Closer Looks at English Books
By Sophia Botello, Zoe Cloak, Christina Shorf, & Serena Strohmeier-Gach
Opening a new book can be an exciting experience, with the reader running their hand along the pages, eager to discover the story within.
Reading and analyzing books is a near-universal practice for students worldwide, and at AHS, it almost always begins in English classes. These books have been selected by teachers whose focus is on teaching important works of classic literature while incorporating relevant topics such as race, religion, gender, and more.
However, while balancing these two aspects of their curriculum each year, teachers try to find new ways to keep students engaged with their reading as well as helping them understand the nuances of the people and cultures around them.
One benefit of including books from more diverse groups of people is that it allows students to gain new insights into someone else’s life and experiences. Overall, many of the 79 AHS students surveyed felt that this was done well through the books that are currently being read, including senior Alex Class.
“By far the most important thing I’ve taken away from my English classes is an increased understanding of and deepened empathy for people who are not like me,” Class remarked.
However, others felt that it is not only important to include a wide range of experiences but to also acknowledge more perspectives, which they feel are lacking.
Freshman Josh Melnick stated, “We should be more diverse not just in ethnicities and religions that we represent, but also the ideas and ideologies. I would like to see more books that are societal, political, historical, and/or ideological analogies, such as Slaughterhouse Five or Animal Farm.”
Freshman Devon Sampietro agreed, with the addition of expressing a desire to include more books that offer valuable life lessons.
“There are some books that bring more philosophical ideas into the mix of things, shedding light on good advice every person should listen to,” he explained.
Sampietro wished students were exposed to more books that could aid them in their daily lives and apply to many identities at once, rather than a single identity. While some agreed with him, other students, such as Rory Schroeder, mentioned that if the curriculum tries to focus on themes that everyone can relate to, it excludes specific perspectives.
“To me, the whole point of reading is to learn more about how others live and see life,” Schroeder said. “If we try to limit it to things most can relate to, we cut other experiences out.”
Though the survey opinions were mixed, many students felt that it was important to include a variety of identities and ethnicities and that books that address one specific culture can simultaneously relate to many people through shared general experiences. Senior Sunny Eom also expressed that books don’t have to simply do one thing or another.
“I think there is always a universal element, even in a specific culture and identity,” Eom said. “It is important to read the books that cover them as they expand the readers’ horizons while also containing aspects that everyone can relate to.”
Most survey respondents felt it was important that English classes balance content that contains specific cultures with books that include themes that can relate to everyone. Additionally, they felt that there must be a balance in terms of teaching classics while diversifying the books read.
Senior Zora Day-Friedland leaned more towards including more diverse books.
“There is absolutely value to derive from some of the classics and I understand slipping a few of them in, but I don’t think we should ever sacrifice the opportunity for students to see themselves represented in a book,” she said.
Freshman Josh Melnick agreed that representation was important, but he emphasized that teachers shouldn’t simply choose books because of the diversity of their authors but rather based on their content. He also spoke to the fact that classics often include more complicated subjects and in-depth writing that diverse books sometimes lack.
“Recently it has felt like we haven’t been choosing the diverse books that would teach us about literature well,” he said. “I think an example of that is The House on Mango Street because it felt less teaching about English and writing and literature and more teaching about societal issues, which is a fair issue, but should that be in English or Ethnic Studies?”
In many English classes, there is at least one classic and one contemporary book that speaks to a unique culture among those being taught, and many students in these classes tend to feel positively about the balance.
However, in classes where there are no works of classical literature, students tend to wish for more classics where new meanings can still be analyzed in a relevant context. Sophomore Rogen O’Connor finds classic literature to be more interesting than some of the diverse books chosen.
In general, regardless of whether it was through cultures, ideologies, or styles, most students surveyed agreed that it is important for the curriculum to include a range of perspectives.
Sophomore Nirvaan Jaswal said, “It gives us a more realistic and whole picture of the world that we live in, instead of one specific narrative.”
However, while many students felt they learned a great deal about other cultures, only 10 of 79 respondents thought that the books represented them well. Although most AHS students did not feel that they were unrepresented, almost just as few, 11 respondents, viewed their representation in the selected books positively.
“Some of the books may represent my family’s history but never me myself,” sophomore Madison Guan said. “It’s hard for me to resonate with these books.”
Guan also expressed a desire for reading material that was more relatable to the high school experience. Many others shared similar thoughts, such as sophomore Diya Aggarwal.
“I think more [novels] on the LGBTQ+ community would be cool and more books that are diverse but [also] coming of age, like the setting could be featured in a high school,” Aggarwal said. “I say this because we are high school students, so I think it would be funny and relatable.”
Aggarwal’s wish for more LGBTQ+ books was a common one, with many students feeling that representation is lacking in the protagonists and other characters of the current curriculum. Day-Friedland, who also mentioned this in her response, said, “I wish there were more books that centered [on] Queer folk.”
Although AHS students had a variety of opinions on how well they thought the English class curriculums balanced the various aspects of their chosen reading material, many survey respondents recognized that it is hard to encompass everyone’s cultures and wishes.
Overall, students agreed that while there is always room for improvement, the district is already doing a good job of having a diverse range of books. Junior Jonathan Breedlove said, “They represent different backgrounds and people experiencing different times pretty well.”
