I just saw a post about Shakespear and was saddened that when my kids went to school they didn't get any of the classics, Shakespear, Chaucer, Stienbeck,poetry simply because the teachers didn't think they would be interested. I'm of the opinion that if they want to pass the course, they should have to read what the teacher decides, not the students. I know that from grade 6 my son only ever got one kind of book and mostly the same author even. No wonder he doesn't read today!
[question posted by judyt00]
responses and comments:
I am in a perfect condition to answer this question, because I am still in High School and I truly hate my English class. I mean, truly, utterly hate it. I have actually cursed my teachers. Not in the swearing sense, but in the Gaelic ancient words requesting that the Great Mother smite my enemies (I know I'm a little weird :) ). I personally think that most of the classics are pure garbage, and I have only enjoyed a few of them (Catcher in the Rye was decent, I could tolerate the Great Gatsby, and I really liked Fahrenheit 451). I personally think that some of Shakespeare is decent, but I haven't been overly impressed with Macbeth, Julius Caesar, or Romeo and Juliet. I thought that As I Lay Dying was possibly the worst book that I ever read, Turn of the Screw made me want to claw out my eyes, and I had to read We Were the Mulvaneys which was 450 pages of a badly written soap opera. I haven't read any Stienbeck or Chaucer yet. Those are slated for a little later. Possibly the biggest problem that I have with these "Classics" is that the teachers just love to teach a bunch of symbolism that is usually found just by reading too much into it. It is often clear that their own personal bias dominates the discussions and they are inevitably one-sided and pointless. My insane liberal English teacher from California jumps through hoops to link everything we read to society holding people back. As far as poetry, I can take it or leave it. Some are nice but most aren't that impressive to me. I like Poe's work, but I view Emily Dickenson as highly overrated. I also personally despise the needless over analysis of the poetic form used by various authors, which again usually just leads to a pre-packaged and pointless discussion over virtually non-existant symbolism. I can understand the decision of these teachers to just not teach the classics. It is easy for a student to just read the Spark Notes or Cliff Notes for a story, listen to the lectures, and then pass a mildly hard test. Teachers may have also gotten wise to the fact that forcing students to read the classics can often cause them to view reading as pointless and a dreaded affair. I personally believe that they will have much more luck by having them read more modern and interesting books. For example, almost everyone in my class read Kite Runner when it was assigned for summer reading. It was a modern book that was decent for the most part. I personally didn't care for the turn it took at the end, but it was still an interesting read. My class is a lazy, lazy class. On average maybe 40% actually read the book and not just the spark notes. The simple fact that most of them read it should speak volumes. To end, I'd like to clarify the situation. I am a junior at a very good private school that actually has decent teachers (for the most part *sigh*). I'm not some emo kid who gets D's and F's on everything. I'm an honor role student who is tired (mentally and physically) of reading boring "Classics" that don't make me a better person. I actually enjoy reading in general. A look at my other posts show would show that I enjoy reading very deep mangas on my own time, and I am a fan of the H.P. Lovecrafts works (Not exactly light reading). Being forced to read books just makes me loathe reading in my free time, and it really depresses me that this is happening. The only thing keeping me remotely moralized is that I know I probably won't have to take the English final, because I plan to take the AP test this spring. Sorry for the long post, but I had a lot to say. [AvarianParakeet]
I have one question You are now in high school fine great and there is no doubt you are very intelligent and certainly set in your ways I have no problem with that at all I wonder when you are a little older and look back to your High School Days will you feel the same...I hated high school with a passion now that i am a senior i look back and am sorry that i didnot recognize that those where the best years of my life Boy being your parent would be a full time job my little parakeet [maddy37]
When I was in high school, we always went out of our way to find ways to pass the classes without reading the material. It seemed stale, boring, irrelevant and we resented having to read it. But no, many, many, many years later, I have gone back and read a lot of classic literature and feel that I was able to appreciate it much more as I was more mature. I think that you have to have some experience under your belt and some perspective on life to recognize that the themes present in classic literature are timeless and that reading them is not torture. So I wouldn't lose hope on high school students who hate the classics; they have many years to later develop an appreciation for them. [cajundharma]
This was actually close to the idea that I was trying to present. English classes slaughter any good themes that exist in the classics through tedious and pointless exercises that make students resent the books. I personally felt that some books really did have a great message that I was able to respect, but I despised having to read them and the teaching style crushed my interest in them. In truth, Camus' The Stranger actually had a significant effect on my philosophy. It was funny though that my English teacher completed misrepresented the book. He taught us for days about the existenialism that exists in it, but I found that it was actually a nihilist book after some independent review. He completely stretched the meaning of existenialism too. [AvarianParakeet]
