S.K. Offered as a choice for High School reading

[stacy270]

Yesterday our son casually mentioned that he is starting his 7000 page journey to the Dark Tower ( Dont know if that page count is right). After doing a little happy dance in my head I asked why he was reading it and he told me that it was an option on the " required" reading list.( sad that reading has to be required to get kids to read). He then went on to say that there were other King books on it as well,The Stand being one of them.( how could a child of mine NOT CHOOSE The Stand..heh)
I love that Stephen King is on the options list! When I was in school we got stuck with the super boring stuff like Death of a Salesman and Our Town.I still spent the latter part of my high school career with my nose stuck in a King book

Ps.I told our son if he hurried up and read the first three books we could read the rest together and have "Stephen King" together time........he was NOT amused

 

[Spideyman]

Good to see more SK books on required reading lists. May your son enjoy his journey with the Dark Tower.

 

[Moderator]

Yesterday our son casually mentioned that he is starting his 7000 page journey to the Dark Tower ( Dont know if that page count is right). After doing a little happy dance in my head I asked why he was reading it and he told me that it was an option on the " required" reading list.( sad that reading has to be required to get kids to read). He then went on to say that there were other King books on it as well,The Stand being one of them.( how could a child of mine NOT CHOOSE The Stand..heh)
I love that Stephen King is on the options list! When I was in school we got stuck with the super boring stuff like Death of a Salesman and Our Town.I still spent the latter part of my high school career with my nose stuck in a King book

Ps.I told our son if he hurried up and read the first three books we could read the rest together and have "Stephen King" together time........he was NOT amused

I wonder if it made a difference with the Maine connection but happy to hear he's being considered "acceptable" now instead of the school class/library ban on his books that was more common in the past.

 

[king family fan]

Love this. Great reading material.

 

[80sFan]

That's awesome. While SK didn't make it onto my daughter's required reading options list, her school library was amazing and had multiple copies of almost all of Mr. King's works. I was in heaven.
Far cry from my high school days - not only did our library not carry books like that, but when one of the nun's saw "It" on my desk she flipped out on me. Which, being a young teen only made me want to read it more. Backfired on her!!

 

[GNTLGNT]

...about damn time!!!...let's see what corrupts a teen mind the most-SK or "social" media and drugs?....easiest multiple choice question ever....

 

[ZNPaaneah]

Yesterday our son casually mentioned that he is starting his 7000 page journey to the Dark Tower ( Dont know if that page count is right). After doing a little happy dance in my head I asked why he was reading it and he told me that it was an option on the " required" reading list.( sad that reading has to be required to get kids to read). He then went on to say that there were other King books on it as well,The Stand being one of them.( how could a child of mine NOT CHOOSE The Stand..heh)
I love that Stephen King is on the options list! When I was in school we got stuck with the super boring stuff like Death of a Salesman and Our Town.I still spent the latter part of my high school career with my nose stuck in a King book

Ps.I told our son if he hurried up and read the first three books we could read the rest together and have "Stephen King" together time........he was NOT amused

Thank you for that news. I am on a committee at my school involved with the rollout of our DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) program as well as a committee for our MOSL team (measure of student learning which centers on their ability to write essays).

I was the advocate for the DEAR program when our school had taken a different approach so I am very much committed to seeing a successful rollout of this.

 

[carrie's younger brother]

Yesterday our son casually mentioned that he is starting his 7000 page journey to the Dark Tower ( Dont know if that page count is right). After doing a little happy dance in my head I asked why he was reading it and he told me that it was an option on the " required" reading list.( sad that reading has to be required to get kids to read). He then went on to say that there were other King books on it as well,The Stand being one of them.( how could a child of mine NOT CHOOSE The Stand..heh)
I love that Stephen King is on the options list! When I was in school we got stuck with the super boring stuff like Death of a Salesman and Our Town.I still spent the latter part of my high school career with my nose stuck in a King book

Ps.I told our son if he hurried up and read the first three books we could read the rest together and have "Stephen King" together time........he was NOT amused

While I am glad to see SK on high school reading lists, we can't overlook the importance of books/plays like Death of a Salesman. It is one of the most poetic and tragic of American plays ever written. I am sure SK himself would agree it is important for high school students to read such literature as this as well as his books.

