[stylist] Catcher, high school, and changes

[Chris Kuell]

Vejas,

No--I didn't care for 'Catcher' in high school, and no, I couldn't relate to
Holden.
But, I was an angsty teenager at that time, and I pretty much didn't like
anything--especially assigned reading. I remember distinctly my mother
lecturing me to try smiling once in a while, that "High school is the best
days of your life." And I thought--Christ, if that's the case, just give me
a gun right now and let's get it over with (sound a little like Holden?)

Another book that I was forced to read in high school that I re-read when my
kids had to read it was 'A Separate Peace'. This one, however, I still
didn't like. I had a better appreciation for the theme of 'sometimes we do
things, and we don't even know why, but instantly regret that we did them'.
But I've never related to rich people, and I thought the whole mock trial
was just ridiculous. 
  
Now, as it turns out my son started his first year as a high school English
teacher this August. He still lives at home, so we talk every day about how
his classes went and what he might try to keep it interesting. One thing is
to use more contemporary novels, although of course some books, like
'Catcher', are still very worthwhile. So with his seniors, he had them read
'The Road', and they are watching the movie this week, and they will write
papers comparing and contrasting the two. He let his sophmores pick between
'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime', 'The Bell Jar', and
'Catcher'--for those who hadn't read it already. Next they will all read
'Into the Wild', and he's going to have them design their own project in
which they do something that is completely out of their comfort zone, and
then write about it. His freshmen read 'Speak', which, if you don't know, is
a YA novel about a high school girl getting raped at a party, and then
refusing to speak afterwards. Next they are doing 'Of Mice and Men', and
after that he's going to let them pick their next book (for the beginning of
the year, he wanted them doing the same book so he could help them develop
their writing).

So he's instituting changes to the standard English class, which I hope
leaves his students with fonder memories of high school English than I had.

Chris