Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitch
and that reading Dickens or St. Thomas Aquinas in high school is just "too hard." I simply disagree. (Cheerfully, mind you, but I disagree. We'll have to agree that we disagree!)
Hitch
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I don't think that reading Dickens is too difficult for high school students. I think some of it may be not relevant for them depending which book(s) is/are chosen to be read. Kids come up with excuses because they have no interest or simply don't like what's being read. I read books in school that I really would never have read on my own and I would never recommend any of them to anyone to read.
Some books I've read and disliked in school are...
Romeo & Juliet,
The Bothers Karamazov,
The Canterbury Tales, and
April Morning are some that come to mind. I didn't dislike the story for
Romeo & Juliet, I disliked reading it. I disliked the Olde English and I still do.
All of those books I mentions are flawed for today's kids. They aren't relevant for one reason or another. They aren't modern enough and when kids feel that what they are learning isn't something they'll need to know then they turn off and don't care. Get them books that mean something to today's kids and they'll do better at reading (IMHO).