The great American classic Of Mice and Men contains offensive language, racism and violence.
Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird contains themes of rape, profanity and racial slurs.
Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Beloved contains infanticide and themes of sex and violence.
Many of the books exalted as classics deal with significant and controversial topics—and despite the presence of these topics, such novels remain staples of modern English education.
The required reading for each class is always chosen after careful deliberation by the English department. One important priority when deciding is to ensure each book has high literary merit, though the conditions for each class vary depending on the grade level and goals that each course wants to achieve. For example, for the AP English Language and Literature course, the required books must be representative of the types of literature the Advanced Placement exam involves. Students in the course read four core works and additional poems, short stories and letters to supplement their learning.
According to Trustee Master Teaching Chair in Humanities Lynne Schwartz, the complex perspectives invoked by difficult subjects provide for some of the most compelling in-class discussions.
“Students don’t really have another forum to talk about these issues,” Schwartz said. “Human issues are the ones that we address in English, and if you’re talking about literature from a philosophical or human point of view, we’re (going) to see through many different eyes.”
As one of the teachers of the AP English Language and Literature course, Schwartz commonly engages her students in college-level material according to the standards of the College Board.
“The students are expected to read college-level books and all of those (books) are going to have strong language in them,” Schwartz said. “They’re going to have some graphic scenes in them. They’re going to have some difficult philosophical questions in them. That’s what college is all about: testing your beliefs, experiencing the ideas of other people and digging into the adult world so (you can) navigate your own path.”
Associate Headmaster and 10th grade English teacher John Ashton believes that appropriate exposure to sensitive topics and treating said topics in the classroom with sensitivity and respect are equally important.
“In over three decades of teaching English, I always feel very good about the fact that the issues presented in literature are issues of the human experience that are important to work through together,” Ashton said. “The rich conversations that I experienced as a young man during my English classes in high school were so powerful, and I was fortunate to be guided by thoughtful teachers like we have at St. Mark’s.”
In English classes, students follow the Harkness method, in which students are seated around a large oval table to facilitate discussion and group learning. One of the benefits of the learning environment is that teachers are always able to see all of the students, meaning that they can gauge when a student is feeling uncomfortable with a subject being discussed in class.
“I am sensitive to the experiences of each of the boys around the Harkness table, which informs my thinking about how we might have a conversation on a (sensitive) topic,” Ashton said. “For example, (I) plan lessons and activities specific to various parts of a novel, keeping in mind how we work towards understanding issues as a class so that we work through those issues together.”
One way Ashton helps to manage discomfort in students during in-class discussion is to think of it as a continuum.
“When discomfort shifts to being something that prevents one from understanding, then maybe we’re not ready to address the topic yet,” Ashton said. “In that moment, the growth that comes from discomfort shifts to a place of shutting one off from any sense of understanding. But if you ask, ‘what’s under the discomfort? Why can I not look away at what I’m seeing?’ Then we’re coming together in community and being guided by a teacher who’s sensitive to the needs of the students while also caring for boys as we work together towards understanding.”
Each and every student brings to the classroom a unique perspective, and as such will react differently. Outside of the classroom, in the Cecil and Ida Green Library, students also find support from the librarians when it comes to checking out mature novels that deal with more complex issues. Middle School librarian Elyse Chevallier reviews many of the middle grade and young adult novels in the library and ensures that each and every book is professionally reviewed.
“I rely on several outlets and publications, like Kirkus, the School Library Journal, the Bulletin of the Center of Children’s Books, which all give an age range or a grade range,” Chevallier said. “I’m always very aware when our youngest students are checking out or interested in books marketed for older students or even adults.”
Besides informing students when books contain unfamiliar or more mature themes, Chevallier believes the most important thing is that parents engage students in conversation about what they are reading.
“We are all really lucky to go to school here or to work here, and there are lots of people in the world that are in different situations than us,” Chevallier said. “It is nice that a lot of times our kids only have to grapple with or encounter these hard things in life through literature. You don’t have to deal with it by actually going through it; you can encounter it in a book, which is a really safe way to (engage).”
Regardless of location on campus, however, Ashton emphasizes that resources are always available to any student who may feel continued discomfort, not only with English literature but with any subjects.
“As a school, when a student raises questions about an experience on campus, whether it pertains to a class discussion or a class experience, we encourage the boy to talk with his teacher, then if needed, talk to the department chair, so they both can work together to think through a way to address the question or concern,” Ashton said. “And if it is determined that a boy has a need to do something different, we can work towards a solution.”
Above all, Ashton hopes that no student feels left behind.
“Whether it’s a classroom, a program or an experience a boy’s having on campus, let’s meet the student where he is and work through it together,” Ashton said.
