I recently finished reading a book by Ellen Hopkins called Tricks. The book is based on true events and follows five teenagers as their lives spiral downward and they eventually become part of the prostitution industry. I am a big fan of books by Hopkins, and the first time I read one of her books, Crank, I was only a sophomore in high school. She writes about mature topics, such as drug use, but does so in verse rather than in prose. The style of the text was what originally drew me to her works. However, I'm not sure if I would feel comfortable stocking texts like these in my classroom when I am a teacher. Has anyone else read any books by Hopkins? How do you feel about the mature content? Is there a certain age at which these books would be deemed acceptable to have in the classroom library?
I can't say anything about this book specifically but I was required to read books for classes (in high school and college) that had pretty explicit material. I'm a huge supporter of not banning or censoring a school library (because no one ever censors life, and school is supposed to ready you for life). Mostly my experience with explicit books is primarily about "Lolita" "The Blueest Eye" "FoxGirl" and there were others, but these are the only titles coming to mind.
ReplyDeleteThese books always enriched my understanding of how people function, how they think, what they feel and it shows me the depths of humanity (the darkest depths). I can't imagine not teaching students about a 'real' book like the one you are talking about. BUT I also can't imagine teaching it to them without proper introduction, discussion and evaluation. You can teach a book like this wrong and make it look as though you are promoting the content, which would be a mistake.
I would gladly read this book just based on what you've said about it... AND I would consider teaching it just based on what you've said about it.
I should probably mention that I'm a secondary ed teacher, I don't think that elementary students would have the analytical capacity for a book about these themes. At least most wouldn't. I did read The Outsiders as a fifth grader and was absolutely able to break it down and understand it without getting confused and thinking it was the behavior bible for teens.
ReplyDeleteSo to specifically address your question about age I would say the MENTAL AGE of 13 or older. And mental age has nothing to do with actual age.