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There's also a lot of this in music.
I was a music major for a year and we spent very little time on any music after the 1940's. I think everything stopped at John Philip Sousa, Gustav Holst, and Duke Ellington (yes, he was a bit beyond the 1940's). Out text book only had one paragraph on the Beatles (which we never got to). Oddly, though, people in band classes didn't mind playing the "classics".
To say illiteracy rates are going up because kids are told to read things they don't want to is complete bull. I think most of the time it is laziness (school dropouts, the "I don't care" attitude) and a small minority is because they don't have access to the help they need. I had to read many books I didn't want to from elementary school though high school but I still read them and I still learned to read. Most people today would also rather go see a movie filled with special effects, big name stars (with poor writing and little storyline).
I actually hated reading until I got to college where I found books that I enjoyed reading (R.A. Salvatore for one) then I couldn't put them down. Maybe schools shouldn't concentrate on the classics 100%. Despite the importance of the classics, students should be allowed on occasion to read a book that they enjoy (maybe 75% classics, 25% student chosen) - but even with this I'm sure some lazy students would do books way below their grade (See Dick Run?).
As for why the classics don't "suck" is because they've withstood the test of time. Back to music, look at Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. 200 years later they're still being performed and appreciated. I'm sure some works today (literary and musical) will withstand the test of time but I'm sure 99% won't. I'm thinking the largest musical candidates are John Williams, The Beatles, and maybe Elvis (primarily due to his fanatical following). As for literary, I don't see many, maybe the Lord of the Rings books (didn't need the movies to help that) and MAYBE Harry Potter.
I was a music major for a year and we spent very little time on any music after the 1940's. I think everything stopped at John Philip Sousa, Gustav Holst, and Duke Ellington (yes, he was a bit beyond the 1940's). Out text book only had one paragraph on the Beatles (which we never got to). Oddly, though, people in band classes didn't mind playing the "classics".
To say illiteracy rates are going up because kids are told to read things they don't want to is complete bull. I think most of the time it is laziness (school dropouts, the "I don't care" attitude) and a small minority is because they don't have access to the help they need. I had to read many books I didn't want to from elementary school though high school but I still read them and I still learned to read. Most people today would also rather go see a movie filled with special effects, big name stars (with poor writing and little storyline).
I actually hated reading until I got to college where I found books that I enjoyed reading (R.A. Salvatore for one) then I couldn't put them down. Maybe schools shouldn't concentrate on the classics 100%. Despite the importance of the classics, students should be allowed on occasion to read a book that they enjoy (maybe 75% classics, 25% student chosen) - but even with this I'm sure some lazy students would do books way below their grade (See Dick Run?).
As for why the classics don't "suck" is because they've withstood the test of time. Back to music, look at Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. 200 years later they're still being performed and appreciated. I'm sure some works today (literary and musical) will withstand the test of time but I'm sure 99% won't. I'm thinking the largest musical candidates are John Williams, The Beatles, and maybe Elvis (primarily due to his fanatical following). As for literary, I don't see many, maybe the Lord of the Rings books (didn't need the movies to help that) and MAYBE Harry Potter.
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