To think Michael Gove has actually got something right for once?

[privitandpetunias]

Article in the guardian saying that Mr Gove wants to remove the American literature from the GCSE curriculum and replace it with English literature (sorry can't do links). This is something I have often thought that there are so many great novels out there that are part of our cultural heritage that it would be great for our children to study.

[dawndonnaagain]

Shame Chillie I loved all of those you mention, apart from the Dickens. Jane Eyre I find a bit boring. Much prefer Becky Sharp!

[Littledidsheknow]

A child (or anyone else) can only have good knowledge, experience or appreciation of English Literature (meaning literature written in English) if they study a varied range of works from different countries and periods.

Of Mice and Men was the first book my then teen son, who had never read a whole book before, enjoyed. He re-read if after GCSE and then The Grapes of Wrath. I am eternally grateful to (American) Mr Steinbeck for making my son a reader.

[SteadyEddie]

You could update and do Jane Eyre and then Wide Sargasso Sea.

[dawndonnaagain]

Dd has just done that as AS, Steady.

[freerangeeggs]

"the teachers over and over again choose the ones they know and that they think will be easy to teach. Of Mice and Men is nice and short. There are loads of resources out there that will tell you what the "themes" are so you don't have to put any mental effort into teaching it."

Yeah, you're right, I put no effort into teaching it at all.

I've spent four years building up a bank of resources (including ones that I've made myself) that I can now scrap. And next term, in addition to my usual work, I can spend evenings and weekends learning a new text and planning a scheme of work entirely from scratch. Hours upon hours of extra work. I'm just being lazy though.

I have my own thoughts about OMAM (I've often wondered at the focus on American literature in the GCSE course, though it's a good text for engaging more reluctant readers) but this piece of quality trolling has thrown me off the topic a bit.

[echt]

Gove should be resisted as he has no right to dictate what should be taught based on his own likes .

[mrsruffallo]

' dead white people on one island.'

Appalled by this. How offensive.

[redexpat]

Depends on if you believe that English literature means literature by English writers, or literature in English.

I prefer the latter definition.

Of Mice and Men was the only non-English text we studied at school. We got to discuss different things as a result.

[Delphiniumsblue]

YABU - it shouldn't be based on his personal choice!

[echt]

freerange you should come to Victoria, where no exam text is on for more than four years. This often means a new one every year.

[SteadyEddie]

dead white people on one island.'

Appalled by this. How offensive.

Why is it offensive? Its true.

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

I've managed to miss this. Leaving said the rights and wrongs of it, when is this effective from? DD is Year 10 and I think has been doing Mice and Men. Does that mean it has to be substituted or will it still be in paper of summer 2015?

[whynowblowwind]

Don't be silly, free range. I wasn't talking about you personally and giving my opinion isn't trolling.

However, I do think that Of Mice and Men is far too widely taught. It's very straightforward and not suitable, as such, for students who should be aiming for As and in particular who might want to study Literature at A level. It's also part of a curriculum that is narrow - too narrow. It's ridiculous that sixteen year olds can get a qualification in English Literature with no real appreciation of our literary heritage, which isn't the same as feeling 'no American literature should be studied.'

[whynowblowwind]

Wynken no she's fine :) if you have a child in year 8 or younger it will impact on them.

[blueemerald]

It's a baffling move. If Gove is frustrated about 90odd% of GCSE students studying the same text then he should think about why that has happened not just ban it. I think a reasonably in depth study of OMAM is better than a superficial understanding of a Dickens novel, which is probably what will happen now.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Agree entirely, Blue.

[Leonas]

Why does it matter what nationality the author of a text is? Cutting out a whole raft of fabulous literature simply because it is written by Americans is phenomenally stupid. I studied English at uni and had no interest in the classics Gove is suggesting, but loved the modern American classics I studied. They opened my eyes to a different and fascinating world, far removed from my own.
As an English teacher, I am more concerned about pupil's abilities to understand Austen and Dickens in the limited time frame there is in the school year - the language itself takes so much work to fathom for young people who may not be enthusiastic readers. Give has no clue about what level of reading ability secondary school students have.
I don't see the issue with so many students studying Of Mice and Men - if they 'get' it, enjoy it and it suits the obscure requirements of the exam they have to sit then why remove it?

[echt]

OMAM is not straightforward, but the questions asked in the exam do not require a nuanced reading of the text, e.g Steinbeck's writing techniques, the way he shows rather than tells. The tendency in GCSE English is to focus on character and theme which, at 16, is probably no bad thing. Possibly more in-depth readings of texts should be done in Literature.

[dawndonnaagain]

' dead white people on one island.'

Appalled by this. How offensive.
Why? It's true.

[whynowblowwind]

Farce - that's not what I'm saying at all.

I'm saying there are other, excellent choices currently available that aren't being taught.

I don't think teachers are lazy. I think they're nervous, in a lot of cases, to move outside the familiarity of what they know and feel comfortable with. Kids, too, are loud in their laments: I taught Purple Hibiscus the same year I left and was crucified for it by my class as it was "long" - they all WANTED to do Of Mice and Men!

[mrsruffallo]

I think to dismiss all of the wonderful and pioneering literary talents from Britain as 'dead white people' is staggeringly ignorant. We have a literary past to celebrate and be proud of. What offends you more, that they are white or that they are dead?
Should we only study living novelists? Or non white ones?
It is disgusting to pigeon hole people in the way that remark does.
Anyway, don't worry, there will be works on the syllabus from English speaking counties other than Britain and some of the writers studied will, I am sure, still be alive.

[hackmum]

"this piece of quality trolling has thrown me off the topic a bit."

A little harsh. I have a lot of sympathies with teachers - one of my closest relatives is an English teacher and I see the mental and physical exhaustion he has experienced through the demands put on teachers.

But it seems to me that these days schools are - understandably - mostly interested in doing well in the league tables, Ofsted reports and so on. The easiest way to get an entire mixed ability class up to grade C in English literature is to teach them something easy like Of Mice and Men (which is surely less than half the length of most other books they could choose).

Again, I don't blame teachers for doing this, given the pressures they're under, but let's not pretend that teachers choose OMAM because they think it's a great piece of literature. Their reasons are much more pragmatic than that.

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

Ok, thanks - was feeling my blood pressure go up for a moment. I do have a child younger than Year 8 but given the amount of changes that keep coming I've a policy of trying not to pay much attention until nearer the time. Can't believe this is me saying this but I have now just given up.