Question for English teachers

[WinterCarlisle]

This is something that’s been bugging me since I was at secondary school.

WHY are so many of the set texts so bloody depressing? When I was at school (mid to late 80s) we did A Kestrel for a Knave which was pretty tragic swiftly followed by Z for Zachariah which was utterly terrifying. They were no fun AT ALL to real and tbh I’m still a bit traumatised <dramatic>.

My DS is 13 and has just finished The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas and they’ve now moved onto A Monster Calls. He’s quite a sensitive boy and he’s really not liking the second one at all, especially as a family friend recently died of cancer in her mid 40s.

Obviously I understand that they need to explore different themes and life isn’t all jolly but AIBU that maybe a few cheerful books might encourage them to read a bit more rather than DOOOOOOOMMMMM??

So:

YABU - Buck up kids, stop being Wet Hens and just read about life’s depressing abyss

YANBU - There’s enough doom and gloom already in this world. Let’s read some cheerful, yet literary books while we’re at school

It’s so tough to find texts that are short enough to be read in class and engaging

Isn't the point being that you set a couple of chapters reading as homework between each class?

Most literature is doom and gloom because its function is to explore the human condition and unfortunately humans are pretty shitty to each other.

As a weird counterpoint to this, the GCSE language examiners are now not allowed to set any unseen texts, or set any creative tasks or stimuli which could be in any way triggering for students. So the lit paper is all Apocalypse Now whereas the language paper is all Pollyanna travel writing.

Do you think that most state schools have enough books to allow children to age them home to read? We don’t have enough for them to have in class, let alone take home.

Definitely yes to the Riddle of the Sands.

if we're talking sailing, why not some Arthur Ransome in Y7 or Y8? There's a lot about life and work in the Lakes or the Broads in his books. They are quite long, though.

Id love to see Decline & Fall taught. Or what about things like Mrs Dalloway? Maybe thats more ks4.

I loved This pity she's a whore, I can remember going on a school trip to see it and Tim McInnery was the baddie and I just wanted to shout out "Hello Darling".

But yes, I think the texts have sucked the joy out of reading for DD13 and Ds16. It is a conversation I have with other parents, and the general consensus is just put Harry Potter on the curriculum and get them engaged and enjoying it. Philip Pullman is another great suggestion. Foster a love of reading, not destroy it.

Don't forget the restriction that post 1914 prose/drama must be by a British author. See also 19th century text.

@LizzieVereker i went to state school. You were asked to buy the book for the term etc - there were funds eg pupil premium etc to provide for lower incomes. Usually the school got class sets at discounts, there were also always a few spare copies plus you can get books in libraries.

Many of the classics are available very cheaply or even free online as no longer within copyright.

I've still got a box full of "school" novels, plays & poetry volumes. They did the same ones several years running too so there were often free copies passed from older students.

Many of the classics are available very cheaply or even free online as no longer within copyright.

I was just going to say that. Project Gutenberg, Fadedpage and archive.org are good sources for out-of-copyright books, which pupils can download and read on their own devices. (And a good many that aren't out of copyright in the UK.)

Brideshead and The Old Man & the Sea had me in tears. They’re hardly light hearted.

The fact is that most books that cover the types of themes that are easy to write about are a bit depressing. I understand that most of the texts are older, but for me that works well in two ways. Firstly, they’re generally easy to get hold of cheaply or for free. Secondly, there’s absolutely tons of legitimate and well written academic lit crit on Jane Eyre. Less so on modern YA novels. It’s easy for the kids to find secondary sources to study.

Bog Child? It's got some deep themes and set in the troubles but I think the ending at least isn't too depressing.

Around the world in 80 days? Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?

It's harder than i thought to think of cheery books!

However, I do think there’s definitely a place for more relatable texts too! We did The Outsiders at school which was incredibly popular. It was depressing in parts but the characters were the same age as us and it was more modern so it felt relatable, as opposed to something like Oscar Wilde which just felt boring and long. I should say I do love The Picture of Dorian Gray now as an adult, but I don’t think it’s as appealing at 14!

I remember we thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Pygmalion’ for O Level. I later read ‘Flour Babies’ with a class; might not have been exam level though. They loved it.

There are no set texts at KS3. KS3 has no named author requirements apart from Shakespeare. All schools are free to teach whatever they want, and yet the same limited pool of male authored books with male protagonists are taught across the country. Animal Farm, A Christmas Carol, Lord of the Flies, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Of Mice and Men are the top 5 at KS3 according to this fascinating research into KS3 texts with a particular focus on sexism:
https://endsexisminschools.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Balancing-the-Books-Gender-Bias-in-the-KS3-English-Curriculum-1.pdf

In my experience, texts are chosen to a) appeal to boys and b) make the teacher's life as easy as possible. Teachers teach what they've always taught because it's easier to do that than to have to do the research to find new texts and sit down and write a new curriculum. Unfortunately a lot of teachers are so run ragged that there is simply no time to read or plan new material, so the same old shit gets taught again and again and again ad nauseam.

