Popular High School Classics Books

High schools everywhere read Romeo and Juliet every year. It’s a part of our curriculum but should it be? The answer is no, it shouldn’t be. Teenages don’t want to read a story that was written over four hundred years ago and barely legible. Most kids like to read stories that they can relate to, not some unrealistic story about the fourteenth century. Also throughout the book there are sexual references that bring out the immaturity in people. The majority of people don’t find Romeo and Juliet interesting anymore, so why should we force them to read it?

Literacy is about more than reading and writing - it is about how we communicate in society. It is about social practices and relationships, about knowledge, language and culture. Being literate is a key aspect in life, hence why throughout student’s lives, reading is so important and so valued. A variety of famous literature are part of history, and many other famous novels take place in historic time periods, such as the Ancient Greek Era, The Great War, and The Great Depression. One truly known example of a masterpiece in literature is the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. In the tenth grade english curriculum, literature is one of the main focuses (considering the “OSSLT”). The curriculum includes a variety of well-known novels students read in the course. Inquiry and research into

1595? Has there really not been any better pieces of literature written in the last 422 years? Believe it or not, things have changed; electricity was invented, world war I and II have taken place as well as the revolution, and yet we still insist on teaching students literature that doesn’t apply to our world today at all. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet should not be taught in high schools, because it uses language that is too complicated for students to understand, it takes far too long to teach, and students are taking nothing away from the reading.

She does not understand why the older and well-known authors are not being read in high school. Prose uses a personal experience from her son’s sophomore English class. He had to read a “weeper and former bestseller by Judith Guest” (424), about a dysfunctional family dealing with a teenage son’s suicide attempt. “No instructor has ever asked my sons to read Alice Munro, who writes so lucidly and beautifully about the hypersensitivity that makes adolescence a hell,”(424). She again mentions books she approves of that should be read in English classes.

When Shakespeare was a kid going to grammar school, a school open to boys only by the way! they learned Latin, Greek and rhetoric, persuasion through logical argument. Students read Latin and Greek writers to learn about the history of ancient Greece and "the glory that was Rome” and this material was translated by them into English or French after many hours of work. I'm glad the school curriculum of the 21 st century has evolved and we no longer spend our days doing boring stuff like that! Their old-fashioned, subjects that have little relevance in the modern world of the internet and space travel. The question is: shouldn't we allow our education system to further evolve and file Shakespeare in the same drawer where we've stuck Homer,

Now and Days, Romeo and Juliet is being taught to ninth graders, but Why exactly do they need to read it? Some people (mostly teachers) think Shakespeare doesn’t need to be taught anymore, they also think Shakespeare isn't a true writer, that his work is fake and isn't actually wrote by Shakespeare. Yet, there is a reason it is still being studied by students, there is a message being ignored that students should learn. Reading Shakespeare shows us a message, a wide variety of vocab, and a different way to think.

Why should people read classical literature? Classics are relevant to today’s time because they teach us the value, they help us understand history and culture, you can read and re-read them, and they help us understand how we got our literature today. Classics are also entertaining and will continue to be read throughout generations.

When Romeo and Juliet comes up in school curriculum any observer can see students eagerly signing up for roles, puzzling over Juliet’s eagerness to marry a stranger, or rehearsing their own unique interpretation of the play. In these moments students are released from the usual monotonous class period and allowed to enjoy a timeless piece of literature. While some may claim that Shakespeare is outdated or difficult to read, the positivities of including it in ninth grade curriculum far outweigh any struggles of comprehension.

