My husband and I had a debate last night. Should students still study classics like Shakespeare, or is it time to focus on books that reflect today’s world? Are classics essential, or should we move forward? I'm firmly in the camp of incorporating more relevant literature. #BookSky #BlackBookSky - ThreadSky

beingreese.bsky.social • 69 days ago

My husband and I had a debate last night. Should students still study classics like Shakespeare, or is it time to focus on books that reflect today’s world? Are classics essential, or should we move forward? I'm firmly in the camp of incorporating more relevant literature. #BookSky #BlackBookSky

Comments

insomnius.bsky.social•69 days ago

There are things that are just basic to human nature. How many times has a Shakespeare play been remade in modern terms? The problem, for English speakers, is that the language usage is different, not the human part of the story

rebeccawrites33.bsky.social•69 days ago

In my opinion, classics still reflect today’s world and our human condition. Contemporary writing offers fresh use of language, form, art, etc. A combo of both is a must.

beingreese.bsky.social•69 days ago

I agree. It's been a minute or two (or, according to my children, nearly a quarter of a century 🥲 ) since I've been in high school, but do you know if they're even allowed to read Harry Potter? I have qualms about J.K., but I always wondered if those books were even allowed in school?

rebeccawrites33.bsky.social•68 days ago

I agree…qualms with JK, but the books have certainly rekindled readership in YA.

auntie5thkidd.bsky.social•69 days ago

About 15 years ago there was a big dust up by a woman who said HP books teach witchcraft and are evil and should be removed from the school libraries in her county. She didn’t win the fight.

whisperhousepress.bsky.social•69 days ago

In my classroom (and in many these days), I do not assign books. I assign passages and provide 20 mins per ELA class to read anything they want to read, without any restriction.

rebeccawrites33.bsky.social•68 days ago

Love this

whisperhousepress.bsky.social•68 days ago

I also do book talks (talking up books I’ve got in the classroom) and rave about the cool stuff I’m reading without, I hope, being overbearing. They often will grab stuff I talk up.

rebeccawrites33.bsky.social•68 days ago

They are so lucky to have you as a guide.

beingreese.bsky.social•69 days ago

I love that you give them the choice to read what they'd like. I truly believe giving kids the opportunity to read what they like, vs forcing them, is the best way to encourage them to actually enjoy reading.

rebeccawrites33.bsky.social•68 days ago

Yesssss

whisperhousepress.bsky.social•69 days ago

That’s the hope — no grades tied to it at all. No tests, no reports… nada. When we analyze for a grade, that’s a different activity. The ones who *really* don’t want to read then have zero incentive, but that’s a problem I don’t have a solution for. I try to guide and encourage, but that’s it.

loujean.bsky.social•69 days ago

Of course Harry Potter is ALLOWED. Most US English teachers encourage and reward freely chosen reading. Public high schools are not in the business of forbidding books. Harry Potter books in particular have brought many reluctant or beginning readers into the world of literacy.

shellinator.bsky.social•69 days ago

As a teacher I try not to impose my biases. I might disagree with an author's ideas or choices, but the kids don't know my stance. They debate things using their ideas. I might guide them to grasp what an author might mean if nobody picks up an idea due to lack of historical or contextual knowledge.

la-alma-de-loiza.bsky.social•68 days ago

are your qualms about her personal life or her writings?

rebeccawrites33.bsky.social•68 days ago

Her intolerance and judgment of others. So personal. Love her writing.

shellinator.bsky.social•69 days ago

Agreed. We look at the influence of texts and how we shape and are shaped by what we consume.

rebeccawrites33.bsky.social•68 days ago

And all the things we consume shapes us—friendships, energy, the news, food…

greatwarpodcast.bsky.social•69 days ago

Shakespeare still has a place, but only if the teacher has genuine interest. Too many educators teach Shakespeare because they feel they need to or are required to. Nothing ruins student interest faster. Also, it's important to show contemporary relevancy and why the classics still have value.

kpantics.bsky.social•69 days ago

Ex-teacher perspective but as long as I had the freedom to teach what I wanted it was a matter of exposure for me. Yes we would read some classics but would also incorporate novels like Passing, Beloved, Concrete Rose, etc. because students also need buy in and to see themselves in the material.

bozartfarm.bsky.social•69 days ago

Shakespeare IS eternal. That's the whole point and triumph of Shakespeare.

friarielle.bsky.social•69 days ago

I think we should do both!

davethomaswales.bsky.social•69 days ago

If it is a book worth reading and learning from, what does it matter when it dates from?

zerodrip.bsky.social•69 days ago

Teach both. The present is connected to the past, but is also left to define its future.

