What's the point of required reading?

steelskipper5 said:It’s almost like you’ve never had to deal with American bureaucracy before. 🤷
The whole process is basically a masterclass in how life works.

Personally, I’m bummed that Animal Farm wasn't on the required reading list, along with a few other dystopian stories. They actually help you make sense of the world, even if they are pretty dark and depressing. And honestly? That’s exactly why people end up loving them.

not at all. The Bible, the Iliad, the Odyssey?! Give me a break!! For a 15-year-old—which was freshman year, if I remember right—it’s just pure nonsense. It's a total turn-off and a complete trauma when it comes to reading.

If they’re taught correctly, they aren't traumatic at all. But then we run into the issue of teaching competence, which seems to be hitting new lows every day. And things might get even worse once teacher salaries take another hit.

A smart woman I know once put it this way—and I’m certainly not trying to steal her thunder—that there is absolutely no point in reading any of this until you have some serious business to settle with the American bureaucracy. 😁

Quincy:

I find myself wondering if anyone else feels this particular brand of restlessness as the heat settles over the city. It’s that specific, heavy stillness you only get during a mid-August night in Chicago—where the air feels less like atmosphere and more like a physical weight pressing against your skin. You try to find a breeze, but even the fans just seem to be recirculating the same exhausted warmth. It makes one contemplate the sheer inefficiency of our modern climate control systems, doesn't it? We spend millions trying to engineer comfort, yet we remain entirely at the mercy of a single humid front moving in from the Gulf. kaže: Good grief. You’re telling me we should be organizing books like Judith or Shakespeare—authors who are practically unreadable to most people because of their dense, archaic language—but then you throw Kafka into that mix? That's a bold move. I mean, I’ve been diving into thick, dense literature since my elementary school days.

I haven't actually laid eyes on anything by Shakespeare since elementary school, aside from a handful of sonnets. At this point, my brain might have officially atrophied from lack of use; honestly, I wouldn't be surprised. 😳Honestly, I have to admit, watching him play with his words back then was pretty damn entertaining. 🤷 I read him strictly for the pleasure of it, not because some professor assigned it as required reading.

Linda Price5 said:A smart woman I know once put it this way—and I’m certainly not trying to steal her thunder—that there is absolutely no point in reading any of this until you have some serious business to settle with the American bureaucracy. 😁

Quincy:

I find myself wondering if anyone else feels this particular brand of restlessness as the heat settles over the city. It’s that specific, heavy stillness you only get during a mid-August night in Chicago—where the air feels less like atmosphere and more like a physical weight pressing against your skin. You try to find a breeze, but even the fans just seem to be recirculating the same exhausted warmth. It makes one contemplate the sheer inefficiency of our modern climate control systems, doesn't it? We spend millions trying to engineer comfort, yet we remain entirely at the mercy of a single humid front moving in from the Gulf. kaže: Good grief. You’re telling me we should be organizing books like Judith or Shakespeare—authors who are practically unreadable to most people because of their dense, archaic language—but then you throw Kafka into that mix? That's a bold move. I mean, I’ve been diving into thick, dense literature since my elementary school days.

I haven't actually laid eyes on anything by Shakespeare since elementary school, aside from a handful of sonnets. At this point, my brain might have officially atrophied from lack of use; honestly, I wouldn't be surprised. 😳Honestly, I have to admit, watching him play with his words back then was pretty damn entertaining. 🤷 I read him strictly for the pleasure of it, not because some professor assigned it as required reading.

He wasn't a problem for me either, even if he wasn't my favorite. But objectively speaking, he’s pretty tough to quote and follow, especially for kids who aren't big readers and haven't even really explored poetry yet.
I think the list should be updated and expanded to allow more flexibility—maybe something like Marulic could be used for extra credit.
But I really don't think we should be swapping out Kafka or Camus for someone like Stein or Meyer.

I don't know, most of my school reading lists never really bothered me, even back in high school. There were only two books I never actually finished: Goethe's Faust and Proust's Combray. Everything else was manageable. With those two, though? I couldn't get past page twenty. I just couldn't do it.

The truth is, we need to rethink how reading lists are put together and how they flow. It feels like way too much time gets spent on ancient classics, and we never even make it to modern stuff. Seems pretty silly to me, especially since there's so much great modern literature out there.

brightpuma said:I don't know, most of my school reading lists never really bothered me, even back in high school. There were only two books I never actually finished: Goethe's Faust and Proust's Combray. Everything else was manageable. With those two, though? I couldn't get past page twenty. I just couldn't do it.

