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Dethroning the English Queen: Book Clubs across Disciplines

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June 3, 2022 by Meriwether Joyner

Meriwether Joyner
English Teacher
DSST: Conservatory Green High School
Denver, CO

The idea emerged at our end of year-staff party in the midst of a vibrant conversation about reading with some of our strongest senior STEM teachers. I listened to our wildly intelligent  BC Calculus teacher, who has his Doctorate in Astrophysics, nerd out over N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth Trilogy. Then, our Computer Science and Psychology teacher followed with a story about how John Green’s Looking for Alaska basically saved his life in high school. Their faces lit up as they spoke enthusiastically about the complexity of characters, the modern implications of the themes, and the beauty of the writing. There was something powerful about the authenticity of the discussion and the raw enthusiasm these teachers had. I immediately thought, “I wish my students could see this.” And then, “Could I find a way to replicate this moment for them?” And if so, “What might it catalyze in them—particularly the ones who consider themselves math and science students?”


My attempt to answer these questions would deliver me to a very old and simple concept—book clubs—an idea, I’ll admit, I was tempted to cast off because it seemed to lack a sense of innovation or flair. Yet, I would turn to book clubs, a simple concept, with one singular twist that would make all the difference.

There was something powerful about the authenticity of the discussion and the raw enthusiasm these teachers had. I immediately thought, “I wish my students could see this.” And then, “Could I find a way to replicate this moment for them?” And if so, “What might it catalyze in them—particularly the ones who consider themselves math and science students?”

In the fall of 2021, after returning from a year that was almost entirely virtual, students struggled to engage in long-form reading. However, long-form reading is necessary to prepare for the AP English test. If you know the AP English Literature test, you know that the third free response question asks students about any topic, and they must write an essay addressing that prompt using a novel or play they have read. So, they need to be deep readers, but they also have to read a wide variety of novels. In my class, students are required to read one independent reading book per trimester, but the first trimester yielded lackluster results. No one really loved their book. Many struggled to finish. Even some of the students who love to read struggled to maintain interest in their books.

At the same time, I noticed our school lacked our previous, close-knit, community feel. Those fun, passing conversations in the halls between students and teachers happened less and less. Students did not seem to know teachers of other grade levels and vice versa. The time we spent in quarantine kept many of those connections from developing, and it was something that I couldn’t quite name but showed in the feel of our halls, lunches, and extracurricular events.

As I grappled with what to do about both of these issues, my mind returned to the conversation from the end-of-year staff party, and I began to develop the book club concept. I reached out to teachers and administrators and asked them to consider a basic plan: lead a book club on one of their favorite books with approximately 10-15 senior students from my AP English Literature course. Meet twice—halfway through the book and at the end of the book, either during lunch or after school. Share their enthusiasm for the book and lead discussion of characters, themes, etc. The teachers were thrilled about the idea, and those who agreed teach 10th-12th grade courses, from AP Biology and Biochemistry to Precalculus and AP Calculus to AP Psychology and Computer Science. I also led a group. The books we chose were Sanderson’s Mistborn, Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees, Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers, Backman’s Beartown, Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone, Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, Herbert’s Dune, and Steinbeck’s East of Eden.

In December, the book clubs kicked off. I enjoyed popping into them and hearing the discussions, but it was the data I gathered after them that sticks with me most. Sixty-eight percent of the students said they understood their book better after the book club meetings, fifty-four percent said the book clubs gave them the opportunity to interact with a teacher or student with whom they don’t normally interact, and forty-three percent of students said they believe the book club helped them enjoy the book more than they would have if they read it alone. 

One student’s comments stand out: 

“The best thing about book club was the book – it’s probably one of my favorites right now since I’ve been trying to get back into reading, and this book really brought it all back: feeling excited to read, reading on my own time, and being eager to continue reading…I truly do appreciate this book.”

Eight out of nine teachers said they would lead a book club again. The leader of Mistborn shared about connections:

  “I decided to lead a book club because I wanted to share my enjoyment of reading and specifically reading big fantasy books! I was hoping to foster fun conversations about fantasy and talk about things I like outside of mathematics. I was hoping to connect with students on another nerdy level besides math. I feel I was able to reach that goal.”