janolanwrites.bsky.social•68 days ago

Kids don't care about Shakespeare. It does nothing to prepare them for the world we live in. I say this as a writer, and English major, who remembers being forced to read all of Shakespeare's plays in grade school. It was dumb then, and makes even less sense now. Other classics are more important.

haveacupofjohanny.bsky.social•68 days ago

I wrote something on this and even created a spreadsheet titled Diverse Book List—The New Classics, I think we need to expand and focus on those recent classic works of literature.

haveacupofjohanny.bsky.social•68 days ago

The old ones are great and should be sprinkled in but recent and diverse classics that are representative of the youths in the classroom,
Their experiences and universal truths will be good. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8a01muw6cj1yk8prjgw54/Classic-Diverse-Books-List-The-New-Classics.xlsx?rlkey=goqwodm25cfmzobqmdf94xlsl&st=nb8ydi87&dl=0

teeshteesh.bsky.social•68 days ago

I think they are a great foundation. The alliteration and metaphors plus the writing styles [insert swoon here]. I think they are essential up until a certain point. I do think more relevant pieces should be added. But my vote is for a BALANCED compromise

ellyphante.bsky.social•67 days ago

I think that as long as the "classics" are being banned, they should be accessible and taught on. Some of the books were required for me, but one teacher had a list of 120 books including classics and newer. I could choose which 4 I wanted to read and study per semester in high school

zamspurs.bsky.social•69 days ago

Classics still have value cause the themes are ageless and in the here and now there is so little to reinforce values like honor, truth or humility. The reality driven society could do this if more emphasis was given to values over clicks and narcissism .

vvitchofgreenwood.bsky.social•69 days ago

There’s value in both! Reading challenging texts can provide so many benefits. But when it comes to our teens (I teach high school), we have to meet them where they are with what engages them most.

bushkins.bsky.social•69 days ago

Classics are important, but so are books that help students understand that our country's history is fraught with injustice, racism and courageous leaders who stood up to all that. Consider "classics" like Frederick Douglass's writings and speeches. Or James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain.

littlegiantsquid.bsky.social•66 days ago

Without Shakespeare I probably wouldn't have given poetry a chance as a kid, but I agree with the others balance is important

chelchell.bsky.social•69 days ago

The classics are sometimes still relevant. I feel like we are just living in a time loop and everything eventually repeats itself in a slightly different iteration.

beingreese.bsky.social•69 days ago

As someone who literally just read Animal Farm again, I completely, and unfortunately, agree.

chelchell.bsky.social•69 days ago

I felt that way when I read 1984

debsypud.bsky.social•69 days ago

I work in education. Our kids are (reluctantly) studying Shakespeare at the mo & got loads out of the modern Romeo & Juliet with Leonardo di Caprio the other day. I say keep classics in the curriculum but support how they're taught. The classics are as relevant & enriching now as they ever were.

tedizimmermann.bsky.social•69 days ago

I believe all “good” literature always reflects the world and the state of the human condition regardless of the time period in which it was written. Universal truths are timeless. We need both the old and the new to be well read and well rounded.

whisperhousepress.bsky.social•69 days ago

They should read what best reaches them now. If they study the classics it should happen in college. It does a student zero good to be assigned a book or section they aren’t going to read or think about.

whisperhousepress.bsky.social•69 days ago

Speaking here as a longtime teacher with a love of old books and stories…
I’d like, as an example, to replace Fahrenheit 451 with The Memory Police.

whisperhousepress.bsky.social•69 days ago

Selections from “the classics” are fine to expose high school students to that stuff, but that’s the end of it.

redgp.bsky.social•69 days ago

Incorporate and expand! The more our student population reads all the genres, the better. Analytical reading is key to critical thinking skills.

myrnadash.bsky.social•69 days ago

Give them choices. Reading classics should be electives.

beingreese.bsky.social•69 days ago

Ohhh, I like this idea.

whisperhousepress.bsky.social•69 days ago

This is a standard approach, thankfully, in many ELA classrooms. A growing number, in fact!

cynthiaell.bsky.social•69 days ago

Idk if my kids read Shakespeare in hs, but they did read Night by Elie Wiesel, and the younger ones got The Hate You Give. I think a balance is good.

urger.bsky.social•68 days ago

Called classics for a reason modern literature if worthy enough will become classics,so both.

runreadflyandi.bsky.social•69 days ago

Mix of both, I think. There’s a lot of throwback to classical literature in current and if you don’t at least have some passing familiarity with it, you’re gonna miss key references. Shakespeare would be one I’d say needs to stay. However, some classic lit belongs in the trash heap…

dc1954.bsky.social•68 days ago

I am of the mind that both are revelent. As a former educator, I understand that many of our kids do not have the educational experience to understand the material. However, there is value in presenting it to them in forms they can process.

anadion94.bsky.social•69 days ago

Both. I graduated in 2012 and was lucky enough to have an experience taught classics, while validating and encouraging more contemporary work.

