Classic Books Off The Gcse List But Only In Wales

[naomi24]

John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' and Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' have been removed from the GCSE list amid racial slurs fear. 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cge922jn1z8o

 

Should Wales be protecting sensitivities to this extent and if so what other classic works should be abandoned?

[Old_Geezer]

It is utter idiocy.

 

So typical of today's authorities.

[max137]

How long have these books been in print now they get sensitive madness of the first degree.

[JJ109]

Should definitely remove Black Beauty!

[barney4444]

Just reading about a young girl 'of colour' who explained that when some of the extremely outdated and quite offensive terms were read out in class she was hurt by the looks and  childish remarks she had to put up with, surely there are more suitable books that could be studied without causing children to be upset.

[max137]

barney4444 again bowing to hurty feelings people need to get real.

[newmodarmy]

These two have been off the syllabus for 10 years in England. As the article says of OMAM: "A major exam board in England dropped the text in 2014 when the then Education Secretary Michael Gove said more British works should be studied."

The main ones seem to be A Christmas Carol and An Ispector Calls.

[Khandro]

Othello next ?

[Atheist]

Or the Merchant of Venice?

[bednobs]

was othello studied at gcse anyway?

[bednobs]

according to my AI it is.

im just trying to remember what we stdied for e lit gcse, but it's so long ago i cant remember!

[max137]

I am suprised that they can even read due to the dumbing of education.

[douglas9401]

The behaviour of knights of old is an affront to white people and should be expunged.

Yours etc, G. Orwell, Room 101, Newspeak-on-Wye oh Wye.

[pastafreak]

Good grief...these books are representative of the times they were written in. How else do children understand how and why attitudes changed. Should the history of white vs black Americans be erased as it might be offensive? What next?

[drmorgans]

 

Maybe Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights should be banned due to the depiction of domestic violence and abuse.

 

[max137]

A failure of the teacher to explain the context of the subject.

[Khandro]

^^ Like the French schoolteacher Samuel Paty

[newmodarmy]

WJEC are an Exam board based in Wales but schools across the UK can choose which exam board's papers they sit. Some schools in England choose WJEC, others choose Edexcel, AQA, OCR etc. Many schools in Wales use WJEc but some choose AQA, OCR, Edexcel etc.

The list of books has changed  a lot over the last 10 years to reflect Gove's requirement for more British (rather than US) authors, and to 'recognise the importance of diversity'. Old favourites like An Inspector Calls and Blood Brothers are still in there, alongside options like Christmas Carol and Jane Eyre, but new, 'more diverse' texts include Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah and Anita and Me by Meera Syal.

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/english-literature-2015/teaching-support/new-diverse-texts.html?utm_source=keyfeatures&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=GBSEGS0918SWIT&utm_content=english

Shakespeare and Poetry (War Poets) are still in there.

The OCR syllabus is here

https://www.ocr.org.uk/images/168995-specification-accredited-gcse-english-literature-j352.pdf

 

[Canary42]

This shows the ignorance of the academics - the whole theme of To Kill a Mocking Bird is specifically anti-racist.