 

[skimom2]

I love hearing this! I remember writing a book report on The Stand when I was in 9th grade. The teacher (who was a Matt Burke-type) loved it, bought the book himself, and raved about it to the class...then got a talking to because it wasn't appropriate. Just a few (maybe 4 years) ago, my son got dinged for having Joe Hill's HSB on his desk--again, 'not appropriate'. The teacher tried to take it, he argued, and I got called to the school. It was not pretty--lol--but he kept his (my) book and that teacher didn't try to tell him what to read again. That same year, as a senior he was offered Hunger Games or some Jerry Spinnelli book--both more appropriate for 6th to 8th graders--as acceptable books for his senior english class. He chose Huckleberry Finn. I'm not worried about his ability to choose 'the good stuff'.

CYB, I get what you mean. Kids should be offered classics as well as contemporary fiction. The same teacher who loved The Stand introduced me to Steinbeck, and I'm so grateful to him for that. I, in turn, have introduced my kids. In talking to my kids' english teachers, I'm shocked at how much kids don't know of classic literature. My daughter's teacher actually prepared 'cheat sheets' (for study, not actual cheating) on classical allusions, biblical allusions, and myth/fairy tale allusions for her students to study before the ACT last spring. Very few of them were familiar with any of the literary forms on which our culture is based. It's sad.

 

[Alexandra M]

Good to hear! Not sure if Canada has SK books on HS reading lists. Do you know Neesy ?
Sent my youngest daughter a HB of Dolores Claiborne a few weeks ago. Called her the other
evening and she told me she couldn't talk right now, she was reading DC! Love it!!!!

 

[The Space Cowboy]

They should supply the students with rare copies of Rage.

 

[Moderator]

They should supply the students with rare copies of Rage.

If they did so, they would be disrespecting Stephen's reasons for having it removed from future printings.

 

[GNTLGNT]

They should supply the students with rare copies of Rage.

...as if there weren't enough of that in reality already....King had his(very good)reasons for pulling the story....

 

[stacy270]

While I am glad to see SK on high school reading lists, we can't overlook the importance of books/plays like Death of a Salesman. It is one of the most poetic and tragic of American plays ever written. I am sure SK himself would agree it is important for high school students to read such literature as this as well as his books.

This is very true and while I was not and am still not a fan of most "classics" (and Shakespear was pure torture for me),I am very glad to have been introduced to mythology in school because I did enjoy that quite a bit! I guess it is a good idea to expose kids to a bit of everything and hope that "something" turns them onto reading.

 

[The Space Cowboy]

If they did so, they would be disrespecting Stephen's reasons for having it removed from future printings.

...as if there weren't enough of that in reality already....King had his(very good)reasons for pulling the story....

Wasn't exactly being serious there...

 

[Moderator]

Wasn't exactly being serious there...

Glad to hear that--it wasn't clear to me.

 

[Tiny]

UUuummm.. I really hate the idea that Rage has been censored from the general pubic
I Uuumm... do not believe in it (The action); I am of the school that believes even
an AUTHOR him or her self has no right to censore an adult reading list

uuummm. I have strong feelings about this but im not gonna RANT here and now....sorry
never mind, concider this my 2 cents and I wont go on about it anymore

 

[mal]

I vaguely remember Lord of the Flies, Catch-22, Farenheit-451, Diary of Anne Frank, and so on, on my reading list in school and I think it is a great idea to add Mr. King to these lists. Even assigning two King books to show the juxtaposition of styles from the same author would be a great eye-opener and learning experience. Juxtaposition was on my word a day calendar for today and I always try to use the word of the day on the day it comes up. Mission accomplished.

 

[GNTLGNT]

UUuummm.. I really hate the idea that Rage has been censored from the general pubic
I Uuumm... do not believe in it (The action); I am of the school that believes even
an AUTHOR him or her self has no right to censore an adult reading list

uuummm. I have strong feelings about this but im not gonna RANT here and now....sorry
never mind, concider this my 2 cents and I wont go on about it anymore

...but Tiny, who ELSE would have that right?... It is the author's intellectual property to do with as they wish as long as their publishing contract doesn't grant that right to a third party...

 

[Neesy]

While I am glad to see SK on high school reading lists, we can't overlook the importance of books/plays like Death of a Salesman. It is one of the most poetic and tragic of American plays ever written. I am sure SK himself would agree it is important for high school students to read such literature as this as well as his books.

This must be sarcasm?

I disliked Death of a Salesman when it was required reading, but to each his own I guess.