ya it wud be nice to have aroun old classics as a part curriculum.the english as in shakespere is different n one of its kin.similarly wordsworth n others . so it wud be nice to hav the classics . [katiyer]
the high school I attended still required reading of some classics such as macbeth, othello, and a few others, not sure if to kill a mocking bird is considered a classic, but still a pretty good book, in jr high they read books like the outsiders and such, so its more of things that they are interested in, but not something they would pick up on their own, so i think they are trying to prepare them for high school reading. Sorry I cant remember all the books, I graduated 4 years ago and there has been alot more info come through my head since then. [lilttownmommie]
I think this is the problem with most young teachers of today. They seem to sacrifice the really important lessons if these lessons tend to be boring to the students. I think it is a matter of the teacher's preference also. They should find a way to make the kids interested to study, and not find lessons that these kids PREFER to study. Come on sirs and madams... BE CREATIVE!!! [tgfloresca]
personally speaking i think that they should have to read the classics. now a days, in entertainment, there are a lot of jokes and puns based off shakespare. there are also a lot of movies based off his plays. and without knowlege of the original creator of these pieces, children will be lost and not get the joke. [nekiar]
We cannot thrust things on children, except to prevent their stoop down to extremely irretrievable moral levels. This will be a rare occurrence. [multisubj]
So, then you don't think we should force children to learn anything? How do you plan on having them learn anything then? They won't even learn to use the toilet properly unless you make them. Goingby what you said, we should just hand them thecontols to the x=box and let them go at it, just giving them food whenever they want it. [judyt00]
i dont think classics should be made compulsory coz it adds to ur pressure .........it shud b optional and always be studied by those who want to study it and are interested in them. [shuvayan]
Not all classics should be mandatory but some has to be i think shakespear is to b the one in that. [maru_047in]
The sad thing is not the fact that schools do not teach the classics, but the simple fact that students are not taught art and literature appreciation. 99% of adults have no real use for art and literature EXCEPT for the fact that it adds quality to life. Why teach the content of a great book, when the emphasis should be on cultivating appreciation for literature and art? And this should start at home, by supportive parents, who read to their children and take them to theathre productions and art exhibitions, like my mother did, from the point where we could walk, talk and see. She crammed our lives with stories, music, etc. and it paid off, as her three boys all enjoy reading, Classical Music as well as commercial, foreign language films. This was the greatest gift she could give us. [olaff123]
I think some of the classics should be taught. I do however, remember reading a book in class that put me to sleep every single time I opened it. The name of it was A Separate Peace (don't remember which spelling). It was absolutely the driest thing I have ever read in my life, even to this day. I understand totally what Avarian is saying. She is clearly a very intelligent and well schooled young lady and she had an excellent point. She pointed to how boring the teachers had made the class by over emphasizing the symbolism or even creating the symbolism. Instead of letting the students read this stuff and enjoy it, and maybe test them on their comprehension, they instead fill them with symbolism and theory that may or may not have had anything to do with the original writing of the story. This is part of the problem. Another thing to keep in mind, on average, is that the students of above average intelligence are frequently bored in class. And if you bore a child enough, they lose interest in the subject at hand. [nw1911guy]
i have been a literature student and have read many classics by various authors. poetry...drama.....novels.....all this constituted our syllabus. but i would agree with avarian parakeet on one point.....teachers actually kill the essence and aura of a beautiful classic with their concieted and biased opinions,symbolism and explanations....its like crucifying the work.....slicing it. i enjoy them more when i read them on my own without someone telling me what to think of specific character,speech or symbol. [opinder]
i am a student in romania and here we have a lot to read, the school teachers give us a lot to read. i have read King Lear, hamlet Romeo and Juliet that Shakespear wrote and other important writers from our country. [sandra11051989]
When I did work on Shakespeare last yaer, I absolutely dreaded it. The language and writing is out-dated, and I don't believe it should be taught any longer. [peterw24]
i think in high schools its better to teach lessons of different authors ,so that they will get interest of different types of stories.even they will be knowing about different kind of autors also. [hari_495]
i have to agree with you and i also believe that classics should be made a part of our curriculm in schools,by choice if not it should be made mandatory.i remember going to my high school and reading about homers illiad,it really suprised me later on to see how many people did not even know who homer was leave alone hercules. what is so sad about all this is that classics actually teaches us a lot about OUR past.it is the past which shapes our preent and future.i just wish that shcools woke up to the importance of classics like homers illiad and odyssey! http://library.thinkquest.org/19300/data/homer.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer http://www.shakespeare.com/ [scorpius]
My question is who gets to choose the classics? To me that would be books like the lord of the rings and everything by Robert Heinlein, as well as the others. My daughter is being home schooled so her mother gets to choose which books she gets to read. [michaelkaer]
