Bill Kelly says elsewhere that HS reading books are suggested but not required. My experience with my daughter who graduated this spring is that her summer books were all required. Perhaps that was because she was in the upper level courses all through her time at the high school; maybe the lower level English classes had book options, but her selections were required.

Last summer in particular, she did not care for the chosen books and hated ‘Ahab’s Wife.’ Her summary was that the choices seemed to have been made with choosing depressing books as one of the main objectives. Perhaps that was just standard grousing, but it is unfortunate if there’s any truth to it. My daughter loves to read, and has not been turned off reading because of last year’s required books, but I did notice she disposed of ‘Ahab’s Wife’ as soon as she could. Anyone seeing our family bookshelves would recognize how significant that was.

OK, perhaps ‘Ahab’s Wife’ has some redeeming merit (I’m not in a position to know), but it is a valid question to ask why a particular book is chosen. All literature does some social engineering. 'A Tale of 2 Cities' promotes making noble choices and the possibility of redemption, in addition to telling a really good story. 'The Plague' examines the essential question of the meaning of life in the midst of tragedy, and any ensuing discussion must deal with the conflicting good of individual choice and social contract. Incidentally, neither of those books promotes my faith, but both promote serious civic virtues.

So, what social engineering do our current required--in our experience--books promote? If the books promote an agenda not supported by the town, then perhaps the teachers should chose different books. There are a lot to chose among. Or perhaps it would be good, from a community point of view, to have someone explain the unique value of a book that get lots of complaints. If no one can make an adequate case for a particular book, than why should it be required (or highly suggested) for a large segment of our youth?

That doesn’t strike me as censorship. Shoot, the discussion will probably have a lot more folk reading the book to see what the fuss is about. But some books might not pass such a muster. Well, let the discussions begin. No social engineering agenda should be set that cannot withstand the scrutiny of the town.

(For the fun of it, I recommend the short story A Do by Connie Willis. I don’t like all of her writings, and much prefer her earlier work, but some of it will certainly make the Classic Lists in the coming decades. A Do is about a conference determining how much editing a Shakespeare play needs before being covered in a class.)

I've just gone back to the beginning of the thread, and have 2 additions:

I clearly misremembered Elinor's reading lists--she did Ahab's Wife not last summer but 2 summers ago. But yes, it was required then.

The 2 books listed for the year with The Bluest Eyes do look Required, as in "this is it" and NOT merely suggested for the level that they're listed. And since this isn't a particularly high level, it would require kids/parents who aren't coming in backed by tremendous previous success to now buck the system. And I'd just as soon 15 year olds (it is the summer BEFORE that school year so they'll be on the younger end of the spectrum) NOT be required to read about graphic rape and incest. These kids hormones are already raging. If you jump-start the hormones, how are you going to get them to settle down and THINK about anything. Graphic sex descriptions of even the most approved relations won't help the kids with thoughtful processing of any theme.
There are lots of other books available, either a good defense should be made of these specific books, or they shouldn't be on a list that most certainly looks required.

I sent Paul Gregoire, (NAHS Dept. Chair, English), an email with the following questions on Monday. He sent a reply this morning. I have placed Paul's replies in italics below the questions.

Summary: 1) Books are required 2) Completing reading assignment impacts Fall grade 3) No book substitutions allowed

1. Are these books required reading for students in the various incoming grades and levels?

The books for summer reading are required reading and complement the existing curriculum so that the summer reading is not separate from what we do during the school year. It helps both students and teachers "hit the ground running" as soon as we return to school.

2. What happens if a student does not complete any Summer Reading? Are the journals graded? If so, do they impact the grade given for the English class in the Fall?

There is no separate grade for the journals/notebooks. When we return, students will pass in their notes. This will be followed by class discussions on the material. The last component is a summative writing assessment which will be graded. Any student who fails to do the required summer reading will be subject to a 5-point deficit from his term 1 grade.


