In July, The National Council of Teachers of English released the results of a survey that had many readers talking. According to the survey, “The list of the most taught books remains largely unchanged from 35 years ago.” Some ELA teachers and I got a chance to talk about these results with a reporter from The Wall Street Journal to weigh in on the lack of change in 35 years. I gave that interview three months ago, but I’d like to share some of the reasons that NCTE, and I, claim are inhibiting large scale change in teacher text selection.
To read a brief overview of the results from NCTE’s survey, click here. To download the full report, click here.
According to the survey, the top ten books taught across America had a lot in common. They were old, written by white authors, and mostly by men.
Although the survey supplied many reasons that teachers aren’t changing their curriculum, my conversation with WSJ reporter Sara Randazzo was elightening. It indicated that many people outside of education don’t realize what we’re up against. I appreciated the survey highlighting the issues interfering with teacher text selection, but I brought up a few more of my own that she hadn’t considered.
Factors That Interfere With Teacher Text Selection
Scripted Curriculum
The survey included questions on whether teachers were required to use a scripted curriculum. The survey’s results indicated that 35% of teachers use one. Student ethnic make-up, school economic status, and geography all had factors on how likely a school was to use a scripted curriculum.
Scripted curriculum is a double-edged sword. While it promises less prep for teachers, it results in what you’re reading here: a lack of diversity and unique educational experiences. Administrators often choose a scripted curriculum to make teaching more equitable when the same subject or text is spread across multiple teachers. However, many teachers find it limiting. It becomes harder to differentiate for student needs and abilities and is usually seen as less creative and engaging.
Required Reading & Teacher Choice
Another factor that many outside the education world don’t understand is required reading. Parents and school administrators like the idea of all students reading the same book, resulting in Romeo and Juliet being taught in most 9th grade classrooms.
While some teachers don’t have required reading, many have limited choice in what texts are chosen. More schools are hiring instructional coordinators and other administrators who specialize in curriculum selection, which limits individual teacher choice.
I understand grade-level required reading, although I still believe it should be a decision that teachers get more say in. I also believe that just because our parents read a book, doesn’t mean it’s the best book. Every year provides teachers with different students with different needs. And since there are so many rich texts to choose from, I see no reason to stick to a particular text just for posterity’s sake. Now, if there is a district or school-wide assessment, project, or activity, then a common text makes much more sense.
Censorship
One of the biggest factors affecting teacher text selection was censorship. The survey even broke down the different levels of censorship that teachers faced.
One interesting result is that many of the books that were popular 35 years ago were, and still are, being challenged. The report said, “To Kill a Mockingbird was the only book that appeared on both the top 10 censored and top 10 used books reported by teachers. It was the second most censored book but also the sixth most taught in schools. Eight of the remaining nine books on the top 10 most frequently taught list also appeared in the censored booklist. The only title that was not mentioned as being censored by teachers was Hamlet. Thus, while national reports have indicated that book censorship is targeting stories that address racism, gender identity, sexuality, and sexual violence, the findings show that virtually all books are indiscriminately being targeted, including commonly taught classics.”
Reasons for Censorship
The survey revealed some interesting reasons for censorship (see chart below.) It said, “We have elected not to release the full list of 1,374 unique titles because it gives fodder to censors, but we further analyzed the 93 texts that teachers mentioned most often…More than half (51) are diverse texts (see definition on page 3), which aligns with other censored book lists, which report that diverse texts are disproportionately attacked by censors. About half (47) of the censored texts were marketed for young adults and about half (46) were marketed for adults.”
Diversity
Although “91% [of teachers] said they wanted to use more diverse literature” in their classroom, the data above indicates that diverse authors or characters are more likely to be challenged.
I found absolutely none of this surprising. In fact, it made me feel very seen. The few challenges I’ve had to the literature I assign are usually from parents who aren’t familiar with a contemporary text. They’ve heard things, so they Google it to find any “bad parts.” Another sentiment I’ve heard is that if a parent has read it, then it must be okay. New texts, however, are immediately under scrutiny. While I appreciate parents’ interests in what their children were reading, I wish more were inclined to read along with their students, rather than determine its merit from a web search.
