Malorje Blackman GCSE

[flexiblebenefit]

DD has just told me that the first text they're studying for GCSE English Lit in Sept is "Boys don't cry" by Malorie Blackman. She's a bit surprised. Like most teen girls she went through a Malorie Blackman phase in year 8 and read everything, but was very surprised to be studying it in year 10. I've just read it (I have a degree in English - admittedly 30 years ago!) It's a good book. Engaging. Lots of issues to talk about- but it's honestly not great in a literary sense. I'm hugely supportive of studying non white authors, expanding the range of books etc but there are a lot of really great lnon white authors published today who are a lot more "literary" than Malorie Blackman. It's a book designed to hammer home "issues" in a relatively unsubtle way.

What am I missing here?

Which other stories/writers have equally modern/creative/interesting/relatable/ discussion-point-full/well-written stories, that will appeal to the average 14-16yo, (who isn't remotely literary & almost only ever in last 2 years read subtitles on videos, nothing else for pleasure), & are stories that haven't been studied a lot already?

Half the stuff that MNers recommend I find very dull, dense & old-fashioned, btw. Please surprise me.

I didn't know she was a none white author

I do know she's a bloody good author

Maybe they're using a particularly accessible text to start them in gently.

Tbh, you should be able to analyse any text.

The whole syllabus changed a, few years ago meaning we can only study British authors. Tbh I suspect that your DD's school have chosen it because she's a black female author and the book tackles themes such as single parenting, gender roles, homosexuality and racism. That's at least 6 boxes ticked for when Ofsted come looking at how diverse their English curriculum is.
Not to say it's not a great novel.

She's good. Interesting. A competent and engaging writer. DD read everything she wrote 2 years ago and I was very happy.

What she isn't is a literary writer.
It will be a struggle to analyse language form and structure as it's relatively simplistic. The study of the relationship between texts and their context will be hard it really won't prepare those who want to do A level English.

DD is at a relatively average state school. I'm almost 100% certain that the private schools and grammar schools won't be studying this. Are we saying that we lower expectations for less privileged children?

This is a less than stellar comprehensive. I am 109%

Presumably they don't study just one author for the next 2 years. Some authors are a good gateway to discuss issues relating to the writing eg sexism, feminism, racism. Whereas other authors are good at using the correct prose and appropriate literary devices. Surely being able to see the difference between the two is important.

I think it’s great that this kind of book is being taught. Students will also be studying a Shakespeare play and a 19th century novel so will develop a range of literary skills.

This. The school are ticking Ofsted boxes.

Eng lit is an academic discipline. Enjoying reading is great. I encourage my kids to read anything, BUT it's a fallacy to say you can analyse any book in the same way. Some books are more literary. I take the point of the person who mentioned that a lot of books recommended on here are "boring". Honestly I wouldn't bother with half this years booker prize either! BUT Eng Lit should be about looking a classic literary books and studying them otherwise we are assuming that less privileged kids are less deserving of culture and should be fed easy things that they can relate to without effort.

They only study a few books. This is a big chunk of the first term of a 2 year GCSE. I enjoyed reading it. It doesn't make it the level of a GCSE set text.

GCSE texts have to enable the whole range of abilities to show their knowledge in the exam, not just the bright kids who read MB years ago.

Meant to add - GCSE English is no longer tiered ie kids who would have done higher tier have to do the same paper as those who would have done foundation.

Go Conservatives....

Which exam board, do you know?

FWIW I agree with you, @flexiblebenefit

It isn’t actually doing students any real favours.

I agree with you OP and share your concerns but "diversity" is the priority now so there's not a great deal you'll be able to do about it. You'll see on here that people will get quite cross and try to pretend it's all completely brilliant but we know it's not really.

Also the whole premise of the book is othering. Poverty, single parents, homosexuality, racism. Why is it that the only books by non white authors that are celebrated are ones that speak to this? Non white authors write amazing books on a wide range of things (fantasy, history, alternative history, crime) but non of this is celebrated

Agreed. I also feel the same about The Sign of Four. It’s a formulaic piece of genre fiction, there’s knack all to write about beyond context and structure.

Students will also be studying a Shakespeare play and a 19th century novel

No poetry?

(Fourth year/year 10 in my day was always the War Poets - Owen, Sassoon et al.)

world war one poems will no longer be studied at GCSE
www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=123340

I've looked back into my kindle. I try to read a range of books and I am chastened at how few non white authors there are. However this was brilliant. You can do issues and YA and all the stuff they want without losing the literary edge.
[[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jacqueline-Woodson/e/B000APM3QO/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
Jacqueline Woodson]]
Red at the Bone

No hate to Mallory (as I said I've bought everything she ever wrote for DD) but our expectations must be higher at GCSE

Is that a GCSE text as well?

Crikey

but our expectations must be higher at GCSE

At the same time we must not set up the bottom 50% to fail.

I agree with you btw - but think the solution is tiered exams rather than removing 'straightforward' authors.

world war one poems will no longer be studied at GCSE

They weren't part of our O Level syllabus, but we did read them in the Fourth Year.

Trying to remember what poets we did do for O Level, but O Level and A Level have rather blurred together after so many years and I'm not sure now who we did for which.

Yes, a poetry anthology is studied and also students learn to analyse a previously unseen poem for the exam.

I disagree that they should only read classic texts. Doesn't mean this one is best choice, but if it's engaging then it will mean some of the children won't come out hating English Lit.

DS is an intelligent boy who read a lot until a couple of years ago but he's really struggled with what they've read for GCSE - Macbeth, An Inspector Calls and Christmas Carol. AIC was the best of them for him as the characters were to some extent caricatures so easy to understand and CC he at least understood the basics of, mainly I think because of seeing the films previously (yes including Muppets) but Macbeth has just failed to capture his imagination at all. I hated it at GCSE - well to be honest hated English Lit GCSE full stop as I loved reading and also enjoyed theatre including Shakespeare, but overanalysing books and plays just made me hate them, though at least it didn't turn me off reading completely, just the authors we studied.

So yes those who do well in English Lit and maybe go on to A level or degree probably do need something more challenging, but a good 50% of 14-16 year olds never or rarely read a book unless they have to, so we need lessons in school to be aimed at engaging them, hopefully instilling a love of books and ideally helping them to pass English Lit GCSE.

We didn't do WW1 poets either (O level!). Anthology including Timothy Winters and Waving not Drowning as I recall.