“Did you say you are reading the classics?” I asked.
“Yes, I hate it. I’m reading Jane Eyre.”
My eyebrow raised in surprise. I had read the book as a junior in high school and was shocked that forty years later that same book was still boring students to death. Oh, don’t beat me up about saying it was boring. I know the book was riddled with symbolism, characterization and psychological intensity, but to the average high schooler, the book was a bore and remains so.
“Are you reading all the classics, or is your teacher offering newer works that span diversity and political issues?” I asked with curiosity.
“No, just Shakespeare, Faulkner, Twain… and a bunch of other dead white guys,” said the girl.
“I’m sorry,” I said with sincerity.
As we spoke about the books she was reading, and how best to tackle them, I was disappointed in her school district, her teachers and the state of education in America. Here, in 2021, no one has thought the books outdated, biased, and irrelevant? Again, English lit majors don’t have a conniption! I DO think classics have a place in high school classrooms, but I also think modern literature needs to be intertwined within the curriculum. As an author, it frustrates me to see time and time again, the same literature taught over and over when there is a plethora of books in this world more relevant and engaging. Every day, every hour, every minute a new book enters this world and still we read the classics. I imagine in a hundred years from now we will still be reading these same books.
Often I hear teachers state that the classics show students how to write the proper way. But does it? We no longer write fiction, or anything for that matter, as they did in the past. What was formatted one way twenty years ago has even changed. So, the argument for the classics to help with writing is a mute point. In this world of texts and emails, the art of writing is falling to the way side, and despite a teacher’s gallant effort to teach proper writing, the skill is waning and is left to a few natural writers to keep it alive.
I’m sure English teachers will argue that a book like Jane Eyre is essential to teach. It was cutting edge during Bronte’s time and brought forth a different way of thinking. But couldn’t a junior in high school read The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins, a newer version and retelling of Bronte’s book, providing the same message? And couldn’t a discussion about this new book, and how it was influenced by a book from 1847, speak to the ground breaking changes Charlotte Bronte
made when she published the work? And yes, Shakespeare wrote, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” But again, clearly there are modern writers that address the very essence of what this classic writer meant by those lines, and those modern writers are able to connect with their young audience in ways Shakespeare cannot today.
You see, in 2021, students need more than books from dead white guys and women who hid their identities from publishers. Students need books that express their diversities, challenge the political mindset, and yes, display incredible writing skills. They need books that challenge them to think globally, think deeply, and inspire them to do great things. They need to read books that expose their insecurities, differences, and argue against their embedded prejudices. And yes, they need a small dose of the classics to give them perspective.]
As we move ahead, I look forward to seeing school districts change their mindsets and curriculums to better serve their students and our nation. Reading is an integral part of the fabric of our being; it molds and guides us in who we are and why we are here. We must remember that to encourage reading at all ages, we must introduce engaging literature that represents the best our world has to offer. I can almost guarantee you there are modern writers equally as talented as the authors of the classics just waiting to be read. If only we would give them a chance.
