Featured Concern
"Life Has No Meaning" Literature
Blue Valley students are required to read many books with extremely depressing messages and which also portray men in excessively negative roles in their Communication Arts classes. Many of these books send the message that life is hopeless and meaningless. Knowing that more than one out of three 5th through 12th graders in Blue Valley have considered suicide (37.5% according to an article in the Kansas City Star), wouldn't it be wise to give required reading assignments that promoted hopeful, uplifting, and positive messages?
A sampling of the depressing books assigned to 9th graders, 14- and 15-year olds (and even some 13-year-olds), follows. Each was used in the 2003-2004 BV school year in freshmen classes. Unfortunately, the books become much more depressing in later grades, and often focus on or include subjects such as incest (for example Song of Solomon and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings), bestiality (for example Beloved), suicide (for example Song of Solomon, The Natural, and Running Loose), and abuse (for example Ellen Foster, The Bean Trees, All the Pretty Horses, Ender's Game, Black Boy, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Lords of Discipline).
Freshmen Required Reading Assignments Made in the 2003-2004 School Year
This Boy's Life -- Story of Tobias Wolff's teenage years as a liar, thief, vandal and all-around juvenile delinquent. Includes profanity, sexually-explicit content, and the pervasive and depressing theme of "My horrible behavior is in no way related to the formation of my personal character."
Lord of the Flies -- Story begins in a deceptively childlike setting as several boys find themselves marooned on an island. After a short time, civilized behavior breaks down and the boys start hunting and killing one another without regret. A depressing novel in that it depicts man (boys) as selfish and uncontrollable savages. Yes, at some point a serious student of literature should read this book as it is often used as the measuring stick to compare the depraved message of one literary work to another. (Book X brought out the immoral nature of man, but was not as bad as Lord of the Flies.) But is this appropriate or necessary to study as a 14 or 15 year old?
Secret Diary of Adrian Mole -- Another disingenuous memoir of a 14-year-old boy. The cover of this book claims that the book is "hilariously funny" (a comedy?) yet the true subject matter (sex, faith, marriage) is obviously quite serious. Perhaps not as overwhelmingly depressing as This Boy's Life yet similar in some respects. The Secret Diary is also quite disrespectful to the role of organized church. It also contains profanity and references to various sexual encounters and sexual preferences.
A Separate Peace -- Set at a US private boys' school during a pre-WWII period. Due to jealousy, the main character intentionally causes his best friend to have an accident which creates a very serious injury. The intentional nature of the act is never fully revealed or resolved between the two of them, and therefore the main character never has true "peace." He wallows in self reflection. Eventually, the best friend dies due to complications from the injury and the story ends with a depressing and unresolved "life is random and meaningless" message.
Of Mice and Men -- One of Steinbeck's most famous, this book ends with a man murdering his best friend. Certainly a literary classic, and not to be missed in the life of a serious adult student of literature. But has anyone at Blue Valley considered how this story really affects a minor of 13, 14, or 15 years old? At what point is this list of depressing literature, especially as it portrays men, too much of the same for a freshman student? Where are the positive influences and characters that will inspire our children?
House on Mango Street -- Not only do the kids hate this book, it is written at a very low level providing little literary challenge. The author is victimized at several levels (including rape), unable (or unwilling) to overcome any circumstances, again implying that life is random and meaningless.
Bless Me Ultima -- The profanity including the f-word is extensive in this book. Inappropriate sexual references are common as well. Of great concern is the degradation of Catholics, and the promotion of voodooism, exorcism, and witch doctors as truth.
Stotan -- All of Crutcher's books feature teens in sexually active roles. All contain a great deal of profanity, and all promote the nonsensical notion that in order to get out of a problem, you often have to do the opposite of what seems right. Crutcher's novels send confusing, unhealthy, and illogical messages about life to our kids using teen characters and low level English to attract the reader. (Three of Crutcher's novels, Stotan, Running Loose, and Chinese Handcuffs are on BV's list of approved required reading.)
Where are the "heroes" that the BV freshman and sophomore communication arts program claims to focus on per their own course descriptions? Why must our freshmen be required to read books with R-rated content? Why are so many of the required books at the freshman level dominated by a "life is meaningless and hopeless" message? How many depressing books represent "too much" of the same?