Top Ten Tuesday: Books You Wish Were Taught in Schools

(Click the image above to see the lovely hosts over at The Broke and The Bookish!)

It's kind of obvious how much I am an advocate for literacy - I mean, all things considered I do run this tiny spot on the internet talking about reading and books. When I found out what the TTT was for today, I jumped on board automatically. Reading is so important in schools but the worst is the attitude that's geared towards required reading. I honestly thought To Kill a Mockingbird and Animal Farm were great reads but not every student agreed with me. Sometimes I think we need to not just teach about why pieces of literature are so relevant to us but something that should be taught is how to enjoy a good book. Which brings us to this TTT. I tried to choose books that I felt that was relevant to coming-of-age, politics and social commentary, but I also tried to choose books that were not only thought-provoking but enjoyable as well.

So in no particular order...

Holes - by Louis Sachar : I read this when I was younger and as an adult, I can see the relevancy of the tale to a young mind. A story about crime, about racial discrimination, and even friendship. It's predominant role in schools is also about how history affects the present day with displaying themes of social injustice.

Never Let Me Go - by Kazuo Ishiguro : This is a book that's a love story, so perhaps it won't reach all demographics in a school setting but the message is clear - people are cloning themselves to harvest organs to live longer lives. How is that not relevant to our modern day? It questions the ethics of science, teaches us about the social alienation of specific groups, and of course, it's an interesting read... haunting, even.

World War Z - by Max Brooks : I bet you didn't even see this one coming from a mile away. The kids and adults will love this one - ZOMBIES! But more than that... this book is well composed of cultural divides, war, and personal, social and worldwide conflict. Imagine if this book didn't have zombies... I'm sure the results would be similar to what Max Brooks portrays in this novel if something else where to cause tension between countries.

A Thousand Splendid Suns - By Khaled Hosseini : I read this book earlier this year and was so moved by it and think that especially during these times, it would be one of the most relevant books to learn. This book would teach about religion, culture, domestic violence, the sacrifices of motherhood, and political uprises and downfalls. It's important for any student to know what goes on outside of the box of what they see in the media and think independently, something that this book will help them look into.

Ender's Game - By Orson Scott Card : So... OSC isn't the greatest role model there is considering how he's kind of crazy and anti-LGBT and so on. That aside, Ender's Game still delivers an incredible story, a great message about what is good, what is evil and presents a great portrayal about politics in the Internet-age. There is a lot about what it means to be child, or rather, what it's like to a be an adult when you're still just a kid. 

Oryx and Crake - By Margaret Atwood : The things that happen in this novel... it's like a foreshadow of what could possibly happen to our future. Like Never Let Me Go, it talks about the ethical practices of science and how far is too far. A great book to learn about actions and consequences, about power and the damaging effects of what we are capable of.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - By Stephen Chbosky : A well-known YA book that I feel was incredibly relatable to me as a youth. Dealing with my first steps into high school and the underlying problems with growing up, personal issues and friendships, this is a teen book that should be required for a health class. It's important for students to know that the problems they deal with, they aren't alone in and if they could relate to a book, they could relate to someone in their life and get any help they need for any issues they have.

Maus - by Art Spiegelman : Okay, it's actually already being taught in some schools for either Social Studies or English courses, but I figure there isn't any harm in advocating this some more. Maus is a brilliant graphic novel about the author's father's survival during the Holocaust in Europe. Not just that though, but it touches on the relationship that Spiegelman also has with his father. There is tragedy, humor, allegory, symbolism... honestly a great addition to some of our classrooms.

Unfortunately, I could only think of these 8, but my mind is open for 2 more books that I could add to the collection of books that I hope students could possibly study. I want books to change lives, inspire and for people to enjoy books that make them really think and impact them.

The Anne Frank Controversy. Or Why I'd Like to Smack People.

If you haven't already heard of the scuffle going down in Michigan, you can read about it here.

As some of you already know due to my previous posts, I'm a huge advocate for literacy and the idea of book banning is absolutely ludicrous to me. This idea that Anne Frank is being labeled as inappropriate to a group of seventh graders evokes something that really lights up some rage.

