Tuesday evening I attended a meeting at Gilroy High School to
discuss parental input on the Core Reading List. Everyone who reads
The Dispatch is aware that the reading list at the high school is
the perennial subject of controversy.
Tuesday evening I attended a meeting at Gilroy High School to discuss parental input on the Core Reading List. Everyone who reads The Dispatch is aware that the reading list at the high school is the perennial subject of controversy. The controversy usually takes the form of a few parents objecting to a specific book, such as “Beloved,” but the issue goes far beyond a single title.
I sat at a Gilroy School Board meeting this spring when a parade of students came before the board to advocate for books which they had read over the course of the year. I have no problems with any of the books; I had read all of them myself. Books such as “Catcher in the Rye” and “Beloved” and “Huckleberry Finn” are American classics. The problem is not the inclusion of these books on a reading list. There are some problems with the reading list, but many problems are related to the structure of the English curriculum.
One problem is the lack of books on the Gilroy High School list which should be required reading for every high school graduate who plans on furthering their education. Another problem is that Gilroy High School does not have a textbook aligned with state standards for 9th and 10th grade English. There are no anthologies used in the English classes at Gilroy High. The Gilroy High reading list does not compare favorably to reading lists at other schools. Our students in Gilroy suffer as a result, because they are ill equipped to handle AP English or college English with the shaky foundation they have after their first two years of high school English. As a result, the reading list is going to be changed. A task force comprised of parents, teachers and students will undertake this endeavor through November.
As I sat in the meeting Tuesday, I started to wonder how we got to where we are. I think the reading list at Gilroy High got to where it is through some kind of social engineering experiment which makes no sense to me.
Since English is aligned with global studies, many of the books our students are reading are poor literary choices. Why is English aligned with global studies in the first place? Why are our students required to take global studies rather than history or geography?
Global studies is a catch-all course, which ostensibly covers geography, politics, religion, history and culture. Too many of the books our children must read have little value in an English literature class. “The House on Mango Street” is not a bad book, I don’t dislike it. It is just not useful for a ninth grade English class. The reading level is too low for high school students. It adds nothing of value for high school students who need to expand their vocabulary and critical thinking in order to do well on their SAT tests. It is an appropriate summer reading choice for middle school students.
The most disturbing aspect of this overhaul of the reading list is that it was not initiated by the people whose job it is to make sure we have the best curriculum. This reading list is being revised only because parents demanded it. The sad truth is that teachers who have tried for years to make changes were ignored. A few Gilroy School District employees have told me that they are afraid to speak up.
As a parent, I don’t have that burden, I can’t be fired.
Unfortunately, the trend in Gilroy is that parents need to get furious about an issue before anything changes. This is not the most elegant way to improve our schools.
It would be nice if the academic improvements were initiated by the people who get paid to ensure that we have a challenging and excellent curriculum. But as has been the case with honors classes, weighted grades and GATE enrichment, parental fury seems to be the only thing that works. I am now resigned to having to spend more and more evenings attending meetings to advocate for academic improvement, better books, etc. – just don’t expect me to be happy about it.
