# You're an English teacher...what books do you have the students read?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-an-english-teacher-what-books-do-you-have-the-students-read/396993>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 22, 2007, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-an-english-teacher-what-books-do-you-have-the-students-read/396993 "2007-03-22T05:37:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![8675309](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/8/ea5d25/32.png) [@8675309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/8675309)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2007, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-an-english-teacher-what-books-do-you-have-the-students-read/396993/41 "2007-03-25T15:06:18Z")

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[QUOTE=A. I. Wintermute]

Anyway, the only stuff we read that I actually considered unpleasant to read was the Toni Morrison. I would appreciate **8675309** elaborating on his/her choice of Beloved, because we read that and Sula and I can’t say a single one of us (pretty bright, Englishy kids) either enjoyed them or even “got” them.

[/QUOTE]

Because I would want to do a unit on African-American lit and think this book would be perfect to incorporate into it. The themes, imagery, and language are incredibly powerful. I loved the book. Hated the movie, but loved the book.

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**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-an-english-teacher-what-books-do-you-have-the-students-read/396993/42 "2007-03-25T17:26:30Z")

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[QUOTE=SpazCat]  
Because it’s utter crap?  
[/QUOTE]

Word.

I ran across _The Catcher in the Rye_ in the paperback exchange bin at the local library as a teenager. It had one of those old school covers with the splash balloons “Shocking” “Scandalous” etc., so naturally I had to get it.

Found it utterly underwhelming. ☹

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**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-an-english-teacher-what-books-do-you-have-the-students-read/396993/43 "2007-03-25T17:43:44Z")

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When I was a high school English teacher, the 11th graders read, among other works, somw Ursula K. LeGuin. The 12th grade curriculum focused on utopias and dystopias and featured a debate in which students representing _Brave New World_ tried to convince the students representing _1984_ that the society of _1984_ was preferable, and vice versa. They also got to design and present on their own utopias.

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