Harry Potter - Popular, but never to be a Classic

[DiapDealer]

Back in my old school days. We didn't have summer reading lists. Out of school was out of school. We didn't have assignments to report on when we got back. I read whatever I wanted to during the summer because I knew I'd have to make time for stuff I didn't voluntarily choose to read when school was back in.

But I've heard of this mysterious "summer reading list" from others from time to time and it has me curious. I'd love to know what age people were when the were given summer reading lists, and potentially what years it happened in. Were they requirements or extra credit? Were they assigned to everyone or just those on some sort of A.P. track? Were all who had summer reading lists expected to do a book report on one of the books on the list? If so, when was such a report to written? During the summer or first thing back? Inquiring minds (who don't remember any sort of summer homework assignments--suggested or required--during their school years want to know.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Back in my old school days. We didn't have summer reading lists. Out of school was out of school. We didn't have assignments to report on when we got back. I read whatever I wanted to during the summer because I knew I'd have to make time for stuff I didn't voluntarily choose to read when school was back in.

But I've heard of this mysterious "summer reading list" from others from time to time and it has me curious. I'd love to know what age people were when the were given summer reading lists, and potentially what years it happened in. Were they requirements or extra credit? Were they assigned to everyone or just those on some sort of A.P. track? Were all who had summer reading lists expected to do a book report on one of the books on the list? If so, when was such a report to written? During the summer or first thing back? Inquiring minds (who don't remember any sort of summer homework assignments--suggested or required--during their school years want to know.

MY father was military and we moved every couple of years. None of the schools I attended had summer reading lists. I was free to read what I wanted to read, which made me happy.
Apache

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'm not saying kids should not read difficult books, but they should read books that use current English and are more relevant to their lives.

I don’t agree with it, but I understand your point about current English. It’s when you cite relevancy that you lose me. It’s hard to think of anything more relevant than Shakespeare and what he had to say about the human condition. DuskyRose has an excellent post along those lines upthread.

If you mean directly relevant, then most courses of study aren’t. How much of my life I personally don’t use trigonometry is staggering. Shakespeare is far more relevant.

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Why can't [kids] study only the U.S. portions of geography?[/SPOILER]

I thought that's what they did

[Pajamaman]

I think one problem with the classics taught to kids is that the books are chosen by adults who have gone through the academic system. As such, they are chosen for and by the academic adults, and not for the audience--i.e. the kids.

There are exceptions to this, but if kids like Harry Potter, or Twilight, then let them read and study it. And at the same time, give them something to compare it to, in order to make an educated judgement as to what makes it good or bad.

I recall most kids dreaded literature classes. But when a book appealed to them, their interest increased. I believe that society can benefit from a citizenry who enjoy reading. So it is important to give them books that kindle their interest in reading, not discourage them.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

I think one problem with the classics taught to kids is that the books are chosen by adults who have gone through the academic system. As such, they are chosen for and by the academic adults, and not for the audience--i.e. the kids.

Seriously? Let’s give teachers, who have a very hard job, credit for wanting to teach what’s in the kids’ best interest.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

I recall most kids dreaded literature classes. But when a book appealed to them, their interest increased. I believe that society can benefit from a citizenry who enjoy reading. So it is important to give them books that kindle their interest in reading, not discourage them.

I recall most kids dreaded algebra classes, but when a certain formula appealed to them, their interest...

OK, so their algebra interest never increased. But I do believe that society can benefit from a citzenry who enjoy maths. My point is why does it only seem to be literature classes that people target for needing to spark kids' interest? Why is there no concern that they'll hate math for the rest of their lives if it's not jazzed up to hold their interest?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Apache

MY father was military and we moved every couple of years. None of the schools I attended had summer reading lists. I was free to read what I wanted to read, which made me happy.
Apache

Thanks! So at least I know I'm not completely alone in this.

[John F]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

..

But I've heard of this mysterious "summer reading list" from others from time to time and it has me curious. I'd love to know what age people were when the were given summer reading lists, and potentially what years it happened in. Were they requirements or extra credit? Were they assigned to everyone or just those on some sort of A.P. track? Were all who had summer reading lists expected to do a book report on one of the books on the list? If so, when was such a report to written? During the summer or first thing back? Inquiring minds (who don't remember any sort of summer homework assignments--suggested or required--during their school years want to know.

I graduated high school in 1986. No required summer reading (or recommended reading that I recall). Public school, relatively large, a little on the urban side. One level down from AP. I didn't enjoy English as much as the other subjects. I enjoyed the reading, but not the analysis and writing.

My son graduated 3 years ago, a smaller public school. He had required summer reading, he got to pick from a list, some of which were recent. A level below AP.

