This is topic Most Appropriate? in forum Discussions About Orson Scott Card at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by wieczorek (Member # 5565) on :
 
In English, we have Reading Circles. It's an event that goes on for a month during which we pair up with friends and read a three or four book series and then do a report binding together the entire series. Since my teacher always sees me reading OSC books, she asked what books I had read and which I recommend we order into the school library...I was wondering which series by OSC (do you think) would be most appropriate for a young age group. I was thinking about the Shadow books (ES, SotH, SP) in addition to EG. I would recommend the Alvin books or Speaker books, but they tend to have a few... "mature" descriptions and moments. Yeah, I know they don't add up to a substantial amount, but my teacher is more than a little against that kind of material. Geesh...teachers Thank you

[ November 14, 2003, 05:12 PM: Message edited by: wieczorek ]
 

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Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
 
Personally, speaking only as a parent, I found the Ender series to be more disturbing (emotionally) than the Alvin series (for young kids). Some of the things Ender says and feels may not be good reading for some kids. It's pretty dark and emotional in places (like his relationship with Peter, etc. I would think that would bother the teacher more than other things.

Why doesn't the teacher just READ the books and see which passes her muster? <grin>

What age kids are you considering to be "young kids" in this post?

Farmgirl
 

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Posted by wieczorek (Member # 5565) on :
 
I really don't understand why some teachers don't take the initiative sometimes Kids anywhere from the ages of 14-15 (most are 14). I'm sure that some could easily be disturbed simply by receiving the assignment of a book report.
 

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Posted by Grandma Edie (Member # 5771) on :
 
Yes, indeed, in your situation the Shadow Books are the best bet.

Incidentally, speaking of "mature content" Orson Scott Card himself was reading THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH at age ten. If real-life horror is mature (it is) then mature is as mature can handle.

Grandma Edie, also known as Edith S. Tyson, author of ORSON SCOTT CARD, Writer of the Terrible Choice.
 

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Posted by Poseidon (Member # 5862) on :
 
hey i read EG when i was 12 and it didn't bother me a bit. maybe it had something to do with the fact that we studied the Holocaust in seventh grade...
and i know a sixth grader at my school who's reading the Speaker series now. (he seriously does look like Bean. bit frightening)
 

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Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
 
I'd say pretty much anything OSC has written would be appropriate for that age group. I started reading OSC originally because he didn't have all of the softcore porn that pervades the science fiction universe.
 

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Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
 
While he is better than many authors, there are still some of his books that I would not recommend for a school. Wyrms and Songmaster deal with sexuality too much.

That is not to say that I wouldn't necessarily recommend them for a reader of that age, but for school assignments, you have to make sure you err on the side of caution.

But then, come to think about it, Slaughterhouse 5 was required reading for me when I was 15. None of Card's stuff is that explicit.
 

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Posted by ae (Member # 3291) on :
 
blacwolve:

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I'd say pretty much anything OSC has written would be appropriate for that age group. I started reading OSC originally because he didn't have all of the softcore porn that pervades the science fiction universe.

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While he is better than many authors, there are still some of his books that I would not recommend for a school. Wyrms and Songmaster deal with sexuality too much.

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Song of Soloman is required reading in our English class, since that's fairly explicit, I don't see why anyone would have a problem with Songmaster, though I do see your point with Wyrms.

[I'm not implying anything about Song of Soloman, just mentioning that it does contain a fair amount of "sexually explicit content" and is still taught in my English class with no objections from anyone.]
 

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Posted by the_mind_game (Member # 5927) on :
 
The first time I read the Ender's Game series, I was 10. I'm 14 now and at my middle school we have everything in the EG series however we don't have any in the shadow series.
 

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Posted by wieczorek (Member # 5565) on :
 
Thanks to everyone.

Something odd I just figured out last night is that many of my friends didn't like EG (we had to do an essay on it for summer reading). Who are these people!?! So maybe Alvin would be a better route...
 

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Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
 
Lots of people dislike any reading they have to do for school simply on principle.
 

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Posted by wieczorek (Member # 5565) on :
 
I am, unfortunately, reminded of that every time I enter the school building... *looks around at other students*...*shudders*
 

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Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
 
Yeah...if I would've been given EG as an assignment, and not recommended by friends and family, I would probably hate it too. Not that I'm against assignments, but I hate writing book reports or doing anything else that requires me to disect a good book piece by piece.
 

