Of all the ridiculous policies to ooze forth from the de facto Tory government, this one gets to me the most. Like Iain Duncan Smith (Work and Pensions Secretary), Michael Gove appears to be driven not by any desire to improve the lives of the people he is responsible for, but by a totally brainless ideology. Reality is invisible to him when it contradicts his dogmatic beliefs.
I got to read The Crucible at school, although I don’t think I ever actually saw it performed. It was enjoyable, and while the play has an American historical setting and is an allegory for another period of American history, the lessons are important for anyone, anywhere. Some of the cabinet might benefit, actually. I wonder if Theresa May has seen it.
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favourite books. The first time I read it I found myself trying to walk and read on my way home from work. Again, it’s an American setting, but it obviously also contains moral lessons that are not just for Americans. The setting is also one rarely seen in American media - it’s hardly “yet another tale from NYC/LA” - which is interesting enough in itself. Without reading this book you are truly missing something, but millions of children missing out is a small price to pay to make way for Gove’s personal preference.
Unfortunately, I haven’t read Of Mice and Men, but it just got bumped to the top of my reading list.
Gove should stay the hell away from the school curriculum. If he wants to wave flags, he can watch the fucking World Cup.
Eh, I’m really struggling to do anything but +1 this Pitting. He’s getting rid of Of Mice and Men because he, personally, doesn’t like it? Presumably so that poor, unfortunate British kids can spend more time reading Anthony Trollope? I mean, we can’t possibly learn anything from those ignorant Yanks, can we? Arsehole.
Also pleased to see Iain “Shelf stackers are better than geologists” Duncan Smith get a mention here.
Yes, Mr Gove would make me appreciate the independent school my kids go to except the Head of the Board of Governors isn’t much better…thinks the Language and Literature course his own school offers is stupid and they should read only mouldy old English texts and way more Shakespeare than anyone should ever be forced to read.
btw…If you love To Kill a Mockingbird you should go see it at the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park. I saw it last year and it was lovely. Seeing it again in September. The Crucible is playing at the Old Vic too.
Oh golly, I hope our own militant ignoramuses on this side of the puddle don’t hear about this and decide we need to retaliate by getting rid of Shakespeare in US high school English classes.
Although I do kind of like the idea of resolving the controversy with high-level diplomatic negotiations. “At the current exchange rate, one Mark Twain assignment shall be equal to two Jane Austens.”
I think at this point, it’s safe to say that any book that any politician and/or busybody wants censored or removed from circulation is worthy of being read.
I just googled the phrase “American Literature is an oxymoron”. Only a few hits. Color me surprised.
Why aren’t you Brits more snobbish about this? Why doesn’t some distinguished old duffer say something like, “There is scarcely any American Literature worthy of the name!”? Dismiss everything American as crap. Twain, Dickinson, Poe, Faulkner, O’Neil, Williams, Frost. Just call it all crap.*
That would get an entertaining controversy going. I guess all the British chattering classes want a shot at the American gravy train, and don’t want to offend anyone who might write them a nice check. Pity.
*Obviously, I don’t believe American lit is crap. But I do love a good dustup.
If you really want a Brit prepared to argue, sincerely, that there is no American literature worth mentioning then you could probably find one somewhere. If you looked hard enough.
The rest of us, with the apparent exception of Mr Gove, are not idiots.
I agree, and I would say that anyone snobbish enough to dismiss American literature wholesale, is just a narrowminded idiot with no sense of judgment.
The Grapes Of Wrath was the first book that ever made me miss my stop on the train. I couldn’t stop reading it.
This isn’t the first of Gove’s boneheaded ideas. This is the guy who wants history taught sequentially as children progress through school. His new curriculum is almost completely devoid of exploration of method and focuses heavily on rote memorisation of facts. Insane.
I had to read Jude the Obscure in the 12th grade. I think I got halfway.
I don’t know why, but I can’t get worked up about this. Maybe it’s because except for Shakespeare, I don’t remember reading a lot of English authors. So turn about is fair play, I guess.
I’d be curious to see what the entire list looks like. Both before and after.
Since we’re in the pit, I’d like to say that I’m not too keen on Charles Dickens.
