304: The Day my English Students Questioned our Bleak Book Choices

On this week’s mini-episode, I’m remembering the moment my 11th graders asked me to please, please, please add a book to our curriculum that wasn’t so depressing. Maybe you’ve had a similar experience? Let’s talk about what to do when the curriculum is full of death and despair.

We were moving towards spring the year my juniors asked me why all of our books were so glum. My first instinct was to say they weren’t! Then I thought about it for a second. Adultery. Check. Death. Check. Despair. Check. We were reading The Scarlet Letter, As I Lay Dying, Death of a Salesman, and lots of other books that really don’t scream “the joy of being alive in a beautiful world full of possibilities.” As I thought back over my own English classes through college and high school, I realized the same was true. Authors were so often grappling with the difficult big human questions. Sure, there were moments of joy, of enlightenment. There was also a lot of pain. 

It got me thinking about how we might showcase more balance in the curriculum, and why that might be important to helping our students thrive as readers and enjoy learning about life from authors. 

Have you thought about this too? Have your students brought it up?

These days I think it’s easier than ever to build more variety into the curriculum, with authors taking on issues that feel relevant to our students, but also with authors who are expressing something joyful or even allowing an ending full of hope. I think of a book like Long Way Down, that addresses painful truths but finishes with what feels like the breaking of a sad cycle and a reason to feel hopeful. I think of a graphic novel like The Dark Matter of Mona Starr, that addresses depression and isolation, but then shows a path back towards joy. I think of a poem like Gorman’s “The Things we Carry,” that explores painful American history while also paving the way for a better future.   

As you choose your books for next year, I know there are so many things to think about. Genres, eras, key authors, key themes. But maybe, in the back of your mind, you could also keep in mind a little scale for hope and joy. For me, as a reader, those things really matter, and all those years ago my students taught me they matter to them too. I’m definitely not suggesting you scratch all your books that deal with serious themes, I just want to highly recommend that we make room for all kinds of stories, including those with happy endings.

 

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