I’ve been thinking a lot abt the canon blow-up. I think I have two threads in me (this might get messy - not really a threader). First up, my student experience long ago: I have always been a reader but I did not always read the assigned book. Because - many were a slog and

I could “get the grade” w/o it. Novels assigned (1970s): Moby Dick, Huck Finn, Gatsby, Bible, Of Mice+Men, Bell Jar East of Eden, Go Tell It On The Mountain, Catcher + A Miller plays, Glass Menagerie, Julius Caesar, Othello, Merch of Venice , +Poe, Hawthorne short stories.

First - 1 woman writer, 1 writer of color. 2nd - as a W teen girl, think abt models in these books. Most missing, marginal, wicked or end up dead. Strongest had to pass as male to be heard, or were church ladies in Baldwin (by far the strongest). That’s as a WHITE student.

Also, did not finish most of these* - as always @TchKimPossible is right. I didn’t need to - I was a reader, so could write well enough, listened in class, watched the films, etc. I knew that school reading was for a grade and that was it (echoing @JasonReynolds83 here)

About models - I was lucky. Had a poetry class where we read Rich, Lorde, Clifton, Dickinson, etc. plus 1970s so I had MS Mag, Shirley Chisholm’s run, Barbara Jordan +Watergate, Bella Abzug, Steinem, etc. also * don’t fret, I have read all of the books now (+ love some of them)

FF 20 years when I return to same high school. MOST of the books I read are exactly what’s in the book closet and are still being taught. Did add several new titles, and almost no one was teaching Melville anymore, but still not much change in 20 years.

To recap - as an H student in ‘70s at a very good high school, with excellent teachers, I did not read most of the books all the way through, I found few and disappointing models ( as a White girl), and despite that, most books remain on our shelves and in the classroom

Not arguing throw it all out (which again is NOT the #DisruptTexts argument either) but clearly this plan didn’t work for me, certainly didn’t for others, and we still do it. Why? Who else still teaches what they taught 20 years ago? Forgot WALDEN - pages + pages of red ants ugh!

2nd thread to come but first I need @robdford to give me permission to steal his baseball analogy.

Shoot - meant to write white in all caps for emphasis the last time too, not to capitalize only W ( hope purpose of the emphasis is clear...).