Last month, the Queen's English Department was contacted by Jennifer Smart, a New Zealand writer, about an article she was writing on books that are studied in schools.

Students from the Years 11, 12 and 13 cohorts submitted their thoughts and the Department was delighted to see Melody Buckby, Sienna Jamieson and Annalise MacDonell's voices in the published piece.

https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/28-08-2023/what-books-are-young-people-studying-at-school-these-days

“Animal Farm exhibits how quickly a communist government can collapse and become a complete dictatorship, as well as explaining the in-depth hierarchy of the supposed communism. Animal Farm has a very important theme that is documented to the readers throughout the entire novel, which is the theme of power and how it corrupts. This novel constantly challenges students’ ideas around dictatorship and hierarchy, and has very specific moments that will open students’ eyes to a different understanding about communism and the corruption of power. Overall, I believe Animal Farm is an important book to study in New Zealand’s education system.” (Melody, Year 11)

“Some of the messages we learn from The Great Gatsby we see a lot through other media and even celebrities’ lives. I also think that some of the older English texts and films we do in class make it feel like we’re holding on to the old views that aren’t progressive in the way that we are trying to be now… Personally, my favourite English studies I have done were in year 9 and 10 and they were ones written or directed by women, or newer ones that support and celebrate all people. So, my view on whether The Great Gatsby is worth studying is that, yes it can be. It is worth learning from, but maybe we should be making an effort to do newer texts and films, especially in the senior school, instead of just defaulting to the ‘classics’.” (Sienna, Year 12)

“Othello presents students with an ultimatum; think critically, or suffer the consequences. In order to thrive in a world heavily influenced by ‘truth’ presented by mainstream and social media, students must each learn to critically analyse every piece of information brought before us. By bearing witness to the dire consequences suffered by Othello as he refuses to think with a critical mind, students in New Zealand are able to learn from Othello’s mistakes and learn for themselves the utmost importance of critical thinking. And, in a world growing significantly more rampant with misinformation and disinformation, it would be a moral crime to not teach the emerging generations how to live a life unaffected and unmanipulated by the modern day Iago; fake news.” (Annalise, Year 13)

Read the full article here.