The truth is, we need to rethink how reading lists are put together and how they flow. It feels like way too much time gets spent on ancient classics, and we never even make it to modern stuff. Seems pretty silly to me, especially since there's so much great modern literature out there.

In a truly dynamic society, the reading list would be updated every single year, but
we aren't exactly a dynamic society—which is why we have all these problems (that we already have)...

Peter Doyle2 said:You know, I guess my transformation was actually pretty cool—it really turned out well. 🤣 If Pajcekica had been a guy, I guess Gregory would probably be in my top 10 names—maybe. 🤣
I mean, even if it is totally absurd, the book is still somehow readable and easy to follow—plus, it’s pretty short. 🤣
Well, regarding that whole process—I guess it’s just how things work. 🙂
The issue—and the whole process, I guess—is still being worked out. Maybe we'll see some clarity soon. 😲 🙂

Could any of the teachers, professors, pedagogues, or psychologists hanging out here on Reddit please explain what a 17-year-old—which is junior year of high school, if I recall correctly—is actually supposed to get out of this book? I mean, besides the realization that LSD is a total disaster. 🤷 😂
And don't even get me started on the Proust and those little pastries—honestly, it’s a whole other conversation.
All that talk about Judith, the equinoxes, all those debates and complaints—honestly, I don't even want to get into the weeds with it. It’s just not accessible for a high schooler. Not even close. The Bible, the Iliad, the Odyssey?! Give me a break. For a fifteen-year-old—which, if my memory serves, is when you tackle these in freshman year—it's just total nonsense. It’s a complete turn-off, and honestly, probably just a total reading trauma.

Let's be clear—I’m not against reading. I guess I just see it as an idea where kids could maybe pick up one book a month.
I really am not.

I'm just generally against forcing kids to read total nonsense—you know, those incomprehensible, useless books that only serve to leave them traumatized or, at the very least, staring at the page with a massive "WTF?" expression.

The sad thing is—even though I was kind of a slacker and a bit of a troublemaker back then—we didn't actually sit down to write out our literature assignments. We just worked through them during study hall periods. It usually involved shuffling from desk to desk while the teacher threw out random questions... like what color the wallpaper was, I guess. 🙄So, I basically read about 99% of all that stuff assigned for high school reading—and honestly? I can't remember much of it today. All I really recall is that Gregory was some kind of bug, Raskolnikov killed his grandmother, and in Anna Karenina, everyone's just a miserable family member in their own unique way. Or something like that, I guess.
I guess I can't even begin to describe how much baggage I brought with me from high school.
That’s why, for instance— Sadako wants to live—I guess. I remember my elementary school reading list almost perfectly—honestly, I still remember more than half of those books even now. I won't bore you by listing every single title and author, though.

😂 👍
I'm a massive book lover; I can't imagine life without them. But I honestly think my passion only survived because I read the required school readings just enough to pass the test. Not a single word more. 🤣

It really bothers me how they basically skip over entire Sci-Fi and fantasy genres that have incredible classics. The absolute peak of the school curriculum is Orwell and his dystopia, which is just wrong. I actually got my kid into reading at the last minute through fantasy and Harry Potter. If I hadn't stepped in, those school books would have made him hate reading forever. It was actually cool watching him shift from "I'm reading because I have to" to "I can't wait to see what happens on the next page."

Are you aware that Harry Potter is actually pretty hated in certain religious circles? 😬

I don't know, personally I feel like by age 15, kids are mature enough to just grit their teeth and get through a book. If they aren't given something engaging, they might end up hating reading altogether.
That’s why I think middle school reading lists should lean more toward pop lit; the goal there should be to hook them on reading. High school can then shift toward more formal education and general culture. 🤷

rowdypanther12 said:Are you aware that Harry Potter is actually pretty hated in certain religious circles? 😬

I don't know, personally I feel like by age 15, kids are mature enough to just grit their teeth and get through a book. If they aren't given something engaging, they might end up hating reading altogether.
That’s why I think middle school reading lists should lean more toward pop lit; the goal there should be to hook them on reading. High school can then shift toward more formal education and general culture. 🤷

Heh, I was wondering who would be the first one to bring that up. 🤣

Even Harry Potter couldn't save me😢
Right after high school, during my freshman year of college—just as the whole Harry Potter craze was actually kicking off—a friend gave me the first book. I read it, I guess, but barely. It just wasn't interesting to me at all; I felt zero urge to keep going. 😢That required reading list absolutely killed me—well, it killed any interest I had in reading, anyway.

