I want to complain about school book choices!

[Anon150]

My dd is between year 9 and year 10.
We are not in the UK
She is at an all girls school

So far for English she has read a book about teenage pregnancy which she said was dull, today she tells me the book they are reading next term involves a graphic description of how someone committed suicide.

Youth mental health is a big problem and a huge focus. Where we live it is illegal for the news to give details about the method of suicide.

I am quite cross with the school and want to write and complain that they have exposed the kids to this when really it isn’t allowed, I think for vulnerable youth it’s a really poor decision.

I admit I am traumatised by being made to read a book in school that I still find the contents ‘difficult’ I was talking to my Mother (ex English teacher!) about it today and it literally brought tears to my eyes. However I also think the book choices for dd are poor and dull (English teacher Mother agrees!) I’m conflicted whether I should write and complain or not. I don’t want to be “that” parent but the choices are really poor, they have not been chosen for literary merit. Dd loves school but not English!

Is this a "recommended reading list" book or one that they will actually be studying in depth when the school term starts again.
If it's one that will be studied in depth (and possibly an exam text) then I assume it will be on some kind of curriculum so telling us the title isn't exactly going to pin point your child's school.
If it's just in a list of recommended books to read over the summer then not all the books will be expected to be read.
If you have genuine concerns about the book can you contact the school during the holidays? I do agree that a book where the plot is about suicide maybe isn't one to read when there's no support (from experts at school) in place.

Yes’s Romeo takes poison and then Juliet stabs herself. They even say clearly that’s what they’re doing. But hey, that’s not graphic apparently.

FFS, Just tell us the bloody titles rather than your subjective (and not very lucid) descriptions of the content.

I’m an English lit teacher, and one year a play by Carol Churchill was on the syllabus.. it featured the word “cunt” and I had to get through that with a bunch of 15 year olds… I wonder who makes these decisions!

Her name is Caryl. The word ‘cunt’ is also in The History Boys which has been on many specifications in the excellent compound adjective ‘cunt-struck’. Churchill is an excellent playwright. Chaucer repeatedly uses the word ‘cunny’ which is Middle English for ‘cunt’. Some of the language choices in Act 1 Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet are worse misogyny than you will see on an Andrew Tate fan page.
The exam boards make these decisions. Based on limitations they have placed upon them.

To be honest, you cannot be much of a teacher if that phased you. Or if you dob’t know who makes decisions about the syllabus.

I do agree that a book where the plot is about suicide maybe isn't one to read when there's no support (from experts at school) in place.

But we dont know that. The OP has said that there is a graphic description of suicide in the book. But we don't know whether that is what the plot is about. It may be. Or it may be a side plot. Or happen to a minor character. It may be graphic or it may be mentioned in passing. Unless the OP tells us what the book is, we just dont know.

Which despite the OPs protestations to the contrary, makes the whole thread pointless.

I studied a poem based on the idea of 'cunt' and a women who was shopping and the fact that she was being objectified. It was the opportunity for a brilliant discussion on the shame around the word and why. I mean it's not even that shocking, in English everything is deep and shocking and we shouldn't be sanitising topics. I did my Y11 presentation on the orgasm gap and the construct of virginity and ideas of women not being able to derive pleasure from sex. I don't see anything wrong with a quick mention of the word cunt. Any good teacher can get through many difficult topics (not that this is) with students and be such an important way to learn about topics that we sometimes shy away from.

Thanks. Hope you’re in a better mood later on in the day. Much love

I agree. I was just making a point that this is literature and we have to deal with it. It was 25 years ago to be fair, things were slightly different then and I was a newly qualified teacher, so it did phase me. It doesn’t anymore.

The function of these books is often to encourage empathy for those in such dire situations. If there’s anything the world requires, it’s more empathy. So no, OP, as an English teacher I do not agree with you.

And god if this site has taught me nothing else today we need a LOT more empathy.

Before you complain I think you need to talk to your daughter about her views on the book.

history has taught us that banning something or refusing educate/ talk about issues doesn’t work. In lots of cases it makes the issue more prevalent in society. Maybe the book has been chosen to start addressing the teen suicide issue in your society.

Don’t have much to say regarding this but I do want to throw in my guess of the books from what books we read as part of the syllabus at school

• Heroes by Robert Cromier (1998) sexual assault/suicide attempt
• Slam by Nick Hornby (2007) teen pregnancy

I never understood why The History Boys was so successful, or made it's way on to syllabuses.

It's central message is it's OK to be a paedo if you like literature and one of your victims is gay anyway.

I'm just impressed that your DD has got to 14 without doing Romeo and Juliet...

Honestly, I'd lob both the books in the bin and request an interview with the English dept at the beginning of next term.
A book about teen suicide and/or pregnancy with no discussion or context or reason? No.
Teachers aren't infallible.

Is there a MN classics for totally pointless threads. The title and later refusal to name the books is a wonderful example to add. It’s a classic in itself

I’d be surprised if an aspirational school didn’t have its own issues with teenage suicide, sadly. Possibly less so with teenage pregnancy, most of the aspirational kids are well aware of the potential issues of an unwanted pregnancy. Especially in countries that don’t allow abortions.

The OP reminds me of Mrs Schofield complaining about one of Duffy’s poems being on the GCSE syllabus, and the poem she wrote in response:

Mrs. Schofield’s GCSE
You must prepare your bosom for his knife,
said Portia to Antonio in which
of Shakespeare’s Comedies? Who killed his wife,
insane with jealousy? And which Scots witch
knew Something wicked this way comes? Who said
Is this a dagger which I see? Which Tragedy?
Whose blade was drawn which led to Tybalt’s death?
To whom did dying Caesar say Et tu? And why?
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark – do you
know what this means? Explain how poetry
pursues the human like the smitten moon
above the weeping, laughing earth; how we
make prayers of it. Nothing will come of nothing:
speak again. Said by which King? You may begin.

Yes please do go in and complain and kick up an almighty fuss. No 14 year old should be reading a graphic description of how someone commits suicide.

I may be biased as my 14 year old did commit suicide, and I know that if we didn’t have as much information nowadays at our fingertips as we do, there’s no way he would have figured out how to do it successfully. We had had a few suicides in our community within the previous year, and I can only imagine that these piqued his interest and that he was able to find out how to do it very easily.
There is a reason why methods and details are kept out of the media- we don’t want to present it as an option to others who otherwise wouldn’t have been aware.

Hi OP,

I absolutely agree about poor book choices with traumatic content.

I complained until I was blue in the face and then unfortunately my DS became extremely unwell with MH problems, which were very connected to the book choices. I had to remove him from school.

I think that kids should have much more appropriate choices of books, bearing in mind the particular children's circumstances.

I think that one-size-fits-all education has a lot to answer for.

Your secrecy makes no sense! How will we know which overseas school your daughter goes to from the name of a book?

Name the books for sensible responses.

OMG I am about to out myself totally by sharing with you that DS studied Macbeth at school. I know that now you can all immediately identify which school he went to and who I am IRL - I can’t believe I shared so much identifying information.

Honestly, it’s like those posters who think we’re going to be able to identify them if they tell us that their husband’s hobby is cycling.

You’ve definitely outed yourself. I obviously went to the same school as your son despite the fact I went to an all-girls’ secondary school so know exactly who you are from that information