*Correction to the following editorial: There is no rigid core text “system” across grades, as implied in the editorial, and core texts are not chosen by a vote. Instead, teachers from each grade level decide amongst themselves the core texts, usually through unanimous consent although teachers are not mandated to teach these texts. English teachers including Rebecca Gergely, the department leader, stated to the Tattler Editorial Board that there have been major efforts to increase diversity in novel choice in recent years.
Every year, the IHS English department gathers to pick a certain set of texts. Naming any of these texts, including Of Mice and Men, Macbeth, Othello, and A Raisin in the Sun, will spark some not-too-distant memory in the mind of any IHS student. Indeed, some of these books have been taught at IHS for more than 50 years, and are known as Core Texts. English teachers from each grade vote annually to select three Core Texts for their grade, and the books then must be taught by every teacher in that grade. AP English Language and Composition (AP Language), an 11th grade course, is the singular exception to the mandatory Core Texts system. To note, neither Ithaca City School District nor New York State mandates the Core Text system. It is clear that this system of Core Texts is failing both IHS students and teachers.
Core Texts, especially in 9th and 10th grade, are required rhetoric in English classes. But forcing students to read certain required texts every year, many of which are the same familiar novels, benefits neither students nor the teachers who are required to teach these texts that they themselves may not even like in the first place.
Furthermore, having English teachers vote on which books to establish as Core Texts each year entrenches a certain subset of books. As Ms. Crawford, an AP Language teacher at IHS, describes, “A disproportionate number of the core texts are written by old dead white guys. There are many more modern texts published that feature diverse voices, and I’d love to see some of those texts more prominently featured in our curriculum.” The current system encourages the selection of books that have been taught in the past for which teachers already have curricula prepared. Another factor in Core Text selection is the number of copies of a book that the school owns. Since IHS owns limited copies of non-traditional novels, teachers favor long-established Core Texts such as Of Mice and Men, which the school already has hundreds of copies of.
The current Core Text system is an obstacle to teachers who want to introduce new and alternate text types to students and negatively impacts students, who see very similar text types from year to year. Though students may sporadically see novels written by more diverse authors, they are unable to widely experience different types of texts due to the Core Texts system. For instance, this school year—and, for that matter, many past school years—all 9th and 10th grade English classes must study a play by Shakespeare. Moreover, Core Texts must be whole-class novels, meaning that implementing any form of student choice is impossible. Although Core Texts do provide some meaningful standards for English classes by ensuring that teachers aren’t unilaterally choosing their books without any input from the department, newly released texts or more unfamiliar and unique texts are not represented as strongly in the Core Text list. Still, some teachers feel that having some sort of Core Text requirement is useful. Mr. D’Alterio, an English 10 teacher, said that “[Core Texts] challenge young folks’ literacy in ways that I wish I was pushed to pursue.”
The Tattler Editorial Board believes the best way to support students’ interest in reading and bring the most value out of their English classes is to have English teachers from each grade contribute two or three texts to a list of possible titles for their grade level. English teachers would then have to pick their reading material from that list, instead of having three required texts. In order to ensure a more diverse representation of authors, time periods, and opinions in the books read in class, teachers would be required to teach more novels than just the ones that they contributed—namely, the selections of other teachers. With this system in place, teachers would be able to teach students major ideas in an unique way while ensuring that students learn through a wide variety of texts.
Additionally, more student choice in class literature should be implemented. Specifically, student group work such as “lit circles” already used in many classes provide individual students the chance to choose books to read that they find interesting, and should be expanded. Teachers can provide a list of a few books from which students can choose to read either independently or in groups, depending on the unit. These reforms to the Core Text policy at IHS would greatly improve both students’ and teachers’ freedom in the texts they wish to read and teach, helping to create a more personalized learning environment for students while maintaining high literary standards.
Opening up English class teaching materials to a wider variety of books rather than a prescribed list of texts will give English students a greater exposure to different authors, fostering a greater understanding of diverse literary themes and helping students find books that they really love. This approach benefits both students, who can find more value from their reading options, and teachers, who gain diverse curriculum options and are allowed to teach their favorite texts.