What are you reading right now? (possible RotE spoilers)

[fool-ish]

When I was in secondary school, Lord of the Flies was the curriculum read. To this day I have no idea what it's about, though if I was to read it now, I might quite like it. They should give the kids Harry Potter or somesuch.

['thul]

Agreed. Give the children the books that are popular. They (the teachers) will find that the kids might like them better for it.
If they wish to make extra learning out of the books, perhaps make them try to look beyond what they just read in it. Make them ask "why did (s)he do that?"

Also, the thing they need to know is that while it is easier to have all the children read the same book, All the children are far from identical. A book suitable for one child, is not suitable for all. Instead they should try to pick out maybe 4-6 books of slightly different type. Have the kids choose between them. It would also not hurt to have them reward those that go beyond the bare minimum.

[fool-ish]

You should get yourself on the board of governors!

['thul]

These beings are of an opinion that the process of becoming a politician requires lobotomy, and that is something they have no interest in being a candidate for. A lot of politicians tend to act like they've gotten it done to them, so while it'd been nice to have influence upon getting children to read that way, it is not worth the complications.

[fool-ish]

Sorry, I meant school governors. I wouldn't encourage anyone to become a politician!

['thul]

unfortunately, hereabouts the ones in charge of what is taught are either teachers (who have influence over a small number) or politicians who meddle in things they really should leave to others. (they generally tend to heap extra work on teachers without bothering with removing work, then complaining when teachers cant cope with the ever-increasing workloads.

[Farseer]

When I was in secondary school, Lord of the Flies was the curriculum read.

Still is, here! As are ones such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Elephant Man or Of Mice and Men etc. More modern works such as Tomorrow When the War Began (which I hated but students loved!) and Across the Nightingale Floor (which both students and I loved! ) are on the list too though.

To this day I have no idea what it's about, though if I was to read it now, I might quite like it.

Actually, the son of mine who read it, loved it. Though he would much rather read something like ASoIaF, of course!

I loved English at school (okay...I loved all of my subjects!) and the books that are still memorable are ones such as Sun on the Stubble, The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith and Pygmalion. Yep, that's about as far back as my memory can stretch ...other than Macbeth, which I HATED!

@'thul: Interesting you mention that all students are different...it is for this reason that they actually do get a choice as to what they would like to read at times. In my opinion, this allows a student to not only pick something they may enjoy but to also be introduced to a variety of books, one or some of which they may later pick up to simply enjoy for themselves eg choose one to read as part of the curriculum but then the book cover or positive comments from friends concerning another of the novel choices may encourage interest in picking up a second or third.

I should mention though that my experiences of the curriculum here in Australia may well be different to what many others experience, even with the introduction into the National Curriculum, as it does mostly come down to the teacher in the end, not to mention public or private schools.

Still plodding along with Inheritance. Life is too busy for progress to be otherwise. *sigh*

['thul]

hmm... do you think reluctant readers would be more willing to read works like ASoIaF if instead of a 700-page book, they got to try 7 books of a hundred pages each?

[fool-ish]

I'll have to go and find out about Lord of the Flies now! Thinking on it, 'To Kill a Mockingbird' was my daughter's school read and my son plodded through 'Jane Eyre' for his English Lit. The boy is no reader, so of course it bored him witless, but my daughter, an avid reader, quite enjoyed her book.

Different strokes for different folks and schools need to become more aware of this.

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unfortunately, hereabouts the ones in charge of what is taught are either teachers (who have influence over a small number) or politicians who meddle in things they really should leave to others. (they generally tend to heap extra work on teachers without bothering with removing work, then complaining when teachers cant cope with the ever-increasing workloads.

It's much the same over here. Any public sector establishment (The NHS, for whom I work included) is ruled with an iron hand by our politicians. And most certainly not for the better. But that's another rant for another time!

['thul]

These beings are now halfway through "a clash of kings" re-read.