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Posted by wieczorek (Member # 5565) on :
 
No,no. I wasn't disappointed by the assignment. I am happy that my teacher assigned it or I probably would've never been exposed to OSC's books.
 

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Posted by Julie (Member # 5580) on :
 
I'm exactly the same way Da_Goat. I always hope we won't read any books I already like because the teachers always make you over-analyze everything. Even if I only notice half of the connections on my own, the fact that I discover them myself and not by someone else listing them makes the experience so much better. Plus, is school you have to listen to kids making the stupidest comments about books that make it obvious that they don't understand any of the importance.
 

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Posted by Julie (Member # 5580) on :
 
You might want to reccommend first meetings because it's a good introduction the EG series without the darkness or sexually explicit content. It might kids want to read the series and find the books elsewhere.
 

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Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
 

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Plus, is school you have to listen to kids making the stupidest comments about books that make it obvious that they don't understand any of the importance.

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I hear that!!! When I was in high school (a freshman actually), I was assigned Ender's Game. I had no issues with books being assigned. I picked up Ender's Game from the school library. I read it in one night. I came back and told my teacher that I loved and it and he asked, "how did it end?" I said that Ender became the governor of the first colony after the buggers were destroyed.

I had kids in my class that had only read the first four chapters saying things like, "This book is good, but I dunno, it's too complicated." It was like they were afraid to admit they liked it because they wouldn't be in with the "in" crowd, because at that age, that's all most kids cared about. Stupid really.

[ November 22, 2003, 03:57 PM: Message edited by: Nick ]
 

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Posted by Julie (Member # 5580) on :
 

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I had kids in my class that had only read the first four chapters saying things like, "This book is good, but I dunno, it's too complicated."

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That's ironic because when I made my friend read it her first comment was, "It's too simple. It sounds like it was written for a five year old." I then had to remind her that Ender was five.
 

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Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
 
I don't think they really thought it was complicated, I just think they might have wanted to sound as if they didn't like books so they could seem like they were in with the "in" crowd.
 

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Posted by Julie (Member # 5580) on :
 
My school really doesn't have cliques the way most schools do. Most of the athletes do well in school (at least for some sports) and a lot of the "popular" kids get good grades too. But there also isn't really one crowd that's most popular. I always thought that cliques were just on TV and stuff until I talked to people who have really split schools. The jocks only talk to the jocks, the brains only talk to the brains, and the drama geeks only talk to the drama geeks. At my school the head cheerleader could also lead in the play and get high honors. (I think that did happen once, actually)
 

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Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
 
Well, my school was different.

The two biggest separate groups:
1. The people who did drugs
2. The people who didn't
I didn't go to the best high school, that's why I left. After I left, some girls were raped and only God knows what else.

I guess that's what happens when you cram 3,500 kids in one high school.
 

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Posted by ulyadd (Member # 5957) on :
 
wieczorek(i had a teacher in high school with the same name, wierd) i noticed all the time that i was in school that the kids that read anything by Card started with the Enders Game books and went on from there. If they are just going to be added to the library and not put on every students required reading list I really think they are your best bet. Its not just chance or luck mr. Card became famous because of those books.
 

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Posted by X12 (Member # 5867) on :
 

I had to read EG in school, we spent over a quarter on it, and of course I had read it at least five times before (aak, almost made me sick of EG by the time it was over... but it didn't). My teacher was too anyliticle on it, and only half the class was half-intelegent (the other half was, to say, STUPID!!! no offense to those people, of course...) meaning that we spent a day trying to sypher what was the importatacne of Locke and Demosthenes, which went on for about a week. I'm talking about when Peter and Val just started! I mean, why?! WHY?! The humanity! The humility! The injustance to me!

~P.S.- I got a great ammount of info from it, I think I still have it some where...
 

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Posted by Julie (Member # 5580) on :
 

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the other half was, to say, STUPID!!! no offense to those people, of course...

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I'm sure they won't take offense to being called STUPID.
 

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Posted by ulyadd (Member # 5957) on :
 
but some people are stupid they m,ust learn to embrace this and grow from it
 

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