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@chozari@aus.social

2026-07-16 12:46 UTC

@Susan60@aus.social @andyjennings@aus.social I respectfully declined to study The Chrysalids when I was 15. I’d just plain had ENOUGH Lord of the Flies and bloody Bridge to Terabithia & all that stuff. It was like the teachers were TRYING to put me even more at risk than I already was. The English head teacher said I was making a lot of fuss over nothing, so my mum rang the Principal, who forced the English HT to read the book then do the assignment & offer me the option of doing an alternative. Suck eggs, Mr Caine.

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  • @Susan60@aus.social 2026-07-16 22:31

    @chozari@aus.social @andyjennings@aus.social I asked my head of English why so many novels we study in school were so dark. He looked at me like I had 2 heads. He was a lovely fellow, but I’m not sure if he ever saw students as anything other than recipients/participants in education, as opposed to young, sensitive, impressionable people. I was much happier when we started to do literature circles in year 7. (We had a new head of English by this time…) I’d select 6 novels & then the class would do a speed reading session (think speed dating), jotting down notes after each book and then ranking them. I (and other year 7 teachers) would then allocate kids to groups of 4-6 kids, trying to give each child their 1st or 2nd choice. The books varied in their themes etc, and weren’t always lightweight, but it meant that a kid dealing with a particular issue in their own life didn’t have to be buried in it at school as well, and could choose something lighter if that’s what they needed. (I’d be monitoring this, chatting to kids about choices etc. Occasionally I’d refer a student if I thought they might need help with emotional issues or learning difficulties.)

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