For the last 30 years, everyone has grown up reading the same books in English class, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies and Julius Caesar. These classics are important, as they teach important lessons and contain lots of symbolism that can be applied to any curriculum, and 93% of teachers still use classic texts as more than 50% of their curriculum, according to Education Week. However, continuing to teach these classics can cause a multitude of problems, whereas changing to more modern texts could be the solution. 

First, many of the classics being taught are significantly outdated. While most come from the 1900s, some date back as far as the 1600s, especially in the case of William Shakespeare’s works. These books simply do not reflect the modern world, and as such they should not make up a majority of a curriculum. Adding more modern ideas could broaden horizons a little bit in English class, and have reading focus a little bit more on the present instead of the past.

Take Lord of the Flies, for example. Although it’s a great book with lots of meaningful symbolism and a heavy theme of human nature, it is still outdated. This book is set in the 1950s after World War II, and although the lessons stay similar, these same themes could be taught in a much more modern setting that would allow student readers to connect with the text more.

Another issue with only reading classic books is the diversity of the books being taught. Goodreads created a list of the classic books most read in high school classes, and of the top 10 books on the list, nine were written by men, with the exception of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This doesn’t allow for much perspective while students are reading these books.

In my freshman year English class, I spent a majority of the year reading books written by men on a variety of different concepts. While these books were great, they all had similar viewpoints on the world. It wasn’t until we read The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that a contrasting perspective was finally given, and although just a short story, we strayed away from the classics and were able to get a lot more meaning out of the text.

In order to take a step forward, there are lots of modern-day diverse books that could take the place of classics, such as The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Not only is this book written by a woman for a bit of a change of pace, but it also displays the heavy themes that are so desired in English class. From human nature to a symbolic take on today’s political environment, The Hunger Games would be perfect to replace books like the previously mentioned Lord of the Flies.

Whether it is the timeliness of these books or the lack of contrast between them, it is clear the classics are not the only books that need to be taught in English curriculums, and it’s time to give modern stories a bit of the spotlight, too.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Camryn Lazard at [email protected].