I think you are correct. we had one teacher who let us pick 6 from a list the first day of school, then simply ordered the moat picked books from that list. some were really bad, but others were great. Luckily "The day of the Triffids" was already in the school. the fact that I'd read it 5 years before and seen the movie still didn't make it boring for me. we also did 'the tempest' in Shakespear, and we hated it until we were allowed to rewrite it into modern language, then it actually made sense.(sort of) [judyt00]
When I was in school we had to be able to read the classics and give strict reports on them. If you didn't then you failed the class. I love the classics. Its so cool to read the books then after watch the movies and compare what is different from the book and the movies. [angelastreit]
Well, if the teachers don't give the classic courses to your kids, it's you who have to do this. But it's better that the classics are hobby than they become mandatory. [coldmoon]
We read all of those when I was in high school. I graduated 12 years ago. We read a lot of the classics and most of them were boring. It is hard for today's kids to relate. If they can't relate to the story (or understand it--like Shakespeare) they will get nothing out of it. I think it should be a mix of more modern stories and classics. Forcing a teen to read something they are nit interested in will not make them want to read either. It is a fine balance. [4monsters4me]
today education is very worst because all sysllabus is mension the post think(eg:history)that not use ful to the student.the poetry also.some poetry is useful to the life .some one is not useful and unwanted thinks also.the teachers are important person to the each and every student life.they are equal to the god.so my point of view the unwanted thinks are remove from the sysllabus to add the learing type of syallabus are include in that area.this type of thinks are to develope the student interset also. [msshakthii]
When I was in school a good number of years ago we had to read the classics. and yes they were boring then too. but I think it's the teachers that make them boreing as do most history teacher. If we could have read them and not have to try to find the hidden meaning in them and discussed what they really were asbout they could be enjoyable. The teachers seem to make them harder to understand than they needed to be. [deebomb]
It would be a nice addition to the curriculum. The students will get to learn the poems and literatures. This will probably cultivates their interest in it, and who know they might be the next Shakespeare! [bubblefish]
ya i feel that classics are really to be made compulsory...as we cannot afford to miss the greatness of such works [gr8ramakrishna]
Each year our English class had different Literature themes. In 11th grade, I know it was American Literature and in 12th grade it was Brit Lit...assuming you took the Academic/Honors classes. My English teacher majored in English and Brit Lit. She was the most awesome teacher and she truly made Brit Lit. enjoyable! I had to write my senior paper on the Canterbury Tales and the Seven Deadly Sins. I think having the right teacher is so important. So often you get teachers who didn't go to school for the subject they are teaching but since they have a teaching degree they are thrown in a class they may not really be good at teaching. Are the classics important? I'm not sure. I do think they need to be read but not at the point where the students are so overwhelmed. [mom2chriskel]
A foreign language should be required. Geography. Political science. Sexual education as it relates to biology (Pregnancy, hormones, diseases, and safe practices as well as myth busting) Sound decision making. Classics? Maybe as an elective. Requirement? Not necessarily. [pollyandry]
i m agree with this..... my opinion is classics to be added in school period............. [ruchiteen]
I think you are totally right. The classics should be mandatory. Poets like Walt Whitman, Robert Frost...and others. These are truly worth reading and studying...Perhaps that is what the youth of today are missing... [icequeen]
It would be nice to have things like that read in school. I know when i was n highschool I had to read them and i actualy fell in love with alot of the stories and poems that I read. Its fu to put you self into stories like romeo and juliet to me. [samwilliams06]
i dont think classics should be mandatory for all high schools. mathematics will make a mandatory subject. [ambuvs]
the children today are been exposed to the glamour world and much more than that to the technology world.... things like poetry will now remain just a part of the course and a burden on a student... but still there are kids who are very much deep into the poetry and all kinda stuff...its really no wonder that a kid doesn't read such books. [jynt_aa]
When I was in high school I was thoroughly bored by the classics. If we are trying to encourage kids to read, then making them read stuff that they consider boring or irrelevant to them is not the way to go. An idea may be to have a set amount of school hours set aside per week where the kids have to read. Eihter come up with a list of books that covers a number of authors and subjects (including the classics)and let them choose from that. If you let them have a little free will and find something they are interested in, then I think we'd find that they would be more inclined to read both in and out of school. [inked4life]
Actually, The Arts get cut out regularly and, now-a-days, substituted for [psychiatrists] drugging our children into being zombies. I sincerely believe that the kids should be introduced to the classics and every other art form, too because it expands the horizons giving birth to bright ideas and solutions for the bigger scenes that we face on this little planet that we share. [fortunatelee]
