Im not a teacher, a politician, an academic or a student (although more years ago than I care to

remember I went through the process of GCSEs, A Levels and a degree). So my only authority for
having an opinion on having certain works of American literature removed from the syllabus is that I
once went to school, I like reading and I have a son who will be taking GCSEs in 7 years. Id like to
think some sense finds its way back into the system by then.
To Kill a Mockingbird was a set text in the year I did my GCSE English exam. My husband studied Of
Mice and Men (I recall reading The Pearl by John Steinbeck in lessons at this time, which led me on
to the story of George and Lennie). Both of us had our eyes opened to completely different worlds.
My comfortable if a little odd round the edges Warwickshire life was nothing like Scouts
existence in Maycomb. Yet at the same time, her questions, her temper, her exasperation and her
loyalty made me think wed have got along. I dreamed of being as quick with my fists as she was
(granted, it wasnt always the right way to behave, but she always had the courage of her
convictions!) I also had a small crush on her father: Atticus Finch, a wise and brave man trying to do
the right thing against the flow of public opinion.
So what does that make Mr Gove? The anti-Atticus? A dull and cowardly man meddling for no good
reason? Of course, he does share the against the flow of public opinion part with Mr Finch, Ill give
him that.
I have taken a look at the Department of Education document English Literature GCSE Subject
Content and Assessment Objectives. Its worth a read. It states:
Through literature, students have a chance to develop culturally and acquire knowledge of the best
that has been thought and written. Studying GCSE English Literature should encourage students to
read widely for pleasure.....
Again, Ive only my own experience to go on, but fighting my way through Middlemarch, David
Copperfield, Tess of the DUrbervilles and The Moonstone aged 15/16 would not have encouraged
me to seek out other 19
th
Century novels. And I like reading. I actually have copies of these very
books on my shelves here at home and now aged 36 read them for pleasure. Ive even been
known to dip into Bleak House. Ive read all of Shakespeares plays (and appeared in productions of
some of them) and can often be found looking to Simon Armitage, Ted Hughes, Wendy Cope, Philip
Larkin and W.H. Auden for poetry to help me express some of the feelings I have that I lack the
ability to express so eloquently myself. I dont dislike English authors, or Victorian literature or think
that Shakespeare and Dickens should be put to one side. I do, however, think that if we want
students of differing abilities to find a love of literature then hitting them over the head with 821
pages of George Eliot isnt the way to do it.
[Interesting note: Ive just checked the length of Middlemarch to ensure an accurate reference in the
paragraph above, and see that my copy was awarded to me at Myton Schools Annual Speech day
and Prizegiving in 1996 as the Robert Virtue Memorial Prize for English Literature at A Level. This
was a set text for my degree, which is why I asked for it. Something I was going to be studying in
depth at 18, not at 15. It makes a difference.]
I dont want to use the word accessible too much as it makes it sound like Im patronising
teenagers, and I know that there are some very erudite and well educated young people out there
who have read the whole of Eliots oeuvre by the age of 12 and think Im a moron for suggesting
they might find any of it hard going. But I cant ignore the fact that there are people making their
way through our education system and coming out the other end of it unable to read. Our GCSE
literature syllabus shouldnt make reading seem elitist and dry and leave students thinking that
culture simply means everyone speaks like a bad period drama script.
And finally.....what about all the wonderful pop culture references students are going to miss out on
if they dont get to study To Kill A Mockingbird or Of Mice and Men? So many jokes on The
Simpsons, Friends, Futurama, Lost, How I Met Your Mother, Pretty Little Liars and 30 Rock will pass
them by. Even those inveterate book haters who try to get away with watching the film or tv series
will miss out on the glorious Gregory Peck in full swing. I know that, in my case, reading To Kill A
Mockingbird aged 15 was a life changing moment. I will never grow tired of revisiting this book or
being reminded about courage, justice, empathy and understanding.