Should classic literature be taught in 21st century schools?

The diversity of classic literature is severely lacking

Question: Should classic literature be taught in 21st century schools?
Position‹2 of 3›: Modern students should read modern literature
Argument1 of 2›: The diversity of classic literature is severely lacking

The classics that are taught in schools are often written by the same type of people; dead rich white men.

The argument

What educators may not realize is that choosing to teach traditional over modern literature may be just as politically charged as the topics they are trying to avoid in many contemporary texts. The majority of novels that are part of the traditional literary canon are written by and large by European men who were part of the upper class. Though their literature comes in a variety of topics, the general tone of many of these pre-twentieth century texts hold deeply seeded roots of classism, racism, sexism, and lack a variety of cultural point of views. Of course, there are exceptions to this such as Oscar Wilde who, though part of the Irish upper class, portrayed the wealthy as hypocritical misers. Though even Oscar Wilde does not offer a break from the Anglo perspective. By not incorporating modern texts from a variety of authors, teachers may exclude students who do not see themselves represented. If reading only texts by European men who passed away generations before students were even born, we risk alienating students and devaluing their voices. Students in public schools have a wide range of family backgrounds, experiences, struggles, and triumphs. Whereas throughout a large portion of the twentieth century, schools were segregated by race, gender, or socioeconomic status. Today, this is no longer the norm. Because of the change to culture, not just in schools but in the country as a whole, students should be taught how to identify an ingrained sense of oppression within a text and be given the tools to think critically about what they read. By presenting various viewpoints from a culturally diverse population of authors, students are better able to understand these different perspectives. When teachers assign novels with vastly different perspectives it gives students the opportunity to navigate their own socio-cultural identities, which is a common struggle amongst many middle and high school-aged students.

Context

Classic literature is categorised as such because it comes from, and represents, a bygone age. It is hardly a secret that discrimination in its many forms was the status quo even within living memory. Much of that sustains today. To that end, using these books as teaching materials arguably sustain those ideas by keeping them alive. To ensure that doesn't happen, students need literature that is relevant to current, progressive norms within society, and that represents their lived experience. As the author Tytianna N. M. Wells Smith says, “Books must mirror the lives of readers…many students related to the stories as they reflected on their lived experiences that connect their home and school identities.”

Premises

[P1]The traditional literary canon is written largely by upper-class European men and often carries classist, racist and sexist assumptions with few cultural viewpoints. [P2] Teaching only these texts risks alienating today's diverse students, who do not see themselves represented. [P3] Modern literature from a culturally diverse range of authors lets students engage with varied perspectives and their own identities. [C] Therefore, because the diversity of classic literature is severely lacking, modern students should read modern literature.

Counter-arguments

Critics reply that the demographic homogeneity of many canonical authors does not settle whether the works should be taught, and that abandoning classics for modern literature has real costs. Sibling positions argue the canon endures because of literary quality, historical influence and the cultural literacy needed to understand later works and public discourse, none of which a modern text automatically supplies. Classics can be taught critically — precisely to examine the classism, racism and sexism the argument identifies — so their limitations are teachable material rather than grounds for exclusion, and the canon contains more diversity and more subversive writers than the caricature allows. Many hold the strongest option is both: pairing classics with diverse contemporary voices, the third sibling position, so replacing one with the other is a false choice.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] On the surface, many traditional novels may seem to value the caucasian upper classes, but upon deeper inspection, many of them challenge these ideals and show an unrepresented viewpoint. [Rejectin P2] This is something that educators do all the time. Even when reading a more traditional piece of literature, teachers reveal the underlying messages that may not be so obvious and encourage students to find connections between what they read and their own lives.