I believe that the classics should be an optional English class in High School. The number of high school graduates that can barely read at a 6th grade level is staggering. How could these kids possibly read Shakespear? Children have to be taught a love for reading. This is not done by having them read something that does not pertain to thier lives. Children are very ego-centric, therefore, the best books for them to read are often books about thier "peers" people doing things and going through the same life situations as they are. If a child learns to love to read, then eventually, in college, or later in life, they can persue the classics at thier own pace. [brihanna]
But I'm assuming they were actually taught to read in the first place. this crap of pushingkids along so they stay with their friends discourages ANY learning, and is why kids can't read today, and it also why the education system is getting such a bad rap. the teachers have to teach at a level that most of the students can understand, and if 15% have already not caught up to where they should be, they just drag down the rest. I think failure is something kids need to learn as well. if you can'tread at a grade 8 level by the time you finish school at grade 12, you should be allowed to sue your school board for child abuse [judyt00]
I think the classics should be mandatory, hands down!! So much of what the public school system does, I do not agree with. So this does not surprise me. I just started this a few years ago, but I co-teach. I teach them at home what they are missing at school. They did not like it at first but they are used to it and it's not even an issue now. [devideddi]
wow im surprised that your kid didnt have to read all the classics. i read all of the ones you mentioned including multiple more and i wasnt even in honors english after 9th grade! i guess its just the school your kids went to that didnt teach them this stuff. [pagli84]
no, it was a province wide thing. They let the kids just slip through because "you can't hurt their little psyches, it will stunt them for life" I know a girl who got to grade 6 before she was able to read a "chapter book" Yeah, she was reading at a grade 3 level and her parents were proud of it! [judyt00]
If you make the classics mandatory than you should make good teachers mandatory as well. I had an excellent teacher and enjoyed my classes. Most pupils who enjoy a good literature class love to read later on in life. [mobyfriend]
It was not school that got me reading the classics. I started reading romance novels, getting them at the library, than I would hear smart people- people I admire talking about the classical literature they have read- and I started to seek out those books. Sometimes they would mention a particular writer and I would go to the library and get a book by that author. The thing about reading classical literature is that you realize why that story has lasted i.e. its really entertaining as well as meaningful. Here is a thought, why can't you assigned a book to your child once a month? Since the school does not do it, besides in college you end up having to read the classics anyway. [Corrine11]
You are assuming everybody goes to university! in community colleges, they just teach you how to write and spell, something you should have already learned, not what to read. [judyt00]
I would much rather have my children read the classics than some of the garbage I've heard they have them read these days. One needs to learn about the past to improve the future. Or risk repeating it. Also, the teacher needs to be in charge. If the students are making the decisions of what to read/etc, then you have "the tail wagging the dog". The teacher is supposed to be the one setting the standard, not the students. [CihaPet]
Yes, classics are sure to develop a literary culture in school students. Otherwise, how can they get enlightenment of world history and its people. Classics should be a must for all children. This way they are likely to be humanitarian in their future lives. [Kayzzaman]
or at least understand what a humanitarian means [judyt00]
Wow! I really didn't get that kind of an education about all of the classics through school, either, and I think that it should be mandatory that kids read at least some of those works. I personally love Shakespeare and read some of his plays myself without being prompted through school. But I am saddened to think of so many kids not even being exposed to such great works! I really think that they should be, because even if they don't appreciate it at the time it will teach them a lot and they may just realize, looking back, how much these classics meant to them. ^_^ [shywolf]
I guess i am in the minority but i love shakespeare classics and a lot of the books the long post hated i like very much.It teaches us a very important lesson that one mans poison is another ones antidote .....your garbage is another ones treasure All i ask is to respect others viewpoints There must be a lot of clever members here at mylot I cannot help but notice when a topic for discussion is posted alot of the responses seem to jump on the bandwagon Who knows why but i guess because we are free to express our own viewpoints we can say anything we want ....I am for the classics and always will be In fact i purchased the DVDs and CDs with Shakespeare's works Good Luck Everyone free to express their own values [maddy37]
My teachers in school taught a lot of most of those authors. We read a lot of the classics, tons of Shakespeare and a lot of modern classics like Steinbeck, Faulkner, Hemingway, etc, etc. [MrNiceGuy]
Yes I do think it should be mandatory. I do also think that it should be mandatory that the teacher's know how to teach it so our kid's don't think that it is awful. [minerc]
I am 28 and when I was in school, we read Shakespeare and Chaucer. We also read stories/poems such as Beowulf. My son is only in the 4th grade so I am curious as to what he'll read in high school. I really hope that they teach the classics. [southernpixie]
yes classics should be taught in schools. they will enable the kids to think and reason and yes, imagine about the old days when people didn't have computer or iPods [mikaghi]