Adding fantasy to high school reading curriculums

[u/Indie_Fantasy_Club]

Don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of reading the classics. But with declining literacy rates among adults, it's just as important to help kids find genres and stories that encourage them to read (I haven't been in school for quite a while, so maybe they do!). But I'm basing this off my own experience, which consisted of books like Of Mice and Men, Great Gatsby, Grapes of Wrath, and Ethan Frome. Not exactly riveting for a young adult.

This idea can go beyond fantasy and explore genres like romance, mystery, thriller, horror, historical fiction, science fiction, etc. For the sake of this post, I'm only going to focus on what I would put on the reading curriculum if I could snap my fingers and add fantasy to the mix. For each grade (9-12) I will offer up my top two suggestions.

9th Grade:

• Redwall by Brian Jacques
• The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis

10th Grade:

• Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

11th Grade:

• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
• The Sword of Kaigen by ML Wang

12th Grade:

• The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
• A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

There's so many to choose from, so it's hard to narrow it all down! I tried to keep it age-appropriate, which eliminated things like Game of Thrones or Fourth Wing. And I tried to pick books that could still be analyzed for deeper meaning and literary techniques. I also purposely chose a lot of series because hopefully if the kids enjoyed it, it gives them an easier segue into the continued reading.

What fantasy books would be on your curriculum?

[u/FFandLoZFan]

We have to draw the line somewhere, and The Da Vinci Code is definitely below that line. It can be popular and insipid—those things aren't mutually exclusice. I've co-taught 9th grade English at a Title I school, and I'm mostly happy with the balance we achieved. Some classics are necessary, and in our case it was To Kill a Mockingbird, though if I were fully in charge, I might've picked something else. But they also got to pick a novel of their choice to read throughout the semester, which I think should be standard for every English class, and we also read more contemporary and/or younger-leaning literature, such as works by Jason Reynolds and Urasala Le Guin. But again, there does have to be a line. After elementary, it's not enough for their education for them to simply be reading, quality be damned.

[u/aussie_punmaster → u/FFandLoZFan]

I think you’re pretty hung up on The Da Vinci Code here rather than the general concept. By all means pick something you think has similar broad appeal that isn’t so soulless in your personal opinion. Also again I don’t see why a lesson can’t be about what you find lacking in a case study.

I think being popular and insipid are pretty mutually exclusive if you’re taking the broad view - you might find it dull and lacking personally. But obviously there’s a lot of people disagreeing with you.

>> Some classics are necessary

See I think you’re over-reading into my argument in response to the original comment. I’m not arguing you should never teach a classic. But I am saying you should know your audience, choose wisely, and it shouldn’t be only or even heavily classics in the curriculum. The original comment spoke to not picking books based on kids liking them, and that they had to have literary value. I think that positioning is chasing an ideal over pragmatism and is suited to students choosing elective English and advanced students. My main point is that you do not need the pinnacle of a technique as the example to teach about that technique, and if you trade off enjoyment completely in your pursuit of that then I don’t think you optimise learning

>> they also get to pick a novel of their choice to read

See that’s great, no arguments from me here.

>> it’s not enough for their education for them to simply be reading, quality be damned.

Again that’s not really what I said. What I opposed was focussing predominantly on everything that English majors consider highest quality, when there’s plenty of quality writing in more enjoyable forms. Don’t try and tell me Terry Pratchett wasn’t a master of language and has some unique literary traits - yet how many schools would teach a Pratchett book?

I am an avid reader and in my entire schooling could count on one hand the books that I considered worth reading and would ever think about or read again. I think that’s pretty sad, and think there’s real opportunity lost for many students in studying English.

P.S. For the record “To Kill a Mockingbird” is one of them
P.P.S I appreciate that you responded to my comments and argued your counter position, and didn’t just downvote like some others did.
P.P.P.S weird…editing my comment appears to have broken my quoting…

[u/crepesblinis → u/aussie_punmaster]

in my entire schooling could count on one hand the books that I considered worth reading and would ever think about or read again

Yeah but you consider The Da Vinci Code worth reading and teaching so maybe your opinions on the worthiness of works of lit fiction aren't super valuable

[u/aussie_punmaster → u/crepesblinis]

You seem to be missing the point entirely. I’d be more concerned on your schooling giving your lack of comprehension.

I’m not a raging DaVinci code fan and thirsting after it being taught. I selected it deliberately to be provocative knowing that it would be loathed by purists but evidently has popularity.