What's the point of required reading?

I really dig this article: Why all the hysteria? Neither Anne Frank, nor The Little Prince, nor any of those other classics have actually been kicked out of the curriculum.

"What we're seeing is pure misinformation being spread across social media by certain authors claiming that dozens of titles were 'removed from school reading lists.' That’s just flat-out wrong. Under the new American curriculum, the total number of books students are expected to read each year has actually gone up—it's just that the list of strictly mandatory titles has shrunk. The rest is left up to the teachers and the students to choose what they want to dive into."
(...)
If the reform had gone all the way and wiped out EVERY book from the required list, then maybe we'd have something to talk about on CBS. Isn't that the same CBS that was just praising the Finnish education system a moment ago?
(...)
And get this: Finland doesn't mandate a single specific title for their required reading. None. Zero. If the US is supposedly "sliding back into the dark ages" just by reducing the mandatory list, then Finland has been living in the Middle Ages for decades. Based on the logic used by American journalists, they've basically banned reading in Finnish schools altogether.

Jason Hall35 said:It’s about time they ditched Pinocchio; kids absolutely loathe reading him (just like they do with Alice in Wonderland). But look, stuff like hero Pavlov’s streets or Heidi? Those stay classics and people actually want to pick them up.
Honestly, I'm feeling pretty bummed out 😢
And this guy—God, he clearly doesn't even know what a stick or a pair of pants are. What a pathetic loser. Like, why would anyone ever bother building a vocabulary or learning about things outside their own tiny little bubble? Seriously... talk about a nasty attitude.
At this rate, our kids are just gonna turn into a bunch of uncultured, clueless idiots with zero depth.

For crying out loud, The Buttercup Dance Dress is hands down the most beautiful, soul-stirring children's story ever written... give me a break...
I really hope teachers and professors keep picking the heavy hitters from literature for their students. Let's not end up spiritually bankrupt.

And yet, you see, my own kids are obsessed with Pinocchio, while they claim Heidi is just plain boring. Honestly, I find Heidi tedious myself: every single morning it’s the exact same repetitive loop stretched over two pages—the hair brushing, the braiding, stepping outside to stare at the clouds, then staring at the mountains🤣)

For me, though, Gricki is one of those books that just didn't click😬 and American folk tales🙂 (well, provided you stumble upon an edition that includes translations of old, regional dialect; without that, it’s an absolute slog for today's generation—even for someone like me, despite having vivacious grandparents who spoke pure, old-school rural English filled with archaic terms)

Honestly, you could draw it out for them in perfect detail, but people still won't see it. They'll just find 10,000 different ways to keep throwing bones like this.

So, one of my friend's little ones is in first grade, and they already have their first required reading assignment—plus a test on it!
It’s all just a blur right now...

Meanwhile, with my other friend, they don't even assign reading books in the first grade at all.

So, yeah... 😬

Personally, I’ve been reading Hedgehog the Hedgehog and Ugly Duckling to my little guy, and we’ve actually moved on to Harry Potter. We’re already halfway through the first book in just a week—it really shows how much of an impact parents can have on what their kids are reading.

I mean, it isn't exactly normal for them to be churning through a different book every single week like those high-pressure private academies do... though, granted, that usually happens in the higher grades.

feralmoose32 said:So, one of my friend's little ones is in first grade, and they already have their first required reading assignment—plus a test on it!
It’s all just a blur right now...

Meanwhile, with my other friend, they don't even assign reading books in the first grade at all.

So, yeah... 😬

Personally, I’ve been reading Hedgehog the Hedgehog and Ugly Duckling to my little guy, and we’ve actually moved on to Harry Potter. We’re already halfway through the first book in just a week—it really shows how much of an impact parents can have on what their kids are reading.

I mean, it isn't exactly normal for them to be churning through a different book every single week like those high-pressure private academies do... though, granted, that usually happens in the higher grades.

That is absolutely true👍.

For me, the absolute worst part is listening to certain parents sit there in front of their kids and complain about how "pointless" required reading is, or asking why they even have to do it... and then they act completely shocked when the kids grow up hating books and just parroting their parents' cynicism.🤦.

