Anyone else's child got a summer reading list? [grin]

I had to read Crow by Ted Hughes for English Lit, it damn near ruined all poetry for me

Me too

I had to read Crow by Ted Hughes for English Lit, it damn near ruined all poetry for me and I still get twitchy if I see a bird of the same name.

Frankenstein, otoh, was ace.

I like your daughter's style seeker, and am in awe of her getting stuck in already. The teenage me would not have gone near them until the week before school started!

I'd like to see set books replaced ... the Dutch language A-level equivalent was set up very much in this way. And if you found a book you thought would be interesting but wasn't on the list, it could be negotiated with the individual teacher in collaboration with the department.

DS is doing the combined Lit&Lang A Level for this reason. He didn't fancy the books on the Lit syllabus (lots of females you would want to slap) but has enjoyed picking his own choice of books to analyse and explore instead.
Discovering a suitable book, rather than having it plonked in your lap, involves more effort too.

I think they'll be delighted with her seeker - I teach English Lit at A level and I know I would. I had a tortuous year once with 6 students and only one who opened her mouth. It was AWFUL.

I remember students by what they fell in love with or hated and the way they talked about it.

And pointything - the AQA course that we teach is very much as you described. There are two set texts - the rest relies on the students' wider reading which is guided largely by us. It's hard, but it's brilliant at the same time. We direct them to the broadsheet's top ten lists as well as the Orange and Booker Prize nominations.

The kind of student who deals with it best is the student seeker describes in her op. But I'm guessing seeker that your dd is doing AQA Spec B. Probably totally wrong.

I used to simply enjoy or dislike books. I thought that was why I was awful at Lit. They used to say to me that not liking was OK but I needed to think about the book in terms of the author, their social standing, life at the time, we're they trying to say something about that era or their experiences .... I hated History, so didn't really stand a chance. (lucky I could do Maths). Put up against that, If it's still the same, I think she'll need to read them (however irritating) but think around it and critisise it in more detail! .......or start to sympathise, depending on what she discovers.

dd hasn't been given any (science subjects though, not arts). I almost wish she had as September is a long way off and she is prone to forgetting things, but then again the break is nice too.

DD has this problem- she has applied to two different VIth forms where they have set work for all four subjects which will be tested on the first two weeks and used as an assessment giving teachers an idea where they are ability wise.

She has no idea which school she will go to so has to do both sets of work.
We are away for 5 weeks in the summer so she needs to get it done now.

And she thought school work was over for 2 months!

I haven't read Mrs Dalloway - obviously did A-level English as a foreign language. I did do Jean Anouilh's Antigone for French, also Le Cid and Phedre, so that we could have a lovely discussion (in French) about classical theatre and how it manifested in the 20th century. I found that having a theme or a focus to my reading really helped - I'd pick something I was interested in and then build my reading list around it. For French I also did Madame Bovary, so we had a lot of discussion around feminism and female characters in literature as well.

I don't think there is a lot to slap in Yeats, to be honest, but then I love poetry.

I'd like to see set books replaced with a long, long list of books and poetry from which A-level students should read a selection (so many books of poetry, so many books from whatever century, so many plays).

I realise that this would make it more difficult for the teachers to assess, but it would be so much more helpful in engaging young people with literature instead of turning them off.

I went through the Dutch system and the Dutch language A-level equivalent was set up very much in this way. And if you found a book you thought would be interesting but wasn't on the list, it could be negotiated with the individual teacher in collaboration with the department.

Mine had two books my Dutch teacher hadn't read - he was pleased to have his horizons broadened, bless him.

BackforGood - that's great. Nothing drives me crazy quicker than a class with 'baby bird syndrome' who sit there with the little beaks open expecting to be fed what they need to pass the exam.

Seeker - how does she feel about Anne Elliot?

That's good that Eng Lit A-level teacher like opinionated students - ds has chosen all his subjects based on whether he can have a good argument discussion in them or not

Oh and just for the record I love Jane Austen but want to slap Jane and Mr Bingley,but then of course so did JA and as for Catherine in Northanger Abbey well the least said the better

My ds has just done A level English and is v opinionated.

How about Persuasion for a bit of Jane Austen ,a sensible heroine for once.Ds ( and I 30 years ago !) did Frankenstein ,the trick is to read it in one go , a lot of inconsistencies ,try contrasting it with something like Angela Carter and also she might enjoy a biography of Mary Shelly / her mother Mary Wolstencroft for some early feminism

I have to say that, speaking as an English teacher, I would far rather teach a pupil like Seeker's DD who has an opinion on what she reads than one who is reverential and uncritical and comes to the subject predisposed to regurgitate received opinion.

Well I did Alevel Eng Lit back in the day and got an A. and I totally agree with Seeker's DD, Jane Austen is highly over-rated IMO, irritating beyond words and not remotely funny.
Yeats though is fantastic! Good luck to her.

Oh Seeker I didn't spot it was you. I should have known.

Anyway, if you study English Lit you have to read books you don't like/enjoy/see the point of.

I wish.
ds actually went and asked the teacher taking his A-Level Eng Lit, (he likes reading, doesn't see it as homework ) and was told that there isn't a reading list and not to worry - they will be looking at some poetry in the Autumn and then move on to some books in the Spring!!!!

e-mails will be being exchanged!