If you had control over your country’s education curriculum and could select a book all children must read, what would it be and why?
Me: Stoner by John Williams.
No book comes closer to showing how our fears and inaction can lead to the loss of huge swathes of life. The book tells the story of an ordinary man’s life and is a salient reminder that life’s short and precious and needs living. Ideas that always fall short on us in our youth as we think we’ve got all the time in world to live our lives.
by Tale_Blazer
10 Comments
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It’s a like a vaccine against nihilism, and the children could use some immunity.
A Gentleman in Moscow.
Perhaps part of a Soviet era unit, as the Bolshevik revolution is featured. Great cultural picture of nation and aristocracy and a simply classy guy.
Wonder, RJ Palacio. Murica could use a LOT more empathy right now
To kill a mockingbird or 1984
Nowadays? *The Handmaid’s Tale* by Margaret Atwood, hands down.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. It does a great job of portraying the deep emotions that children feel, especially when lonely or betrayed. Children often get written off as overreacting or don’t get taken seriously. This book would help affirm that their emotions are real and they do matter. While not entirely unproblematic by today’s standards, it could be a good jumping off point for talking about independence, family, relationships, society’s changing views on mental health, class, and more.
Manufacturing Consent
Demon Haunted World
The Jungle, or any Sinclair Lewis, really. The Jungle was a must-read when I was in high school in the mid 1980s, and I was appalled that my kids didn’t have to read it. (For class, anyway. Poor things had an English major parent, so they did indeed read it. 😈
Grapes of Wrath would be fine, too, though the ending of it is trickier to teach today.
The Outsiders by S E Hinton. Very simple reason I want kids to enjoy reading. In the schools I taught in this was by far the most well received book. Too often required reading turns kids off reading for life. This one will make many of them read more. And that would do more for society than just about anything they do at school.