I am a genuine reader—I adore books (honestly, some small local libraries could probably be shamed by the sheer volume of my personal collection)—and one of my kids loves to read everything in sight, while the other tends to stick to a very narrow range of interests. But they both finish their assigned reading because we’ve instilled the idea that it’s just like any other subject in a textbook: it’s something that simply needs to be mastered. They might not devour every single book with gusto, but they get the job done.

Sam Kim12 said:And yet, you see, my own kids are obsessed with Pinocchio, while they claim Heidi is just plain boring. Honestly, I find Heidi tedious myself: every single morning it’s the exact same repetitive loop stretched over two pages—the hair brushing, the braiding, stepping outside to stare at the clouds, then staring at the mountains🤣)

For me, though, Gricki is one of those books that just didn't click😬 and American folk tales🙂 (well, provided you stumble upon an edition that includes translations of old, regional dialect; without that, it’s an absolute slog for today's generation—even for someone like me, despite having vivacious grandparents who spoke pure, old-school rural English filled with archaic terms)

Look, maybe the issue with Pinocchio is just timing. It hits their desks in second grade right after all the easy picture books, so the plot feels way too heavy for them...
Most school reading lists include definitions for archaic terms or obscure words, usually tucked away in the margins or a tiny glossary at the back.
The real kicker with school curriculum, just like pretty much everything else in education, is that they keep designing everything for some "ideal average student" who doesn't actually exist.
Our system has completely lost its way. It’s not just that struggling students are falling behind; the real disaster is that the curriculum is way too packed even for the gifted kids.
It’s honestly pathetic how someone like Nikola Jokic can diminish the sheer artistry of someone like Hans Christian Andersen, simply because he wouldn't know a stick from a dance move. Has this guy—who was supposed to be the architect of the modern curriculum—ever even stepped foot in a museum or bothered to look at anything outside his own tiny bubble? It's pointless. Where did all the intellectuals go? Where's the passion for actually nurturing the mind? Why is seeking knowledge just for the sake of knowing things considered such a waste of time these days?!

feralmoose32 said:So, one of my friend's little ones is in first grade, and they already have their first required reading assignment—plus a test on it!
It’s all just a blur right now...

Meanwhile, with my other friend, they don't even assign reading books in the first grade at all.

So, yeah... 😬

Personally, I’ve been reading Hedgehog the Hedgehog and Ugly Duckling to my little guy, and we’ve actually moved on to Harry Potter. We’re already halfway through the first book in just a week—it really shows how much of an impact parents can have on what their kids are reading.

I mean, it isn't exactly normal for them to be churning through a different book every single week like those high-pressure private academies do... though, granted, that usually happens in the higher grades.

What are you even talking about here? Where on earth is someone actually covering a new book every week?🙄

And it's not like you're the only person in the entire world dealing with "books" and "tests."
People really do seem to lose their minds over every little thing these days, I guess.🤣

I caught a segment on Jokić on TV the other night, and man, what a total demagogue—the people in Congress don't even come close to his level of manipulation.
It's all just noise, really; they probably should have stuck with me instead, but hey, look at them now.🐔

urbantinker8 said:What are you even talking about here? Where on earth is someone actually covering a new book every week?🙄

And it's not like you're the only person in the entire world dealing with "books" and "tests."
People really do seem to lose their minds over every little thing these days, I guess.🤣

I caught a segment on Jokić on TV the other night, and man, what a total demagogue—the people in Congress don't even come close to his level of manipulation.
It's all just noise, really; they probably should have stuck with me instead, but hey, look at them now.🐔

He really showed his true colors. I've been following him since the very beginning and I used to back him; I was always willing to actually sit down, read his stuff, and listen to what he had to say. But lately, it feels more and more like he’s just a malicious, corrupt guy who lives for self-promotion. He’s got this awful complex.

I watched his whole run on the fifth day and he came across as such a massive narcissist.