I’m not saying everything should be based on some easy, trendy bestseller. But the sheer volume of books assigned for high school reading lists is just too much—they're often incomprehensible or just plain boring. Consequently, 99% of kids just grind through them to get the grade. It seems pretty pointless to me.
Maybe it would help if professors—like someone else mentioned earlier—provided more guidance or context before students even dive in. Instead of forcing them to tackle an entire book, they could focus on the most compelling, essential chapters.
General literacy levels would stay intact😉 and kids wouldn't feel so frustrated. If a student actually enjoys one specific excerpt, they might actually decide to finish the whole thing. As it stands now, they give up right at the start and just rely on SparkNotes or online summaries.

edit: And why on earth is HP so hated by certain church groups? 😲 I mean, it's fantasy! Wait, does that mean George R.R. Martin or Tolkien are on their blacklist too?

I can't quite agree with that; I honestly think everyone should pick up at least one or two books from every literary era, especially the major ones.
then, if you really want to boost your grade—say, if your GPA isn't exactly where you want it—you could dive into something like *The Scarlet Letter*.
Personally, I used to get so frustrated with Goethe and his cryptic way of writing. It drove me crazy. I felt like I had to force my way through *The Sorrows of Young Werther* just to get past every other page.
So, I powered through it, hated every second of it while reading 😁 and still managed to pull an A.
It’s the same deal with *Anna Karenina*. If you have a decent professor and some books that just rub you the wrong way, you'll end up reading them anyway, just so you can spend class time arguing about why the characters were so annoying or why the book is overrated.

Peter Doyle2 said:Even Harry Potter couldn't save me😢
Right after high school, during my freshman year of college—just as the whole Harry Potter craze was actually kicking off—a friend gave me the first book. I read it, I guess, but barely. It just wasn't interesting to me at all; I felt zero urge to keep going. 😢That required reading list absolutely killed me—well, it killed any interest I had in reading, anyway.

I’m not saying everything should be based on some easy, trendy bestseller. But the sheer volume of books assigned for high school reading lists is just too much—they're often incomprehensible or just plain boring. Consequently, 99% of kids just grind through them to get the grade. It seems pretty pointless to me.
Maybe it would help if professors—like someone else mentioned earlier—provided more guidance or context before students even dive in. Instead of forcing them to tackle an entire book, they could focus on the most compelling, essential chapters.
General literacy levels would stay intact😉 and kids wouldn't feel so frustrated. If a student actually enjoys one specific excerpt, they might actually decide to finish the whole thing. As it stands now, they give up right at the start and just rely on SparkNotes or online summaries.

edit: And why on earth is HP so hated by certain church groups? 😲 I mean, it's fantasy! Wait, does that mean George R.R. Martin or Tolkien are on their blacklist too?

If they actually knew about Martin, he'd be on there for sure.🤣
Probably Tolkien too, despite how much they might dislike that whole good vs. evil imagery they both use.😁
The thing is, Harry Potter gets blacklisted simply because people claim it "leads kids toward magic and bad influences."
Just do a quick Google search; it's kind of ridiculous.😁

Jessica Kelly4 said:😂 👍
I'm a massive book lover; I can't imagine life without them. But I honestly think my passion only survived because I read the required school readings just enough to pass the test. Not a single word more. 🤣

It really bothers me how they basically skip over entire Sci-Fi and fantasy genres that have incredible classics. The absolute peak of the school curriculum is Orwell and his dystopia, which is just wrong. I actually got my kid into reading at the last minute through fantasy and Harry Potter. If I hadn't stepped in, those school books would have made him hate reading forever. It was actually cool watching him shift from "I'm reading because I have to" to "I can't wait to see what happens on the next page."

mmm-mmm-mmm 🙂😉

I have a mental backlog of books I skipped as a kid, which I now plan to tackle alongside my son. 😁
Naturally, Harry Potter is on that list.

Hopefully, he’ll be just as enthusiastic about this little project as I am.😬

brighteagle86 said:mmm-mmm-mmm 🙂😉

I have a mental backlog of books I skipped as a kid, which I now plan to tackle alongside my son. 😁
Naturally, Harry Potter is on that list.

Hopefully, he’ll be just as enthusiastic about this little project as I am.😬

Come on, don't pretend you're still a kid—Harry Potter didn't even exist back then! 🤣

Peter Doyle2 said:Even Harry Potter couldn't save me😢
Right after high school, during my freshman year of college—just as the whole Harry Potter craze was actually kicking off—a friend gave me the first book. I read it, I guess, but barely. It just wasn't interesting to me at all; I felt zero urge to keep going. 😢That required reading list absolutely killed me—well, it killed any interest I had in reading, anyway.

