Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
The problem with schools is that they still use books from the too far distant past that are irrelevant to today. They way they are written isn't how books are written now. I still think teaching Shakespeare is a wast of time and not good for the kids. Pick books that are written that kids can understand. Pick books that are relevant to today's society. Don't stick with those books written in a way that turns kids off to reading. I read some Shakespeare in school and I hated it. We need to encourage kids, not force them to read books that will not help them to want to read.
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By all means children should be encouraged to read for pleasure (and the great thing about books like "Harry Potter" is that they got children reading for pleasure, who would not otherwise have done so), but I also think it's important that they should be taught great literature by authors like Dickens and Shakespeare, because that's (for British people, at least) an important part of our cultural heritage. Whether it's boring or exciting is entirely down to the way that it's taught; I was fortunate to have a good English teacher who really brought it to life for us. Shakespeare, being a playwright, should of course be performed, not simply read out of a book. He is one of (many would say "the") greatest authors in the English language. For older children not to be exposed to his work because it's "too difficult" is a cop-out. His stories are timeless.
Neither Dickens nor Shakespeare wrote for children, though, so they should be taught at an appropriate age.