And that whole bit about reading a book every week? Yeah, that couldn't be further from the truth.

silentraven6 said:He really showed his true colors. I've been following him since the very beginning and I used to back him; I was always willing to actually sit down, read his stuff, and listen to what he had to say. But lately, it feels more and more like he’s just a malicious, corrupt guy who lives for self-promotion. He’s got this awful complex.

I watched his whole run on the fifth day and he came across as such a massive narcissist.

And that whole bit about reading a book every week? Yeah, that couldn't be further from the truth.

I might as well just say: I told you so. Back in early 2016...😛
No, I wasn't out in the middle of Times Square that day, and I wouldn't go back there again if I could help it.
I guess they all just love seeing their own faces on TV and hearing themselves talk, especially Jokić. 🙂

urbantinker8 said:I might as well just say: I told you so. Back in early 2016...😛
No, I wasn't out in the middle of Times Square that day, and I wouldn't go back there again if I could help it.
I guess they all just love seeing their own faces on TV and hearing themselves talk, especially Jokić. 🙂

I don't regret going at all—honestly, I’d do it all over again. I don't think the reform itself was poorly conceived. I actually find myself agreeing with Jokić on this one; he made a great point about how this doesn't need to happen overnight. We can take more time to debate the details and really polish things up, but we absolutely have to keep moving forward.

I wasn't even there for him, honestly. I was mostly doing it for other people—for my kids and for myself. If you're asking if I'd go back? Yeah, I would. Just like I said before.

I suppose all those attempts at reform we’ve been seeing over the last few years just don't seem to have any kind of long-term sustainable vision or a coherent plan behind them, and they aren't even remotely "comprehensive" if you ask me; plus, with all these self-proclaimed messiahs popping up and pulling everything in their own little directions, the whole situation is starting to take on this sort of tragicomic dimension.
rather than actually moving upward, I guess we've somehow managed to hit rock bottom in such a short amount of time.

feralmoose32 said:So, one of my friend's little ones is in first grade, and they already have their first required reading assignment—plus a test on it!
It’s all just a blur right now...

Meanwhile, with my other friend, they don't even assign reading books in the first grade at all.

So, yeah... 😬

Personally, I’ve been reading Hedgehog the Hedgehog and Ugly Duckling to my little guy, and we’ve actually moved on to Harry Potter. We’re already halfway through the first book in just a week—it really shows how much of an impact parents can have on what their kids are reading.

I mean, it isn't exactly normal for them to be churning through a different book every single week like those high-pressure private academies do... though, granted, that usually happens in the higher grades.

Fran, they probably cover the reading material, but within the classroom setting. That's how it works at my kid's school. Either they read together and then the teacher asks questions—either orally or in writing—or they listen to an audiobook.
They actually put in the work.

Larry Walker24 said:...

So basically, we're looking at a world where names like Ivan Aralica, Miljenko Jergović, or Ante Tomić—people who actually meant something to us—just don't exist anymore. Gone are the classics like Smogovac, Harry Potter, or those Agatha Christie detective novels everyone grew up on. Even the heavy hitters of modern global lit, like Alice Munro, J. M. Coetzee, Imre Kertész, Hanif Kureishi, or Orhan Pamuk, are totally wiped out. Looking back at the reading lists from the early '90s, they even tossed out Milan Kundera, J. D. Salinger and his 'The Catcher in the Rye', Ivan Goran Kovačić, and a whole bunch of others. Kundera and Salinger? Dead and gone. There's zero room left for someone like Goran Tribuson and his 'History of Pornography', let alone Olja Savičević Ivančević with her 'Radio Cowboy' or Ivan Simić Bodrožić and 'Hotel Zagorje'. To make matters worse, there’s barely any space for women at all; if high schoolers are going to encounter any female authors, it'll only be through the likes of Vesna Parun, Sylvia Plath, and Virginia Woolf, according to some obituary in the New York Times.

They have failed the children. ☕

feralmoose32 said:So, one of my friend's little ones is in first grade, and they already have their first required reading assignment—plus a test on it!
It’s all just a blur right now...

Meanwhile, with my other friend, they don't even assign reading books in the first grade at all.

