I had an interesting conversation with Lynn today, the reading teacher with me at the middle school. We talked about having to read essential literature. I may be changing my stance.

It seems to me that my previous list of the top ten books that all students should read before graduating is problematic. Can I really force a student to read something they have no interest in?

Take The Scarlet Letter for instance. I absolutely hated it as a junior in high school. It was a struggle to get through. Maybe it was the theme or the fact that they were talking about infidelity in marriage and I had no bloody clue as to what true fidelity or love was yet. I had barely had a girl friend up to junior year. How the heck did I know what the hell this novel was really talking about? And I remember hating it and I was in the highest honors English course. I have always been a top level reader. It wasn't that it was hard, it was that it was frickin boring.

Then I read The Scarlet Letter again in 2001. I had to because South Kitsap High School required it to be taught to the juniors. This was the only absolute literature requirement that South's English department chair was adamant on. And heaven help you if you disagreed with her. This time, being almost 28 years old and all the life that I had been through, I absolutely loved it.

Now it seemed to hit home. Now it seemed applicable and understandable. It wasn't this alien conglomeration of concepts. Now I saw the true reason that it was a classic. It wasn't because I was a better reader, it was because I was into it.

So what can you MAKE a kid truly read. They won't read anything if you make them. I have learned that now. I had kids voraciously read fantasy book after fantasy book but would not crack open the book that was assigned for class. Did I as an English teacher really assess this student on language arts and reading ability or did I grade his conformity to the classroom? Now that is a dilemma.

I may think about my Top Ten now as just a "guideline" for higher end readers to help them in their post-high school career. I still believe that they need to be exposed to the analogy that is the red letter A on Hester Prynne's chest. They may not have to read the stinking book though.

Assigning high-interest books in personal categories and choices is probably more important than what they actually read. That kid that read the fantasy books or that girl that was always reading those Palahiuk novels probably knew plenty of language arts. I knew that I was a good reader even though I read a thousand tons of comics.

Thing is...those comics made me read. I branched out into other readings because of them. I still read comics, for Christ's sake, but I still read! If that's what it takes, then I am going to have to analyze what I teach and what I actually want the students to learn.