3. If a parent objects to a particular title (for example, Junior Summer Reading: Levels 1 and 2: The Bluest Eye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower) but no other books are listed in order to substitute, how can substitutions be made? Should parents contact a teacher to agree on a book substitution? If so, how can contact
be made?

There are no substitutions for titles. The department of English along with the school librarian, a total of 14 educators, chose these specific titles because they complement elements of the existing curriculum. Once students have completed their readings and their notes, these will be passed in. This will be followed by class discussions on the works so that students have had an opportunity to process, analyze and share information. Finally, there will be an in-class piece of writing as a summative assessment. If substitutions were allowed, students would not have the benefit of class discussions which defeats the purpose of the entire process. Please keep in mind that it is not the specific titles that are important. It is the process. Reading is only one facet of this process.

Mike,

Thanks for tracking this down. I don't think there are any surprises in the answers from Mr. Gregoire. They have their curriculum and they're following it.

My comments - If you don't like the curriculum (e.g. new elementary science, elementary math, or the summer reading list), it won't do much good to go to the teachers (unless you really have an individualized situation). Although I'm sure the curriculum isn't a secret, I'm also sure they also don't go out of their way to publish it so residents can easily take a look at it (i.e. the less you know the less you'll complain).

Best wishes,
ahbgone

http://www.northandover.org/option,com_fireboard/Itemid,253/func,view/catid,520/id,628/#628

1. Turns out you are 'forced' to read these books. (You won't get an 'F' for not doing Summer Reading but could lose half a letter grade for Fall term.)

2. No substitutions allowed. (Appeal to teacher is fantasy.)

See link for previous post on the actual methods used for the Summer Reading program.

Same here...thanks, Mike, for tracking this down. I find Mr. Gregoire's answers interesting, not only what he says, but what he doesn't say.

http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ela/0601.pdf Would allow attachment of .PDF files

I found a 2001 version of the Massachusetts ELA Framework.

There is such a breadth of recommended writers listed in the Framework and that these specific works were selected out of the entire canon makes one wonder why.

I cut and pasted the Framework's list of 'Contemporary' (i.e. Post-WWII) or 'World' below (see Appendix B on attachment). There is another list for pre-WWII American writers in Appendix A.

I assume the selections in question were focused on 'Contemporary' or 'World' writers. Toni Morrison is included as a 'Contemporary American' writer. The lists are considered as '... a starting point; they are necessarily incomplete, because excellent new writers appear every year.'

Contemporary American Literature

FICTION:

James Agee
Jamaica Kincaid
J. D. Salinger
Maya Angelou
Maxine Hong Kingston
William Saroyan
Saul Bellow
Jon Krakauer
May Sarton
Pearl Buck
Harper Lee
Jane Smiley
Raymond Carver
Bernard Malamud
Betty Smith
John Cheever
Carson McCullers
Wallace Stegner
Sandra Cisneros
Toni Morrison
Amy Tan
Arthur C. Clarke
Joyce Carol Oates
Anne Tyler
E. L. Doctorow
Tim O’Brien
John Updike
Louise Erdrich
Edwin O’Connor
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Nicholas Gage
Cynthia Ozick
Alice Walker
Ernest K. Gaines
Chaim Potok
Robert Penn Warren
Alex Haley
Reynolds Price
Eudora Welty
Joseph Heller
Annie Proulx
Thomas Wolfe
William Hoffman
Ayn Rand
Tobias Wolff
John Irving
Richard Rodrigues
Anzia Yezierska
William Kennedy
Leo Rosten
Ken Kesey
Saki

Grades 9-12 Historical and Contemporary Literature
FICTION:

Chinua Achebe
Isak Dinesen
Alberto Moravia
S. Y. Agnon
E. M. Forster
Mordechi Richler
Ilse Aichinger
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Alice Munro
Isabel Allende
Nikolai Gogol
Vladimir Nabokov
Jerzy Andrzejewski
William Golding
V. S. Naipaul
Margaret Atwood
Robert Graves
Alan Paton
Isaac Babel
Hermann Hesse
Cesar Pavese
James Berry
Wolfgang Hildesheimer
Santha Rama Rau
Heinrich Boll
Aldous Huxley
Rainer Maria Rilke
Jorge Luis Borges
Kazuo Ishiguro
Ignazio Silone
Mikhail Bulgakov
Yuri Kazakov
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Dino Buzzati
Milan Kundera
Alexander Solshenitsyn
S. Byatt
Stanislaw Lem
Niccolo Tucci
Italo Calvino
Primo Levi
Mario Vargas-Llosa
Karl Capek
Jacov Lind
Elie Wiesel
Carlo Cassola
Clarice Lispector
Emile Zola
Camillo Jose Cela
Naguib Mahfouz
Julio Cortazar
Thomas Mann

Mike, again thanks for obtaining some factual info. It is refreshing that Mr. Gregoire replied and took a stand. I am concerned that he couldn't state why the particular books were chosen.

All I can say is Wow! As a parent I am disappointed and surprised that options are not allowed. I would think 2 book lists could be offered and kids could be placed in class based upon the books they read. However, this may be an ignorant statement since I have heard about HS scheduling issues at every SC mtg I have attended and I freely admit I do not have insight into the HS schedule.

I would suggest that the concerned parents who approached the VP with this topic, take their concerns to a school comm. meeting for an open discussion. While we all seem to agree that censorship is not something we approve of, I also don't think we should have book choices that do not align with our family values forced upon our kids.

This has been an intersting topic/discussion as I only have elem. age students.

Dear Readers,

First, I think this has been an enlightening topic thread, and I would like to thank Ahbegone for getting it started. I have now finished reading Tony Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, and my perspective has changed somewhat from when I first responded to the prior postings.

I do see this topic as having two aspects: is censorship of assigned readings in public school appropriate or desirable and are the books chosen for required reading both educationally valuable and appropriate for high school readers?

My answer to the first question: “Censorship”, in the sense of choosing what books are offered on the summer reading list, is the responsibility of the English Department teachers, not unidentified “parents” who may or may not have read the books, who may or may not even have students in the school, and who may or may not have political or religious objections not necessarily shared by other families.

HOWEVER, with that responsibility comes the teachers' duty to select works of literature generally accepted as educationally pertinent and not so controversial that the beauty of the writing is overshadowed by crude language or situations included more for shock or entertainment value rather than as necessary literary devices. Teachers should be choosing books generally accepted by leading academia as prime examples of excellent literature, books the teachers themselves have read, and not books recommended by Oprah Winfrey or selected because “kids could relate to it”. Furthermore, there must be a procedure in place for students and parents to discuss any concerns about required reading, BEFORE the assignment is due, not after-the-fact.

Was The Bluest Eye a good book, well-written, a prime example of the best literature available and pertinent to the grade level curriculum or even pertinent to other core classes? I have no idea if this book has any relevance to the curriculum, I thought it was an “ok”, not a “great” book, and there were crude parts that could have been deleted with no negative effect on the narrative. By the way, the rape of the main character by her father was brief, at the end of the book, and a whole lot less graphic than other questionable descriptive paragraphs sprinkled throughout the book.

I checked through the reading lists for comparable communities to North Andover, and this same book is included on many town lists, including Andover’s summer reading list. Andover’s reading list is extensive – very extensive – and I would look to our NAHS teaching staff to expand our summer reading list to resemble Andover’s list.

One other point I’d like to make – I’m now very concerned that many, many people posted comments on the Barnes & Noble website stating that The Bluest Eye was the best book they had ever read. That now tells me that these people aren’t reading nearly enough truly good books. For instance, The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, deals with some of the same issues as The Bluest Eye, but with far better writing; Kidd doesn’t need to include objectionable material to develop her story.