So, yeah... 😬

Personally, I’ve been reading Hedgehog the Hedgehog and Ugly Duckling to my little guy, and we’ve actually moved on to Harry Potter. We’re already halfway through the first book in just a week—it really shows how much of an impact parents can have on what their kids are reading.

I mean, it isn't exactly normal for them to be churning through a different book every single week like those high-pressure private academies do... though, granted, that usually happens in the higher grades.

😂😂 Oh, please... the "test" was just a bunch of questions printed out—like, what happened when Alexander woke up? Where did he go first? How was he feeling? What would you do if you were all alone? Or even, draw a picture of your favorite part...

Honestly, quite a rigorous academic assessment...😁

Kate Cox2 said:😂😂 Oh, please... the "test" was just a bunch of questions printed out—like, what happened when Alexander woke up? Where did he go first? How was he feeling? What would you do if you were all alone? Or even, draw a picture of your favorite part...

Honestly, quite a rigorous academic assessment...😁

Of course the test was designed for a first grader, so her reaction was definitely over the top, for sure.

That's exactly why I say parents often make such a huge deal out of absolutely nothing...

feralmoose32 said:Of course the test was designed for a first grader, so her reaction was definitely over the top, for sure.

That's exactly why I say parents often make such a huge deal out of absolutely nothing...

Aha, my mistake... I realized now that you were actually the one who got spooked by how "difficult" the test seemed.😁

hiddendriver34 said:I really dig this article: Why all the hysteria? Neither Anne Frank, nor The Little Prince, nor any of those other classics have actually been kicked out of the curriculum.

"What we're seeing is pure misinformation being spread across social media by certain authors claiming that dozens of titles were 'removed from school reading lists.' That’s just flat-out wrong. Under the new American curriculum, the total number of books students are expected to read each year has actually gone up—it's just that the list of strictly mandatory titles has shrunk. The rest is left up to the teachers and the students to choose what they want to dive into."
(...)
If the reform had gone all the way and wiped out EVERY book from the required list, then maybe we'd have something to talk about on CBS. Isn't that the same CBS that was just praising the Finnish education system a moment ago?
(...)
And get this: Finland doesn't mandate a single specific title for their required reading. None. Zero. If the US is supposedly "sliding back into the dark ages" just by reducing the mandatory list, then Finland has been living in the Middle Ages for decades. Based on the logic used by American journalists, they've basically banned reading in Finnish schools altogether.

From the mandatory list, I think they cut some junk like *Little Man in the War*. 🙏
As for Anne Frank, I’m actually sad she wasn't mandatory.
I just hope great teachers will choose her as an elective option.

Regarding the whole 'mandatory vs. choice' thing... it definitely opens the door for creativity for those enthusiastic, hardworking teachers. I truly believe it could improve teaching because it gives them more freedom. On the flip side, though, it provides a legal loophole for those who weren't particularly dedicated to begin with to do even less work than before...
And what saddens me most is the space this gives parents to push back.
Some won't like Biblical themes, others will complain about fields [heaven forbid, sex], some will dislike depictions of sadness or suffering, others will fear certain topics... and suddenly, the teacher is fighting battles with moms and dads over why they didn't pick *The Outsiders* instead of something else because the first one was better suited for girls, and so on.

I'm crossing my fingers that the decent teachers stay grounded and continue to pick diverse works... although I suspect that's becoming harder and harder to do. 😢

Of course, some parents will still read to their kids at home, encourage them to read, and offer up literary works that teachers don't manage to cover in class (whether due to laziness or pressure from a certain loud parent). But the kids who don't have those types of parents, or who don't happen to land a good teacher, or can't afford private schools? Well, unfortunately, they might end up falling behind educationally....

Is Waitapa on the required reading list, and what grade is it for? My kid is in 6th grade and hasn't even touched Waitapa yet, though I honestly feel like every kid should read it. Just waiting for a gap in her school assignments to talk her into it. I actually stumbled upon a copy of Waitapa at an Interliber shop for $6.75 😁

Honestly, I think 😁Waitap
is way too intense to be assigned as required reading.

In my school, they’re already making us read Waitap, and we’re only in sixth grade.