[LIT] caution used re:reading suggestions for students

[Chris Knoblaugh]

_A Wrinkle in Time_ was one of my favorite books.  I
skipped third grade, so I read it when I was eight. 
It didn't upset me at all.

On the other hand, my daughter (a strong F kid,
whereas I am a T on the Myers Briggs personality test)
had a heck of a time handling just about any Newberry
Award winner.  You have to admit, most of them are
glum, dark, or bleak at some point in the story.

The worst book she had to read was _Julie of the
Wolves_, followed closely by _Slave Dancer_.  Both of
those were whole class novellas in middle school.  She
became so turned off by those two books that it was
almost impossible to get anything to read.  She
decided that most late nineteenth century young adult
authors were pushy "lesson" writers bent on shoving
their views down the throats of readers.  I have to
hand it to her, she has a point.

Now that she is in college, she will sometimes read
for pleasure.  In high school, the combination of a
learning disability (short term memory problems
related to the autism in my family) and heavy handed
moralistic novel choices by instructors nearly turned
her off of reading completely.

I know that some teachers like to teach books like
_Slave Dancer_ , but I personally think it should be
on a list of optional books that can be selected by
the student.  It always ticked me off when a teacher
tried to force a tearjerker down my throat (_Old
Yeller_ springs to mind).  I was fortunate enough to
be hooked on pulp fiction before I had a wave of high
minded middle school instructors.  I was able to see
that some books were pure fluff, and therefore as
enjoyable as cotton candy.  

My daughter, however, had elementary teachers who
wanted to have the children learn "character lessons"
starting as early as the fifth grade.  I was naive, so
I didn't notice that her teacher was using _Coyote
Stories_ to pound ethical views into her head.  I just
noticed that whereas she had loved reading the _Just
So_ stories with us the year before, she suddenly
started asking me questions like "does anybody or
anything die?", "is this trying to preach about
something?", and "do all teachers get wound up about
books to the point where they try to change your
personality?"  I should have probed more deeply into
what she was saying.  I thought she was exaggerating,
but a couple of years later AFTER the damage was done
I talked to other parents who had the same experience.

As Amy notes, we have a lot of power in the classroom.
 I like to give my students stories that are fun, a
little creepy, and exciting.  Given that, we use
mysteries, horror, and adventure.  Most of them
actually wind up reading!  I also have lists of deeper
works, if a student is interested.  I don't, however,
think anyone has the right to force something down
someone's throat if it contains disturbing elements.  

It really bothered me a few years ago when our
district recommended _Scorpions_ as a core novel to
replace _The Red Pony_.  Personally, I find both of
them to be objectionable.  I was able to avoid the
situation by using other reading selections from the
California database of reading materials from the CDE.
--- Amy Lesemann <a_lesemann at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I too caution those who recommend higher level books
> for advanced readers.  I was impressed when my third
> grade daughter read A Wrinkle In Time.  I did talk
> to her about it, but it wasn't until years later
> that I discovered how upset she was by the book, on
> a level that she couldn't enunciate.  She had always
> been a mature kid, thoughtful, contemplative...but I
> should have taken that book away.  It was too
> disturbing for a girl her age, just because she was
> such a contemplative kid.  I thought I was asking
> the right questions.  But it really got under her
> skin, and stayed there, causing sleepless nights for
> her.  
>    
>   I wish now I'd been a little more alert to her
> discomfort, and a little less ego-driven.  Live and
> learn. - Amy
> 
> 
> Amy's personal and tutoring website:
>   http://www.geocities.com/a_lesemann
>    
>   Check out what the students at BackTalk and
> BackTalk Junior are doing!
> http://www.geocities.com/backtalkclague
> 
>  		
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