Why should high schoolers be forced to read a book that isn’t interesting to them? Often times they either do not apply to real life situations or even teach anything that a teenager would understand. So, the high schooler skims through the book and does not pay attention to any detail. High school classrooms need better books that can teach history in a fun way, and add some interesting things to which students can reflect and think on. A book read in high school, should allow the students to think critically about the text they are reading, should include some references to history, and incorporate themes that are understandable and relatable to a high school student’s life. This makes a book want to be read as well as enjoyable. The

A modernized text used alongside the original text actually helps many students understand the original version better, and so it can be used as a helpful tool. Even film adaptations can help students understand Shakespeare better, whether they be tight or loose adaptations. As Annie Holleran explains in her article acknowledging the barriers students face in studying Shakespeare: “Watching such tight adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays in the classroom can help students by giving them the opportunity to experience the Bard’s work visually. Being able to watch a play after a class reads it or as they read it presents the opportunity understand the script on a deeper level, a level deeper than one achieved by simple discussion and analysis through close reading” (“How Modern Film Adaptations Can Overcome Barriers in Studying Shakespeare”). If it helps students to grasp the meaning behind the text on a much deeper level, then why is the modernization of Shakespeare even debated? The modernizations should be justified alone by the fact that they are simply a preference of many of Shakespeare’s audiences. Many authors scoff at the fact that the modernization is even considered, but since not everyone understands the way that the Bard writes, it is essential at the bare minimum in order to gradually learn to read and comprehend the original text over time. It should not be expected that modern day students automatically know how to read Shakespeare without any help, they need to be taught. The authors that scoff say that translations are for those who “don’t understand” (“Why “Translating” Shakespeare for the 21st Century is a Bad Idea”), but the important thing is that by using a modernized version as a learning tool, students are at least trying to

This is wrong. Just because something is famous it does not mean it is appropriate for a sophomore class. Things change, just because a story was famous a few years ago it does not mean it is famous now. While in school students should be given books that are interesting and make them like to read, so they begin to love reading to therefore improve their vocab in the long run.

Classic literature is something that is seen as a work of art, a piece that is valued and a text of highest quality. They are outstanding and recognised for years, centuries and decades as they resonate through time. These books or texts are influential and hold importance throughout times. These texts should be taught in the school curricula as the views that are represented are similar to those that are important in todays society, therefore they should be an important part within with school curricula. One classic text, ‘The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn’, written by Mark Twain in 1884 and one classic movie, ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’, produced by Blake Edwards in 1961 are great examples of Classic literature that have similar themes and views as those that we face today. Their relevance keeps these books seeming new and fresh as the audience connects to their characters and their idealisations.

Literature is an artistic representation of culture, used all over the world to provide an in depth lens on societies and time periods. Literature can be used as a piece of history, revealing personal experiences regarding these significant events and feelings; yet literature is always changing and evolving with the passing of time. As Sam Sacks points out in Cannon-Fodder: Denouncing the Classics, “Authors are anointed not because they are great (although many of them are) but because they are important. In other words, the current criteria for classics are more a matter of sociology than of aesthetics.” It is not a matter of whether or not a book is generally liked or a “fun read”, but rather its impact on society, that deems it a “classic”.

My entire high school career I never understood why we had to read Shakespeare. It was always hours spent sitting behind a desk, reading words no one understands or knows how to properly pronounce. Some may say that Shakespeare is relevant to those who are working to become English majors, congratulations! But we shouldn’t all have to suffer through outdated English that makes little to no sense and serves no purpose in todays world. Sure the curriculum can spend a day on Shakespeare but not an entire unit. It’s not something that will stick with me in the future,

The contrary side may infer that all students of high school English must read particular texts, such as literary canon books because they are most genuine, preeminent and beneficial. This is quite erroneous, though. According to George P. Landow’s article, “The Literary Canon,” “To enter the canon, or more properly, to be entered into the canon is to gain certain obvious privileges” (Source A). Landow, in essence, states that to become part of a “canon,” a literary work must transcend certain criteria. For example, dramatic works, such as “To Kill Mockingbird” and “Romeo and Juliet,” have been inaugurated into a canon, known as the “literary canon,” due to their profound, cohesive and well-accepted form of writing. Consequently, the opposition desires for all students of