I definitely wrote an English paper about a story I read on FictionPress, and it was enough to convince my teacher to read it for fun.

taramoeller.bsky.social•69 days ago

I think they should be taught, but not in middle or high school, but as university electives. EL-HI should focus on more modern books, and they should have diverse authors. I think too much focus on "classics" is why so many don't like to read. School made it a chore

heathertylerwriter.bsky.social•69 days ago

Read something (oh dear, somewhere!) about this the other day. Shakespeare stayed, Dickens and others were dropped. I agree. The Bard’s plays reflect humanity, and are still relevant. Writers examining today’s world - excellent plan.

elizabeth-writes.bsky.social•69 days ago

Classics.

khrysweetie.bsky.social•69 days ago

I think a balance of both is ideal.

beingreese.bsky.social•69 days ago

I agree. But it's been a minute since I was in high school. Have they expanded what's on the English lit curriculum? Or are they still sticking to Shakespeare, Hemingway, Dickens, Twain, etc?

whisperhousepress.bsky.social•69 days ago

Many still use these, but they mix in modern and culturally diverse reading.

bejeweledmeli.bsky.social•68 days ago

It depends on the district and teacher of course. Mine is still old school, but the younger teachers and librarians are blending old and new.

whisperhousepress.bsky.social•68 days ago

Additionally, the educational professional groups are already there - the national associations of ELA and Social Studies teachers are there already. That’ll be helpful.

whisperhousepress.bsky.social•68 days ago

As new librarians replace older ones, a massive change will come.

whisperhousepress.bsky.social•68 days ago

For sure. It's getting better, though. I'm "old" at this point at 41 years old and 18 years teaching, but even people of my generation of teachers are introducing new texts and forgoing much of the old.

bejeweledmeli.bsky.social•68 days ago

For context, I teach 8th grade in the same district and school I attended. The Giver is now the common novel for my grade level with Ann Frank strongly suggested. 20 yrs ago it was required. My former students in 9th grade are reading the same texts I did and In the same order too.

teeshteesh.bsky.social•68 days ago

The Giver is one of my favorite books of all time. Read it in my 7th grade gifted class and it’s stayed with me since

whisperhousepress.bsky.social•68 days ago

I hope they find their way to new texts soon. Keep fighting the fight.

khrysweetie.bsky.social•69 days ago

🤷🏿‍♀️

In the Caribbean they did a mix of English and Caribbean Literature and none were contemporary.

I honestly hope that some contemporary literature has been added in the 18 years since I've graduated.

la-alma-de-loiza.bsky.social•68 days ago

what Caribbean literature did you read?

khrysweetie.bsky.social•68 days ago

I've read a few things by authors from other islands too like Jamaican Kincaid, Andrea Levy, Jean Rhys, Zee Edgell, Lorna Goodison etc.

khrysweetie.bsky.social•68 days ago

Mostly Trinibagonian "Classics" by authors like Michael Anthony, Earl Lovelace, V.S. Naipaul, Derek Walcott etc...

And "Contemporary" by authors like Lisa Allen-Agostini, Ingrid Persaud, N.G. Peltier, Sarah Dass etc.

Then there's the ones I don't know where to place like Shani Mootoo etc.

la-alma-de-loiza.bsky.social•68 days ago

i’m going to look those up thank you

shellinator.bsky.social•69 days ago

I teach seniors. I don't assign Shakespeare as they read him in earlier grades. We do look at his language when exploring allusion & the continued
influence of his works. In Canada we focus on specific skills and teachers choose the texts or offer choices. Students must show skills over content.

runtotorun.bsky.social•69 days ago

Shakespeare is always relevant. He was (is) the universal empath. That said, I marvel that 60 years on from grade 12 English ("If you only remember one thing from this class...") I can still recite the first 16 lines of Canterbury Tales in Middle English. And it has never, not once, come in handy.

rockymtngma.bsky.social•62 days ago

At the high school I subbed at for the past 5 yrs, it depends on the class. There're Indigenous Lit & Hispanic Lit & African Am History classes that used current literature, and entire books are read. In the traditional English Lit class, only significant passages are read and analyzed.

poetbreelaqueen.bsky.social•69 days ago

I think both are essential

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