by Joyce D. Sinclair

Created on: May 06, 2009

Classic literature is the keystone of English courses in high school. There are some administrators and school board members that believe classic literature is too outdated for students in today's times to identify with. Yet there are those who are steer away from modern literature for the fears of forsaking the classics. Most students dread with fear or loathing over reading Shakespeare or Hemingway. It's up to the teacher to decide how to teach classic literature to the students in such a way as to peak their interest.

Students these days have an extrinsic need to be entertained, and they need for someone to make the real-life connections between what they read and their own lives. It takes a special teacher to bring literature to life and make it personal. Part of being in high school is to learn how to take something you read to the next level, not just reading for the enjoyment or for a basic understanding, but to practice critical thinking skills. Granted, most schools have a set canon of books to be taught for the different grade levels, but it is possible to add or amend the list, following the proper channels, of course.

During the early part of the 20th century and before, students only read the classics and were expected to have a basic knowledge of Latin and usually another foreign language (normally French or German). Students were well-versed in all the classics, as well asd the Bible. These students were required to know quite a lot more information and critical thinking skills to graduate than students today. There were stringent guidelines students must meet in order to graduate, and having a knowledge of the general canon of classic literature is part of the rite of passage to entering adulthood.

Classic literature is such a broad category in and of itself. It includes works from early English language literature, other standard British literature, American literature pre-1850, American literature post-1850, modern classics, African-American (and other multi-cultural) literature, English language poetry, as well as world literature. The focal point behind exposing students to a wide variety of literature is to show students different styles of writing, different ideas, different situations. It's to broaden their horizons. It's to see the world through another person's point-of-view.

It's also because classic literature is mentioned in television, music, movies, and commercials. It's also used as examples of concepts like social injustice, classism, and crime. Classic literature has also brought us phrases and words into the vernacular vocabulary (such as "catch-22" and "Big Brother"). There really aren't new situations, just new methods of dealing with them. Reading literature gives us an out, a way to deal with society, a way to identify with a character, a way to not feel alone. It gives us something to hold on to and inspire. It gives us something to hold on to from the past in an ever-changing world.

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