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As this spring semester started, I found a growing excitement to be back on campus and begin my studies again. Although it was quite pleasant to have a break from school during winterim, I was eager to get back on campus and hit the floor running.
Part of this excitement could be because of the courses I was taking. In particular, one course that I was really looking forward to — and one I am currently enjoying quite a bit — was Sociology of Education.
Talking about education, the institution itself and the theories that surround it have always been interesting to me, and needless to say, I was giddy at the chance to take a sociology course all about that.
However, what surprised me was that the course discussions led me to reflect on my own educational experience. Admittedly, though, in retrospect, this shouldn’t have been a terrible surprise.
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In my reflection, I began thinking about some of my favorite classes I took throughout my school years leading up to college. To nobody’s surprise, most of the classes ended up being my English classes.
Thinking about this now, my mind wanders to the various books that I was required to read for classes. Naturally, I thought, what better way to talk about them than in a Book Club article.
Now, if I talk about all the books I was required to read for school, we would be here forever, so I’ll be sticking to a single title from each school I attended from elementary school to high school.
The first title is, without a doubt, the elementary classic “Holes” by Louis Sachar.
It was in third grade when I read this book, and I distinctly remember being quite enthralled during reading time.
The book follows Stanley Yelnats, a boy who is unjustly sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp. There, he, along with other boys, is tasked with digging holes in a dried-up lake as a “character-building” punishment.
I clearly wasn’t the only one who left reading the book feeling impressed; the book won the 1998 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and the 1999 John Newbery Award.
Although a great book that was able to entertain me in third grade, I think what solidified it as a warmly nostalgic memory was the fact that my class watched the 2003 movie adaptation after reading the book. Great flick (from what I can vaguely remember; going to need a rewatch, I think.
Moving on from elementary school, we are now brought to the horridly hormonal pre-teen mess that is middle school.
Thinking back on the books that I read during this period, one starkly stands out as being quite influential and eye-opening. I can confidently say that the book was “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
Published in 2012, the book is about two Mexican-American teens, Aristotle Mendoza and Dante Quintana, and their relationship with one another. With lyrical prose and emotional rawness, the book tackles themes of identity, queerness and coming-of-age.
This book, unlike “Holes,” wasn’t one read together as a class. Rather, as a final project for our eighth-grade English class, we had to choose a book and write a paper on it.
My friends and I decided to all pick up this book, and we all became obsessed. From the beautiful prose to the resonance the themes had in all of us, the book stands out to me as one I fondly look back on.
Entering my last phase of pre-college schooling, I have two titles picked out. As mentioned before, I’m picking books from each school I attended, and I went to two different high schools: Southwest High School in Minneapolis, MN, and Hudson High School in Hudson, WI.
At Southwest High School, the book that is quite distinct in my brain is “1984” by George Orwell.
Unlike the previous two titles, which were chosen based on how I enjoyed them a lot, this title is based on hate. Sheer hate.
Now, I understand the importance of this book. The book covers themes of totalitarianism, surveillance, really, the panopticon of it all. It serves as a warning to society’s potential towards a totally authoritative future.
However, that all said, the main character of the book, Winston, is so insufferable to me. All of his thoughts, all of his actions, just seem to be a breeding ground for incel ideology.
I had the unfortunate experience of having to read this book twice, as Southwest High School required it to be read as a freshman, and I had to read it again in my senior AP Literature class at Hudson High School.
Summing up the two experiences, I like to use this phrase: enlightening, somewhat, but at what cost?
The last book I want to talk about is the incredible “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston, read at Hudson High School
A classic of the Harlem Renaissance, this book follows the life of Janie Crawford, a Black woman in the South, during the 1920s and 30s. A journey filled with strife, love, navigation of gender roles and, ultimately, freedom of the self, this book is by all definitions mesmerizingly beautiful.
Released in 1937, the book was initially met with harsh critique from other Harlem Renaissance writers, falling out of print in the 1960s.
However, in 1973, Alice Walker, notable writer and activist, journeyed to Hurston’s unmarked grave, during which she recovered this book, as well as others. Walker pushed “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and Hurston’s other works into the scope of mainstream literature.
This was one of the first books my AP Literature class read, and I strongly remember the discussions we had around the book being incredibly thought-provoking.
Although I’m usually not one to reread a book, talking about some of these school classics might just make me start.
Hirata can be reached at [email protected].