I’m not saying everything should be based on some easy, trendy bestseller. But the sheer volume of books assigned for high school reading lists is just too much—they're often incomprehensible or just plain boring. Consequently, 99% of kids just grind through them to get the grade. It seems pretty pointless to me.
Maybe it would help if professors—like someone else mentioned earlier—provided more guidance or context before students even dive in. Instead of forcing them to tackle an entire book, they could focus on the most compelling, essential chapters.
General literacy levels would stay intact😉 and kids wouldn't feel so frustrated. If a student actually enjoys one specific excerpt, they might actually decide to finish the whole thing. As it stands now, they give up right at the start and just rely on SparkNotes or online summaries.

edit: And why on earth is HP so hated by certain church groups? 😲 I mean, it's fantasy! Wait, does that mean George R.R. Martin or Tolkien are on their blacklist too?

It’s a total stretch. Just a cocktail of Vatican City paranoia, phobias, and media sensationalism. 🙂 It’s just like Dan Brown. He probably wouldn't have made a dime if some idiot at the Vatican hadn't decided to start a public feud. It's the same story with massive institutions—someone always finds a specific angle to complain about, and then they turn that drama into a gold mine.

Jessica Kelly4 said:It’s a total stretch. Just a cocktail of Vatican City paranoia, phobias, and media sensationalism. 🙂 It’s just like Dan Brown. He probably wouldn't have made a dime if some idiot at the Vatican hadn't decided to start a public feud. It's the same story with massive institutions—someone always finds a specific angle to complain about, and then they turn that drama into a gold mine.

This is actually brilliant!!
Maybe I'll just write a fantasy novel, bait some religious leader into attacking me in the news, and boom—huge sales and millions in my pocket. Who knows, maybe I'll end up on the bestseller lists like Meyer 🙂

brighteagle86 said:mmm-mmm-mmm 🙂😉

I have a mental backlog of books I skipped as a kid, which I now plan to tackle alongside my son. 😁
Naturally, Harry Potter is on that list.

Hopefully, he’ll be just as enthusiastic about this little project as I am.😬

One step at a time.
First, you have to figure out what actually grabs him and reel him in.
The problem is those idiots watching shows about picking cards and throwing magic powers have completely rotted everyone's brains.

rowdypanther12 said:Are you aware that Harry Potter is actually pretty hated in certain religious circles? 😬

I don't know, personally I feel like by age 15, kids are mature enough to just grit their teeth and get through a book. If they aren't given something engaging, they might end up hating reading altogether.
That’s why I think middle school reading lists should lean more toward pop lit; the goal there should be to hook them on reading. High school can then shift toward more formal education and general culture. 🤷

Oh, I wouldn't say "loathed"... perhaps among that old guard, sure, but I personally haven't heard of anyone actually causing an uproar over HP.

Peter Doyle2 said:This is actually brilliant!!
Maybe I'll just write a fantasy novel, bait some religious leader into attacking me in the news, and boom—huge sales and millions in my pocket. Who knows, maybe I'll end up on the bestseller lists like Meyer 🙂

Yeah, sometimes I really think that’s how it worked back then. 🤣
Then you get this massive wave of books following the exact same pattern, always with "explosive—new Dan Brown" plastered on the cover. They figured out the money maker. 🙂

Kate Cox2 said:Oh, I wouldn't say "loathed"... perhaps among that old guard, sure, but I personally haven't heard of anyone actually causing an uproar over HP.

The Voice of the Council actually ran a totally fine, positive piece on Harry Potter.
But there's always some idiot out there. No doubt about it. 🤷
I know those types personally—I shut them down immediately. 🙂

rowdypanther12 said:Are you aware that Harry Potter is actually pretty hated in certain religious circles? 😬

I don't know, personally I feel like by age 15, kids are mature enough to just grit their teeth and get through a book. If they aren't given something engaging, they might end up hating reading altogether.
That’s why I think middle school reading lists should lean more toward pop lit; the goal there should be to hook them on reading. High school can then shift toward more formal education and general culture. 🤷

I don't know. There were plenty of times I almost threw in the towel. 😁 I eventually decided to save myself the headache by just refusing to read the required school books—because let's face it, if it's mandatory reading, it's usually garbage.

