GILROY
– Sparks flew for the third year in a row when the high school
reading list went to the school board for approval.
GILROY – Sparks flew for the third year in a row when the high school reading list went to the school board for approval.
Board trustees and community members touting cultural diversity squared off against others pushing for literary merit as the board considered a revised reading list Thursday night.
At the center of the 90-minute controversy was the Mexican epic “Rain of Gold,” by Victor E. Villaseñor. Included on a secondary core list for the sophomore general English II course, the book is below the sophomore reading level and, according to half of the English Department, does not meet its criteria for having literary merit.
In what became a heated debate, a number of speakers, including students, defended the book, saying it engages students and brings much-needed cultural diversity to the Gilroy High School reading list. Others urged the board to remove “Rain of Gold,” regardless of its diversity, and replace it with a more rigorous book.
As English Department Chair Peter Gray presented the list to the board, he said the department is looking to replace the book with a work from another Latino author.
“Being a student of Gilroy High School, I would have to say that ‘Rain of Gold’ was my favorite book, since it impacted me the most,” said Luz Gonzales, who participated in the Reading Literature Advisory Group that came up with book list selection criteria.
Gonzales said that, after years of relying on study guides like Cliffs Notes to get through English courses, she read “Rain of Gold” cover to cover.
Bernadette Arellano, a GHS and Princeton University graduate, noted a lack of female and culturally diverse authors on the core reading list.
Literature is intended to “stretch boundaries and act as a mirror to society,” she said. “It is intended to move us out of our comfort zone, as most authors have been at the fringes of their society, not solidly in the middle of most of the community members’ comfort zone.”
Some speakers, both in favor of and against keeping “Rain of Gold” on the list, said an alternative and more rigorous book – also written by a Latino – should be selected.
“There are some really excellent books out there that are appropriate for 10th grade,” said Denise Apuzzo, a GHS parent. “I would love for ‘Don Quixote’ to be on the reading list at GHS, but I don’t think it’ll happen because we’re hanging on to ‘Rain of Gold’.”
“When you read about different cultures through their eyes and what they go through, you can see the similarities,” said Peter Arellano, a former City Councilman. “If you just read about a certain group of people who lived a long time ago … you’re losing out on the future.”
Former Councilwoman Lupe Arellano asked Gray to meet with a group called Citizens Alliance for Fair and Equitable Education to discuss alternative texts by Latino authors.
Although the school board was set to vote whether to approve the reading list Thursday night, they want to know how quickly the English department can come up with an appropriate replacement for “Rain of Gold.” Trustee Bob Kraemer said the board may give the English department a few months to fully research alternative books. Gray and Principal Bob Bravo will be back for the May 20 board meeting.
Trustee Jim Rogers and Board President Jaime Rosso were hesitant to remove “Rain of Gold” from the list without a replacement, and Rogers said he wasn’t convinced it should be replaced at all.
“Rain of Gold” does not belong on the list, Trustee Tom Bundros said, because the high school owes students a more rigorous list that will prepare them for college-level English courses.
“Every book on that list should be able to move a student forward…” Trustee Tom Bundros said. “If it’s leveled at grade six or seven, it should not be in our 10th grade college prep course.
“There is no attempt to filter out any culture’s books, but there was at least an attempt to get the best books for that purpose,” he said, speaking to the advisory group’s book selection criteria.
Given the support for adding more diversity to the reading list, the department is preparing once again to re-examine the entire list for 2005.
