To kill a mockingbird, catcher in the rye, and the great gatsby. No matter your age, dear reader; if you live in America, it is inevitable that with high school these titles, along with several others will most likely grace the inside of your backpack, as your teacher helps you to dive into what our society has deemed, a classic. But why is this, dear reader? Why do we as a society believe that these well-written, yet aging books still have a place in society, when we constantly see newer and better books appear in the public eye, and instantly become fan favorites? Why do we still allow them, when between their pages, there is a wealth of stigmatization, misogyny, racism, and other problematic wording that no longer has a place in our world of political correctness? Isn't it time for a change? Well, dear reader, today we will dive into that age-old question, and begin the chain of thought: “Is it time to restock the shelf?”
This article, dear reader, like many others, will be of course one of discussion. As such I would like to start off with the opinions of those around us, sparking the conversation, so that you may deviate from the preset idea or agree with it. Upon research, the answer to our question simply seems to be that schools keep the old texts simply because they teach important morals which are important to our progression. “It's an anchor text to teach students,” says an anonymous teacher from my own school. “Some books do have a set number of morals, such as those in to kill a mockingbird. With the resources we have in books that have stood the test of time, why should we change the system?” While this is of course valuable to the discussion, the question still stands: what about more modern books or books of varying themes? Well, the answer is of course individualized
. For example, if you’re an English teacher, have you talked with the history and science teachers about interdisciplinary opportunities and appropriate texts to build background knowledge? English teachers should not be the only ones using books in their curriculum. Overall the feeling seems to be the same: Ultimately it ends up being a simple decision made by those who teach us.
While this is a short entry dear reader. I once again ask you: There is always the possibility of a better tomorrow, what can you do to make it a reality?