And I suspect I missed out on quite a few great stories that I would have loved if they hadn't been forced upon me by some school district curriculum. Especially back in fourth grade.

"Quote:"

Peter Doyle2 said:Even Harry Potter couldn't save me😢
Right after high school, during my freshman year of college—just as the whole Harry Potter craze was actually kicking off—a friend gave me the first book. I read it, I guess, but barely. It just wasn't interesting to me at all; I felt zero urge to keep going. 😢That required reading list absolutely killed me—well, it killed any interest I had in reading, anyway.

I’m not saying everything should be based on some easy, trendy bestseller. But the sheer volume of books assigned for high school reading lists is just too much—they're often incomprehensible or just plain boring. Consequently, 99% of kids just grind through them to get the grade. It seems pretty pointless to me.
Maybe it would help if professors—like someone else mentioned earlier—provided more guidance or context before students even dive in. Instead of forcing them to tackle an entire book, they could focus on the most compelling, essential chapters.
General literacy levels would stay intact😉 and kids wouldn't feel so frustrated. If a student actually enjoys one specific excerpt, they might actually decide to finish the whole thing. As it stands now, they give up right at the start and just rely on SparkNotes or online summaries.

edit: And why on earth is HP so hated by certain church groups? 😲 I mean, it's fantasy! Wait, does that mean George R.R. Martin or Tolkien are on their blacklist too?

Man, I’ve always been a fan of quotations, so finishing a required reading book was usually a breeze for me. But lately? For the last two years of high school, I’ve basically dodged my assignments whenever I could get away with it. On the flip side, I actually sat down and read *The Great Gatsby* when everyone else in class skipped it... only to get a C for my trouble. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? 🤦

"brightpuma" said:

Look, I’m not saying everything should be based on some trendy, easy-to-read bestseller. But honestly? The sheer volume of books assigned for high school reading lists is just overkill. They're often dense, confusing, and frankly, boring. Most kids are just checking boxes and getting through them to get it over with. It feels totally pointless. It would definitely help if professors actually gave us some guidance before we dive into a book. Like someone already mentioned, why not just provide some directions? Instead of forcing us through every single page of an entire novel, why not just focus on the most interesting, essential parts? The general culture? It hasn't gone anywhere. Still right here. 😉 Kids aren't even frustrated. Honestly? If someone actually enjoys a single excerpt, maybe they'll end up finishing the whole book. But most people just give up before they even start, opting for quick internet summaries or cheat sheets instead.

Maybe we should break it down. Like the Iliad or Dante's Inferno, you just can't tackle some of these books all at once. It’s impossible to read them in their entirety. Wouldn't it be better to trim down those massive doorstoppers and make room for some actually interesting stuff?

"Quotation:"

Seriously, why on earth does HP get so much hate from churches? 😲 So it's just Fantasy then? Wait, does that mean guys like George R.R. Martin or Tolkien are on the blacklist too?

Fantasy, especially when you throw in the crowns and stuff like that... it just doesn't really sit right with the folks in those priest robes.

"Quotation:"

rowdypanther12 said:I can't quite agree with that; I honestly think everyone should pick up at least one or two books from every literary era, especially the major ones.
then, if you really want to boost your grade—say, if your GPA isn't exactly where you want it—you could dive into something like *The Scarlet Letter*.
Personally, I used to get so frustrated with Goethe and his cryptic way of writing. It drove me crazy. I felt like I had to force my way through *The Sorrows of Young Werther* just to get past every other page.
So, I powered through it, hated every second of it while reading 😁 and still managed to pull an A.
It’s the same deal with *Anna Karenina*. If you have a decent professor and some books that just rub you the wrong way, you'll end up reading them anyway, just so you can spend class time arguing about why the characters were so annoying or why the book is overrated.

That sounds fine. Personally? I only walked away with a C for reading something like that. 🙄

Quotation:

Honestly, Goethe’s coded way of writing used to drive me crazy. Just hated it. I wanted to bash Werther on almost every other page. pa I just powered through it, spat it out during my hourly breaks 😁 and ended up with an A.

Werther is easy. Faust makes you want to lose your mind. Not sure if you've tackled that one yet, but if you have, hats off to you. 🙏

Quotation:

It was the exact same deal with Anna Karenina. If you have a decent professor and books that get under your skin, you'll read them—then spend your lunch break arguing about why the characters were annoying or why the book is overrated.

Well, Anna Karenina was actually tolerable. Especially considering what came after. The only thing worth reading back then was the Naturalism era (Madame Bovary), but after that, everything just went downhill.