The Glass Castle

[Gen]

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

anyone read this ? seems a bit much for 9th grade.

trying to remember if I read anything like this in 3rd form.


with all the great literature out there for kids to read

[Gen]

Out with “The Great Gatsby” and in with “The Glass Castle”? Florida’s English teachers adjust to new standards



common core again

MIAMI—In Chris Kirchner’s freshman English classes at Coral Reef Senior High School, novels like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Great Gatsby” have been squeezed off the syllabus to make room for nonfiction texts including “The Glass Castle” and “How to Re-Imagine the World.” For the first time, students will read only excerpts of classics like “The Odyssey” and “The House on Mango Street” instead of the entire book. And Kirchner will assign less independent reading at home, but will require students to write more essays, and push them to make connections across multiple texts.

“I’m trying to go big with the change and see what works,” says Kirchner, who has taught English in Miami-Dade schools for more than 30 years.
The “change” Kirchner refers to is the introduction of the Common Core: the education standards adopted by Florida along with 44 other states and the District of Columbia. The standards do not constitute a curriculum, but they lay out general education principles and skills students should master at different grade levels. All Florida public school educators are supposed to start adapting their teaching to the new standards this school year; students will be tested on them for the first time in 2015.


For high school English teachers like Kirchner, the Common Core is prompting consequential and contentious changes in what students read and how the books are taught: The new standards call for a focus on depth over breadth, more challenging readings, and increased emphasis on nonfiction. Students will be expected to make written arguments using specific evidence from reading assignments, often pulling together examples from multiple texts. No longer should teachers ask students to write solely based on their personal experience or opinion—arguing for or against school uniforms, for instance.

http://hechingerreport.org/content/out-with-the-great-gatsby-and-in-with-the-glass-castle-floridas-english-teachers-adjust-to-new-standards_13432/

[CeaBee]

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

anyone read this ? seems a bit much for 9th grade.

trying to remember if I read anything like this in 3rd form.


with all the great literature out there for kids to read

9th grade is 4th form? I think we did some pretty heavy themes. Even the books that appeared to be comedy were kinda heavy if you looked beneath the surface.


I read a synopsis of the book, I don't think is out of place for a 14 year old to be reading something like that. One mention of the grandmother touching her grandson in an inappropriate way did make me queasy, but it's nothing that would even be out of place on the evening news these days (unfortunately)