The eNotes Blog Catcher in the Rye To Be Dropped from CurriculumPuh-lease

Catcher in the Rye To Be Dropped from CurriculumPuh-lease New Common Core Standards drop classic novels in favor of informational texts. The US school system will undergo some big changes within the next two years, chiefly due to a decision to remove a good deal of classic novels from the curriculum, or so the recent media reports would have you think. The idea behind discouraging or reducing the teaching of old favorites like The  Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird is to make room for non-fiction informational texts in the curriculum. These should be approved by the Common Core Standards of each state. Suggested texts include, Recommended Levels of Insulation by the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Invasive Plant Inventory, by Californias Invasive Plant Council, among others. Mmmm, I just love me a good read on insulation levels while I soak in the tub. So, the idea behind this is that children who pass through such a school system will be better prepared for the workplace, their brains packed with useful, practical knowledge rather than brimming with literary fluff (my personal summation). It has the backing of the National Governors Association, the Council of Chief of State School Officers, and even the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation, which partially funded the directive. But is that estimate correct? Will reading more non-fiction in favor of fiction breed better writing, or more informed graduates? The discussion is extremely divided. One Arkansas teacher wrote in this Telegraph article, In the end, education has to be about more than simply ensuring that kids can get a job. Isnt it supposed to be about making well-rounded citizens? Meanwhile, another reader weighed in for the pros of teaching more scientific texts: I dont understand how adding non-fiction books to reading lists REDUCES imagination.   Hard science is all about imaginationthe what ifs of nature and the universe  I am sick of English professors acting like English Literature is the only bastion of imagination/critical thinking/culture. When I first read that article stating that The Catcher in the Rye  and other novels specifically would be gone from curriculums nation-wide, I was alarmed and frightened, though I now know it was needlessly so. The reactions of protesters are a tad hyperbolic, given that the two soporific texts I named above are found amongst a long list of alternate suggestions in various subjects, for instance  Circumference: Eratosthenes and the Ancient Quest to Measure the Globe by Nicholas Nicastro, and The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story by Richard Preston, interesting and well-written books in their own right. English Literature classes will not be barred from teaching certain classic novels, as some of the reports would have you believe, though they may have more limited time to teach them than before. Yes, the school system will be changed and possibly not for the better, but Salinger and Lee arent going anywhere. All in all, the arguments for both sides make overblown assumptions: on the one, that students will miraculously be better prepared for the job market, on the other, that all imagination and creativity will be drained from impressionable young adults. So, which side do you stand on, if either? Is the teaching of informational texts merited, or best left to vocational studies? Tell us in a comment below!