[Thasaidon]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Thanks! So at least I know I'm not completely alone in this.

I can not say some schools in the UK never given summer reading lists but I do not know of any which have.

[4691mls]

I never had summer reading lists either.

We did read Romeo and Juliet in high school. Our teacher also showed us a film of it.

Our teacher mostly had us all read the same books, but a couple of times we were allowed to choose a book. (I think there was a list of approved books to choose from to make sure we were all reading quality material.)

Would I read Shakespeare now for enjoyment? Probably not. Am I sorry I had to read it in school? No.

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

But I've heard of this mysterious "summer reading list" from others from time to time and it has me curious. I'd love to know what age people were when the were given summer reading lists, and potentially what years it happened in. Were they requirements or extra credit? Were they assigned to everyone or just those on some sort of A.P. track? Were all who had summer reading lists expected to do a book report on one of the books on the list? If so, when was such a report to written? During the summer or first thing back? Inquiring minds (who don't remember any sort of summer homework assignments--suggested or required--during their school years want to know.

I went to three different elementary schools, three different middle schools, and three different high schools, in four different states. (California, Nevada, Oregon and Missouri) And we weren't even military. Lol

Most of the reading lists I got were in middle and high school. Some were a shortlist of mandatory books, some a long list we could pick from. Some you had to be ready to answer questions and be ready to discuss in class, (questions that weren't in the cliff-notes versions) and some that we had to write reports on to turn in on the first day of class.

Some were suggested reading, and in those cases I don't remember what work, if any, was assigned.

It really varied. My Romeo and Juliet reading, IIRC, was to read the summary of the story first, then read the book ourselves and be ready to discuss it in class. Then as a class go over the translation in class so we could ask questions about word and phrase usage. At the end of that, when the teacher knew that everyone had caught up, we talked about the history of the time, the politics, the society, what parts of the story were the most important, the build-up to the tragic ending... (Back to the English class stuff). Then a few months later we were all bussed to the local theater to see the play done by high school students, with 'tweaks' to make it more relevant.

(Thus the flipping each other off and smack-talking between the rival gangs when the show started. We could see the gang war going on, and it was so much more emotional and powerful when the one character was killed. But they kept the tweaking to a minimum.)

For my kids, (and we were military for many years when they were younger) it also varied according to grade and school. Shakespear was usually only in high school, and tied in with their other classes on history (of the time period) and getting into the arts (chorus and acting) and then learning languages. (The context and meaning of language change over the years, and why so many languages have common roots.)

So, it just depended on the school, the curriculum, and I suspect if the teachers of various subjects used the one assignment as a learning tool across different subjects.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by DuskyRose

Some were a shortlist of mandatory books, some a long list we could pick from. Some you had to be ready to answer questions and be ready to discuss in class, (questions that weren't in the cliff-notes versions) and some that we had to write reports on to turn in on the first day of class.

This is the part that's blowing my mind just a bit. I'm just trying to imagine how any teacher at a state funded school actually (actually mind you) has the authority to assign what amounts to homework over the summer break? Stuff that is literally due the first day back, that will be graded. Seems to me that no matter how good of an idea continuing to read over the summer break might be, making it truly "mandatory" (as in a graded part of the curriculum) is a giant overreach from an authority standpoint. Do teacher's truly have this authority from a legal, or state BOE standpoint? Or have they simply never been been challenged on something they have no authority to actually require?

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'm not saying kids should not read difficult books, but they should read books that use current English and are more relevant to their lives.

I understand your point about the challenge of reading Shakespeare’s English. Coming from a French school system, I found it very difficult to read on my own. However, I think a skilled teacher can help kids overcome the language barrier and discover great relevance.

We had an excellent teacher, and she had us read the texts aloud in class. (Kids volunteered to read). Hearing the language spoken made a tremendous difference, and those classes became a joy. With a skilled teacher, kids can easily discover how Shakespeare’s plots are being played out in the news every day. Many of his insights have stayed with me my whole life.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by DuskyRose

It really varied. My Romeo and Juliet reading, IIRC, was to read the summary of the story first, then read the book ourselves and be ready to discuss it in class. Then as a class go over the translation in class so we could ask questions about word and phrase usage. At the end of that, when the teacher knew that everyone had caught up, we talked about the history of the time, the politics, the society, what parts of the story were the most important, the build-up to the tragic ending... (Back to the English class stuff). Then a few months later we were all bussed to the local theater to see the play done by high school students, with 'tweaks' to make it more relevant.

I think I might have appreciated Shakespeare (or any other author from well before my own time) more if I had a teacher who put in that much effort.