This is a censorship battle, of course, and then some.

This argument stems from a certain passage in Anne Frank's diary where she's explaining the discovery of her own anatomy. Honestly, it's normal to be curious, especially if you have no friends, books or mentors who are around to really explain the changes that are occurring during puberty. You could argue that for a group of seventh graders, that this material could be inappropriate; but is it really? Especially when that group entering their early teens is going through the same thing? By censoring this or by even arguing this, we're teaching that girls should be ashamed of their own anatomy as well as insulting the immortalization of a girl who died in a concentration camp.

This book has been read by so many people… so many young people. The material described does not make anyone a bad person, that's like the whole video games-makes-you-violent argument. Why would you insult your child by not letting them read a book like this if the idea behind it is that it would badly influence them? If you're concerned that a girl discovering her body, and explaining it, is too graphic, I'm sorry but you can't hide your children from themselves, and their own personal discoveries.

As an adult, I look back and I found solace in relating to the characters in my books. Although reading a passage like that in the Diary of Anne Frank may have made me blush, I would be grateful to know that these changes were normal. Reading this thing, while that was happening would have definitely made me feel less alone, too.

Of course this whole coming-into-womanhood isn't the main premise of what she wrote about.  It's about the struggle of growing up under such difficulties. It's the truth of how real the Holocaust was and how so many children were murdered. It's a unique and intimate portrayal of the realities of war based on racial, social and religious bigotry which is extremely relevant to this day where we don't even hear about half the wars that go on in the world. We learn about the good guys, and the bad guys, but rarely about those in-between, those innocents who suffer the most out of these ordeals.

Life isn't rainbows and sunshine and the removal of this book from any school is not going to shelter your children from a harsh reality. Learning about a bleak past in present day will only influence us to strive for a better and brighter future.

So to the mom who wants this book removed; shut up. You're not being the good mother or person that you think you're being.

Education and Book Banning

I've been well out of high school for a few years now and I really don't know what goes on in high schools these days. As far as I remember during my grade school years, no parent has ever complained about any assigned reading that I have ever had the privilege of picking apart. I never understood book bans, or people who go out and complain that the books being picked apart in the classroom are inappropriate for children.

Grade 12 English was where I was given the gift of a study in Elie Wiesel's Night. The book itself is a telling about Eliezer's (slightly fictionalized version of Elie, himself) own reflections on the struggle to survive the Holocaust inside an Auschwitz concentration camp. At the beginning of the novel, a man, Moishe the Beadle speaks of witnessing babies being thrown into the air and used as targets for machine gunners. I always reflect back on reading this novel and discussing it in class and that very image to me was disturbing but so important to my education. Why is learning about the Holocaust from this book, so important?

Because we see people struggle with their humanity and faith in this book. We see Eliezer's relationship with his father strengthen, falter, and personal conflicts. We see fragility in these characters but really, it's not the characters we see these things in. We relate to them because the themes portrayed in this book are timeless. The Holocaust has happened once, ever and hopefully, never again; but that isn't to say that genocide, war, and torture aren't happening in the world. That isn't to say that we, ourselves, will never be put in a position where the strength of our relationships will be put to the test in such a terrifying way. Or where our beliefs, faith and humanity are challenged for a scrap of bread.

In my neighbouring country of America, the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) banned this book in 2001-2002. It was challenged in Texas for it's use of profanity, horror and violence which as a result, only select students were permitted to read this book. 

To say that teenagers should not read this book is an insult to the intelligence of young minds. The minds that we often call our "future" and the minds that will bring us into advancement and innovation. Night is the truth -- horror, violence and all. It is not worth banning and doing so would be absolutely insulting to Elie, to so many other Holocaust survivors and to those we tragically lost. 

It's amazing, however, that so many amazing books, meant to impact us as a society have been banned/are banned/challenged into being banned. Literature should be celebrated and should be open to everyone unless, in a sort of ironic fashion, the dystopian futures of 1984 or Fahrenheit 451 should happen. The censorship of books is incredibly, mind-bogglingly frustrating.