Other Factors That Limit Text Selection
In my interview with Sara Randazzo with The Wall Street Journal, I said the results were slightly disappointing, but not that surprising. I agreed with the limitations in the survey, but offered some of my own that I don’t feel were covered.
Price of Books
One factor in teacher text selection that I found woefully absent in this survey was cost of books. In my conversation with Ms. Randazzo, I shared that I was recently looking for a new title for my Honors sophomores. I was between Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. While I would prefer Born a Crime, my department is not up for curriculum review for several years. This means it is not the time to put in a large purchase order for new books.
Even on discount sites like Amazon, Born a Crime costs $11-20 per copy. Julius Caesar, on the other hand, costs about $4.00 per copy. In fact, I could even print off PDFs of the book for free, as the book is in the public domain. I decided to stick to Julius Caesar for now, aiming to add Born a Crime when I have a larger budget for new curriculum.
Cost of books is a huge factor for teachers. If we want to add a new book, we often have to find the money. It’s not rare to hear of teachers buying titles for literature circles or their classroom library using their own money. (I’ve done it!) So if outsiders want to ask why teachers aren’t integrating new books, they might want to look into funding sources.
Cost & Preparation of Curriculum
Another factor that the survey didn’t discuss is that new books don’t teach themselves. If we switch to a new book, we also need curriculum to teach that book. And if the school isn’t providing a scripted curriculum, that is on teachers to prepare. Either they create one in their personal time or they must buy teaching materials, often with their own personal money. Furthermore, 35 years includes not just a change in titles, but in teaching methods. We can’t just assign chapters to read and talk about them in class each day. Online resources and AI have made critical thinking assignments harder to create. Plus, cell phones have made the average teenager’s attention span harder to harness. In short, it’s a lot of work to create engaging lessons for new texts.
Variety of Texts
One small detail discussed in the study was that more titles are being spread across more classrooms. It says, “Teachers are utilizing diverse, contemporary literature…; however, there are many recent contemporary and diverse text choices available for teachers and because of the sheer range of titles and options, those titles appear on the list less frequently.” In the 80s, there were fewer texts being used in the classroom. Today, however, teachers have more to choose from. The survey of just over 4000 teachers included more than 5000 unique titles being taught in classrooms across the nation. This could indicate that there are many new and fresh titles being taught across America, they just aren’t measuring up in popularity against the smaller number of “classics.”
Moving to Excerpts
NCTE’s report discussed teachers who were being asked to move away from full length texts entirely. It says, “Participants described the elimination of their school libraries, voluntary and forced removal of their classroom libraries, and directives to stop teaching all book-length texts.” Considering the factors described above, plus the Common Core’s emphasis on informational texts, many districts have reduced full length texts, some even removing them entirely.
A similar problem was discussed in Rose Horowitch’s article from The Atlantic last year. This controversial article had polarizing reactions among teachers. Many agreed emphatically with this it. Others felt it placed too much of the blame on classroom teachers rather than educational leaders who put these limitations on teachers and students in the first place.
Conclusion
I hope you get a chance to read this report, especially if you are not a teacher. The biggest thing I want people to learn is that it is easy to criticize the text selections of teachers. However, there are many factors to consider, both included and excluded in the results of this survey. If we want to increase students’ textual diversity 35 years from now, there are several steps we can take:
- Provide necessary funds for books and curriculum. Many teachers are dying for a chance to teach new texts. They just can’t find the funds to pay for it.
- Involve classroom teachers in the decision-making for text selection. Too often, this decision is made by instructional coordinators, administrators, or even parents with no educational background. Let’s treat teachers like the experts they are!
- Last but certainly not least: pay teachers more. Teachers want to teach books that reflect the world their students live in. We want our classrooms to feel alive with new voices and fresh stories. But that kind of change requires investment, both in resources and in people. If we want to see new books in the classroom, let’s start by valuing the ones already there: the teachers.