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Originally Posted by issybird
You might dismiss two of the great authors in the western canon, Dostoevsky and Shakespeare, as rubbish, but not with a lot of credibility. It can be a bad idea to generalize from one’s individual experience, even more so when it’s not based on facts or reason.
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Shakespeare isn't rubbish. But the way Shakespeare is taught in school is why he's a real turn off. School spoils Shakespeare. As for Dostoevsky, he's one I don't like regardless of school. Schools need to stop ruining books for kids by picking more appropriate books.
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Perhaps students are not the best judges of what they ought to learn? Where did the idea arise that school was for fun? Sometimes you need to eat your sprouts.
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Perhaps the school curriculum is too fixated on books that don't work. Just because it's called a classic does not make it appropriate to read for school.
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Just as one example, the wonderful film Clueless shows just how relevant a 19th century author can be. In any case, it’s in the teaching, not in the books. Part of what makes a classic a classic is its timelessness.
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Part of the problem with these old books can be the style of writing. For example, take
Dracula. The story is OK but the writing is enough to put one to sleep.