The leader of All the Light We Cannot See shared what she learned in this process about the challenges of teaching English:

“I think the challenge is definitely equity of voice—making sure everyone gets a chance to talk, but not overly forcing discussion so that we have a good balance of students sharing. Trying to get students to respond to each other is also a challenge rather than just having the teacher lead the discussion.”

These data were generally what I expected and hoped for: students enjoyed getting to interact with other teachers in book clubs, getting to hear different perspectives on the books, and 63% would go on to sign up for a book club the next trimester when I offered it as an option but not a requirement. Many of the challenges were what I expected as well: the logistics demanded a high level of organization, many reminders had to be given and some students still forgot about their book club day, and managing so many teachers to ensure high quality discussions was challenging. But the most surprising finding to me was really what this project revealed about school community and leveraging resources that I had not thought of as resources before.

I started this project thinking that I was giving students the opportunity to learn about lifelong literacy through a different avenue, but I realized the experience was much more of a two-way street than I initially thought. We have a unique privilege as English teachers to discuss challenging and important topics with our students and to get to hear their opinions in a way other teachers do not. Getting to share this opportunity with science and math teachers really became one of my favorite parts. As I stepped into the book clubs, it was so clear that relationships between teachers and students were strengthening because other content-area teachers were allowed into this setting. I heard students chatting about their books with teachers outside of the book clubs as well, sparking those student-teacher hall and lunch chats that I had so deeply missed hearing. One teacher organized a viewing party for his book club to watch the first episode of the show based on their book. One student reached out about leading her own book club in the next trimester. Students from other grades whom I had not met came up to ask about the book clubs and how they could get involved. It was truly something that increased positive interactions in our school. 

As I stepped into the book clubs, it was so clear that relationships between teachers and students were strengthening because other content-area teachers were allowed into this setting.

In addition, the student enthusiasm for their book and buy-in around the book they chose was so much higher than when I alone encouraged them to read independently. I don’t think I had ever understood how much of a resource the other teachers in my building were until this moment. One student shared with me that while he liked his book, there was a part in the middle that he got bogged down in; he stated that he only kept reading because he knew it was his favorite math teacher’s book and that he knew it would be worth it if she liked it so much. In addition, because of the wealth of knowledge of different types of books, students were able to find books that they were genuinely interested in, not just ones they were willing to read. I deeply appreciated the sheer breadth of titles and authors the teachers brought to our class, and I could not have done this alone. Being able to leverage others with vastly different and varied interests tapped something new and positive in my students.

While not revolutionary or captivatingly innovative, this return to the age-old book club in a new way proved worth the effort both for my individual class and the community.

In education, now more than ever, we can be tempted to be islands, but we are far from that, especially if we choose to see everyone around us as the valuable resource that they are. This project has reminded me that I am too narrow-minded when I think I am the only English expert, the only one with something to offer my English classroom. This project reminded me that I must continually dethrone myself from my elitist place as “English Queen.” And finally, this project reminded me to expand my often too-rigid borders to ask anyone who is willing, “What do you have to offer? How can you be a part of this?

Meriwether Joyner is a 2021-22 Endowed Audacity Fellow.


1 comment »

  1. Colin Baumgartner says:

    Meriwether, I am only just now reading this and I’ve found so much to think about here. I delight in your declaration that “We have a unique privilege as English teachers to discuss challenging and important topics with our students and to get to hear their opinions in a way other teachers do not.” I’ve been thinking a lot about this unique position (and of course the challenges that come with it). The fact that many of the teachable moments and important dilemmas/topics/problems arise from the texts we assign to students makes the choice of texts so important…

    I’ve also been asking kids to read one choice novel per quarter and it has been a joy to read through their notes on what they are reading. I am tempted to copy your book group idea though. I do think it is so important to have the communal sharing aspect in play. Thanks for sharing your findings and musings.

    I’ll have to pick your brain sometime soon to get some tips on how to set up book groups of my own…

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