"Kite Runner" was assigned as summer reading in high school. I went into it with no warning about what it would be about and no one to support me, confide in, or help me process.
The second part of that was the problem. The second part of that was the problem. It was obviously a terrible idea and the consequences were completely foreseeable.
There were also no lessons or discussion of the book when we came back to school. We had one multiple choice test and that was it. The rest of that year's curriculum seemed to have nothing to do with "Kite Runner". I have no idea why it was *required* summer reading. It wasn't, 'pick x many books off this list', it was, 'read this book'.
I don't know what the fucking point was.
For me it was an interesting slice of life story about a different culture and different religion that got brutally dark. It could have very easily come across as, "Look at those horrible barbarians over there." And knowing some of my classmates, that is probably what they got out of it.
It's a fucking shame we didn't have a competent, experience, educated adult guiding us through the experience of that book.
Then again, my teacher the year before handled "Catcher in the Rye" atrociously as well.
But the guidance counselor, other trusted teachers, and my support network were right there.
I came across "Brave New World" earlier, in middle school, and stopped reading on my own when I got upset. But I felt I had to force myself to slog through Kite Runner until I got to the point that I literally, physically couldn't.
In 8th grade (different district) we spent basically the half the year on "Night" by Elie Wiesel. It was done compassionately and kindly. I don't know how to describe it, what about the lessons made it this way, but it was one of the most meaningful, affirming experiences I've had. I guess our needs as students, children, and individuals were being met. And that was so rare.
It's been over ten years since "Kite Runner" and I feel chilled, sick to my stomach, and the vivid visuals of that one scene crawl out of my memories and make the hair at the back of my neck stand up just from unexpectedly reading the title.
I don't have anything close to that reaction to "Catcher in the Rye", "Brave New World", or "Night."
School in itself is kind of a fucked up restrictive institution, but I don't know how to fix it. In light of that, I think it's critical that we give young people the tools to realize something is making them uncomfortable, and to realize that they can leave that situation. And I can't think of a better, safer, healthier way to do that than stories.
And when we do force children to engage with difficult topics, we should give them the care, respect, and tools to manage those situations instead of treating them like cogs in a machine and these topics as points on a list to check off.
The problem isn't the books, it's the teachers, the class rooms, and the school environment.
I worry if I were to try and "heal" from my experience with "Kite Runner" I would have to read the book again. I was never able to finish it.
