To really dislike An Inspector Calls?

Yeh, that was (maybe still is?) a TikTok thing recently. My students seems quite bemused by it though so I don't think many of them were aware. Didn't ruin the moment at all for us though ... loved the enthusiasm! It's a great line and I'm always telling my students how funny it I find it.

Exactly. No school has to teach AIC to their GCSE students.

Schools can select from a number of texts. Those who choose AIC do so for a variety of reasons, some of which are no doubt because of the text itself and some of which are no doubt to do with practicalities such as already having lots of copies and the fact that there are many revision materials available.

Omg, I loved Macbeth as a teen! It's so dark, and complex, and the characters are complex too. I think it's possibly a play that needs to be seen though, I "got it" much more after I saw it than I did from reading it.

I've seen the Verdi's opera version too, which was excellent, although in parts the music is far too jolly for the libretto.

I saw it in the theatre about 10 years ago and I thought it was excellent 🤷🏻‍♀️

It's a shame you felt like that. I was baffled (never read the play, DD had to explain it to me) but when she did I thought it just shows the engagement of a theatre full of teenagers, many of whom might have not wanted to attend! I didn't find it a particularly dramatic, important moment that could have been ruined but I'm sorry your experience was.

Ye that bit

It absolutely ruined the moment for us when we watched it.

Possibly for "I don't play golf"? But apparently that is an iconic put down line from the play! Even if that was a trend, the applause at the end was still enthusiastic and went on for longer than I'd have expected.

Weirdly I don't think my classes have seen those Tik Tok videos... at least, if their reaction was anything to go by this year! And all classes try to read it at the same pace so they can't ruin it for each other! We do a cold read over a couple of lessons.

Year 10 (Edexcel IGCSE English Lit) Modern Prose for Paper 1.

I've just read this for the first time to support my teens at GCSE. I liked it. It reminded me of Hard Times by Dickens at first. I was surprised at the end. I can see why it's still on the curriculum; it's just enough but not too much.

What year do you teach Things Fall Apart? We’ve only ever looked at as extracts and as a class reader.

I like it and enjoyed taking ds2 to see it.

Tiktok keeps wrecking that bit now. "Miss, was Eva pregnant? I know whose it was. "

It's the equivalent of when kids used to write the ending at the front of mice and men. Twats.

Yes! My lot love to talk about Gerald too as they hate him so much. They are SO INVESTED! The moment when the penny drops towards the end... an utter joy to witness every year. Then I hear the students all mill out into the corridor after lessons discussing it. Wonderful.

Jeez, OP - I do think there's no need to be so aggressive towards her. I honestly don't think she was being rude and unpleasant! If you're trying to 'keep things polite' you did a poor job there!

Yes, good question. Should we scrap Animal Farm too? The Handmaid’s Tale? Macbeth? 1984? Things Fall Apart? ...

Ah, I see, thank you. I've never thought of it like that before. I've never read it, but I did see the play donkeys years ago.

Plus - she could be several different women, inside the play 🤷🏻‍♀️

But the reader doesn’t.

It’s a critical device. Her utter voicelessness. The way she only exists through her relationship with the rich. So, really, she doesn’t exist in her own right.

I really like AIC and how Priestley uses the well-made play, the detective story, reworks the morality play. The play is always one of the most enjoyed texts by our students each year.

Is it more important to be useful than happy? How far are parents to blame for the actions of their children? Men vs women 'about town' - why so polarised? Just some of the questions I've enjoyed exploring!

That BBC adaptation needs to be burned - it shows Eva Smith when the whole point is she may not even exist.

What do you mean she might not exist!!!??? Don't all members of the household meet/know here?

Which literature without any political slant or bias would you like to be studied at GCSE?

It’s typical socialist propaganda. That’s why those who set the curriculum love it so much.

I have never met a teen that hasn’t at least quite liked/been interested/vaguely understood what was going on in AIC, and I do think it has a lot to offer students across the ability range.

However, in recent years I have been struggling with the ‘suicide because there was no other way out’ element of the plot, given the increasing vulnerability of many students. It’s quite possible I am overthinking things, but I keep wishing Eva had found a way to carry on! (I do realise there would then be no play 😹)

The Daldry production is still brilliant in its staging, even after all these years!

Yes exactly - and the fact that that's all Sheila's been brought up to believe matters.