High School required reading is supposed to expose students to fine, classic writing in a wide range of genres they might not typically choose for themselves. Required reading is supposed to inspire a love of literature and set the bar against which students can judge the books they read for the rest of their lives. I really hope that a book like The Bluest Eye is not the standard that today’s youth - or their teachers - are using as an example of fine writing…

By the way, my daughter does not attend North Andover High School. Her summer reading list for entering her sophomore year at another local high school includes Catcher in the Rye, Jane Eyre and Uncle Tom’s Cabin. So I'm not affected [right now] by North Andover High School's required summer reading...but I do have a middle school child for whom I'll keep a sharper eye out for in future years as he brings home his own reading assignments.

Sincerely,
Sandy Gleed

Sandy,

My position was that the English department showed poor judgment is selecting these two books only these two books (for a certain segment of the HS population) since it was obvious to me that a non-trivial portion of the town find the books offensive (so why purposely offend people when other options are available).

Now that you've read one of the books, can you provide any clues to why our English Teachers would choose "The Bluest Eye"?

Best wishes,
ahbgone

http://www.aps1.net/AHS/Mediacenter/2008HighSchoolSummerReading.pdf

Above is a link to the Summer Reading List at Andover High School that was referenced by Sandy. The list is much more extensive than North Andover's list and, most helpfully, includes a brief synopsis of each book. This would make it easier to choose which book to read.

I could not find how the bools are assigned per class or what students are expected to do with the Andover Summer Reading List on the AHS website.

Dear Ahbegone,

I have always loved to read, and as I’ve grown older and busier and my free time has dwindled, I have chosen only books of high interest to me, rather than books highly popular or books held out as award winners [and I definitely don’t let Oprah do the choosing for me]. So my typical reading selections are historical novels and gardening journals, I’m working on reading some of the classics that my own schools never assigned, and there’s a sprinkling of young adult novels from my book group and an occasional recommendation from my daughter [I loved the Stephanie Meyer Twilight series – trying to find time to read the just released fourth installment]. So I’m no authority on what criteria the English teachers use to select required reading…but I’ll give it a go and hope that the department head is reading this thread and may be moved to offer the actual answer.

I’m guessing that teachers may have been attracted to the following attributes that I, myself, appreciated in The Bluest Eye: it tells the story from different characters’ viewpoints, it is well-written from a mechanical standpoint, it deals with social issues such as race, poverty and contrasts between the black and white experience, it deals with psychological issues such as how someone perceives themselves and their role within the greater society, and it deals with motivation/power struggles [why do some people stand up to abuse and do something about it, while others accept it as normal behavior?]. It’s also possible that the story ties in with history curriculum if they study the history of civil rights, but I have no idea if that is so.

Quite frankly, I have never heard of anyone, ever, questioning the required reading lists (even when I was in school – I went to Stoneham High, and at the time, it had an excellent school system). So this time, I’m very interested to see if this discussion thread has any impact on the future reading requirements at North Andover High School. I’m wondering if any parent – especially whoever took their concerns to the Valley Patriot – will care enough to attend this evening’s School Committee meeting, 7pm in the NAHS lecture hall [probably not going to be taped or broadcast] and bring up the subject during the Public Comment period. Seems to me that someone affected and offended by the book selection ought to bring the subject up for discussion…not rely on an anonymous reference in a small local newspaper to do the job for them...

Sincerely,
Sandy Gleed

I've heard of it, and seen it...not only the example I gave from my home town, also in a city just south of where I grew up where a "non-trivial" number of people, all members of the John Birch Society, along with a sympathetic prosecutor (and later judge), managed to dictate to the community what is and what isn't offensive. Their reach extended to bookstores, newstands, movie theaters, broadcasters, private businesses, art museums and on to my college campus.

Does anyone, by any chance, remember an episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati" where a Jerry Falwell-like character shows up at the station to "suggest" they change their programming? That was based on fact.

I wasn't able to stay until the public comment period, did anyone talk to this? Sandy, I would also appreciate it if you could post a brief summary of the meeting - I was there from 7:45 to 8:45 and missed the Thomson school portion as well.

The meeting was being taped so we should be able to watch it on CATV.

I was there, and I think the E-T summarizes the AYP issue fairly well:

http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_233095835.html

The summer reading list issue wasn't addressed at all.