I think that’s too short-sighted. I remember reading The Great Gatsby and I didn’t like it, because it was so hard to decipher. That leads to either reading it only superficially or not at all. How does that help teen literacy?
If you want to increase teen literacy, give them something to read that they actually enjoy or care about. High-society of (literally) a hundred years ago doesn’t help.
Part of the point of reading literature is appreciating how authors write books. “Literacy” includes being able to read and understand diverse styles of writing. This seems more like it’s geared toward passing standardized tests that require reading comprehension.
We shouldn’t be pushing great literature on teens. They lack the life experience to even appreciate it. They mark it down as “read” and then it’s off their list for life. All we do by pushing crap teenagers don’t get and therefore don’t like on teens is to inoculate them from great fiction. Let them read whatever they like.
The timeless stuff doesn’t become apparent as such until one’s thirties anyway.
I think that’s too short-sighted. I remember reading The Great Gatsby and I didn’t like it, because it was so hard to decipher. That leads to either reading it only superficially or not at all. How does that help teen literacy?
If you want to increase teen literacy, give them something to read that they actually enjoy or care about. High-society of (literally) a hundred years ago doesn’t help.
Part of the point of reading literature is appreciating how authors write books. “Literacy” includes being able to read and understand diverse styles of writing. This seems more like it’s geared toward passing standardized tests that require reading comprehension.
We shouldn’t be pushing great literature on teens. They lack the life experience to even appreciate it. They mark it down as “read” and then it’s off their list for life. All we do by pushing crap teenagers don’t get and therefore don’t like on teens is to inoculate them from great fiction. Let them read whatever they like.
The timeless stuff doesn’t become apparent as such until one’s thirties anyway.