High schools should integrate more modern books
Each year, high schools continue to include classical literature within the curriculum. However, many of these novels are not an inspiration to students and do not spark a love for reading. If anything, these novels tend to grab the attention of students who already enjoy reading and do not interest many nonreaders. By implementing more modern books, students who do not typically enjoy reading will find the curriculum more interesting as they will connect better to the characters and relate more to the plot.
A book worth adding to the curriculum is “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas. After I read this book, I gained a better understanding of many social injustices and the book encouraged my love to read because I was able to connect with the characters. Other students will also find resemblances between themselves and the characters which will lead to more in-depth discussions when analyzing the text.
I understand that the desire to read changes under various circumstances and when reading becomes a task, students become more reluctant. The introduction of modern books would not completely fix this problem, but rather would create a sense of balance between the different types of books and students will likely be more enthusiastic when it comes to reading.
Some say that classical novels are necessary because they challenge the readers. Despite this, more time is spent trying to comprehend the older language than studying the themes, motifs and literary devices. Unlike literary devices, the use of the older language won’t be as essential to students in the future.
Many of these novels bring light to the injustices of the world. These are all important to understand and acknowledge in order to learn from, but the curriculum shouldn’t be limited to just these novels. There are a number of other books that highlight these injustices but are also impactful in their ability to captivate and teach students.
It is essential to re-evaluate what our true motives are within schools. Instead of focusing on how far we can progress with the material, schools should work to inspire students into potentially continuing on with language arts studies throughout their future.
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