It also doesn't help that a lot of English teachers aren't properly qualified and aren't readers themselves. The quality of English teachers has gone down markedly in the decade or so since I started teaching. Half the English teachers in my last school weren't English graduates.

Of Mice and Men has no place on a school curriculum. It's racist, yes, but it's also horrifically sexist - why does no one care about the sexism in the novel, I wonder? Curley's wife has no name, she is killed for being too flirtatious, and the reader is encouraged to feel sympathy for her murderer. How on earth any teacher would think it an appropriate text to teach to KS3 is beyond me.

A Christmas Carol is dull as dishwater. Animal Farm requires so much teaching of context that lessons become more historical than literary. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a load of emotionally manipulative, offensive tosh. The only decent book on that list is Lord of the Flies, but it's a deeply complex, incredibly verbose text with such challenging vocabulary that it really has no place on the curriculum at KS3.

I wish more English teachers would be more inventive and teach outside of the box, thinking about diversity as well as accessibility and enjoyability. I also wish more English teachers would realise that just because a book is short, it doesn't make it easy or appropriate for younger readers. I teach mainly YA fiction to KS3 now, and save the classics for when they can actually appreciate them. I hate the teaching of complex classics like Jane Eyre or Great Expectations to year 7 and 8 through extracts, abridgements or play versions - if they can't tackle the whole novel, then don't teach it until they can!

Holes and Goodnight Mr Tom are great - why can't we just agree with primary schools that they leave those ones?

Or what about some books that were actually written in this century and ideally aimed at young people? Lots of teens are not big readers and need something a bit more accessible than many books on this thread.

But you specifically talk about the sexism in Of Mice and Men when you teach the text 🫤 the fact that Curley’s wife has no name is constantly referenced in criticism. Often parts of the 1939 film will be watched too, and I’ve seen poster analysis of the film discussing the depiction of Curley’s wife. It’s a specific talking point. That’s like saying we mustn’t teach books about racism because it’s upsetting. The racism is one of the themes!

Like, people do care about the sexism. If it’s not coming up at all/nobody cares then the text isn’t being taught properly.

Maybe kids should be asked, eg 'this year we need to study books on x,y,z you have 2 weeks to come up with 3 suggestions and we will discuss and pick'

Do you really think an 11 year old is capable of thinking deeply and meaningfully about the reality of sexism, male violence and patriarchy means and why the portrayal of Curley's wife in OMAM is problematic? You might teach them the theory of it, but that doesn't mean they have the maturity to truly get it.

If we want to challenge sexism, we shouldn't be teaching books where women are constantly portrayed as victims of male violence. It's just like teaching books that always depict non white characters as victims of racism. If we really want to challenge sexism and racism, we need to teach texts with positive, empowering depictions of female characters and characters of colour. Not keep reinforcing stereotypes that get us nowhere towards change.

To answer the OP's OP: Happiness writes white. Attributed to De Motherlant.

You've got to have a problem to make the narrative work.

Maybe kids should be asked, eg 'this year we need to study books on x,y,z you have 2 weeks to come up with 3 suggestions and we will discuss and pick'

When I taught in the UK, school book supplies were based on what was in the stock cupboard, patched up with sticky tape. In secondary such books were on a rota so had to be be done and dusted, ready for the next class. The books never went home.

YANBU. I loved all the texts I taught at GCSE but they were all really depressing for teens with no light relief. There should be a far better mix of upbeat and funny work as well as dark, dramatic stuff.

Oh believe me @EnidSpyton I would love to be more inventive but there is no budget for new books. We have to share around sets between classes. There are so many books I would love to teach - reading time is cut due to the way we now have to teach.
I also don't know any English teachers who are not English graduates - and I have met and worked with many in my 23 years

I think if it’s taught correctly then yes, students can understand the position that Curley’s wife was in, and it can open a conversation about what the world was like for women at that time. An ‘empowered’ version of Curley’s wife would just be fake.

Literature isn’t there to provide positive role models for the idealised world the way it should be. It’s there to show the world as it is and was. And unfortunately ‘doesn’t John make GREAT decisions all the way through this book’ doesn’t make a wonderful essay.

Oh I know money is short. There are many barriers to change. It's not an easy fix.

And lucky you for never coming across non English graduates. In London it's very common. The NEU has just announced that 20% of children are being taught English by non specialists due to a chronic shortage: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/jun/17/schools-across-england-face-unprecedented-struggle-to-hire-english-teachers-as-recruitment-crisis-grows