some of them were made into “R” rated movies. And again, I reiterate I have no problem with the books themselves. It's that this list was considered suitable for the 13-14 year old set. For comparison, here's a list of books geared to this specific age level.

A novel I read once had a young girl asking her father a question about sex, something that she had overheard in the street, something that was beyond her “need to know” at that age. The father looked down at his daughter and at his traveling case by his feet and asked her to pick up his case. The young girl tried but couldn’t. “It’s too heavy for me,” she said. “Yes,” said her father. “Some things are too heavy for you to carry. You must trust me to carry some things for you until you are ready to bear them yourself.” That’s how I feel about books. And movies. And TV. And music. And 8th grade formal dances. It’s not about sheltering them, or hiding them away from reality. It’s about exposing them to that reality in appropriate ways.