I do believe "Readicide" is a problem in our schools. Some students are born with a natural longing to read, while others are not. The students who don't have the desire to read on their own don't have many experiences with books until they are forced to read them for school. Often times, these books are analyzed for their literary structures, and they are not meant to be read simply for pleasure. Because some students' first experiences with books are not pleasurable, they automatically think that all books will be that way. This causes many kids to turn away from reading.
I believe schools should teach one genre fiction book for every classic book. I don't think classics should be totally eliminated- they're classics for a reason. They teach us important lessons and cause us to think on a deeper level. They also serve as a common link between people. If someone says, "That movie is like a modern version of Romeo and Juliet," everyone will automatically understand the correlation.
However, I think some books in the curriculum should be read for pleasure. Sometimes, when we overanalyze a book, we lose sight of what it's truly meant it to be- a pleasurable journey into another world. Getting lost in a book and relating to the characters is what ignites a passion for reading.
Some people look down on genre fiction books and think that they don't compare to certain literary works. While this can be true, just as classics are classics for a reason, genre fiction books are best sellers for a reason. Genre fiction books are enjoyable to the reader and well-loved. They too can create common links between people. If someone compared something to The Hunger Games or Twilight, immediately readers would identify with what they were talking about.
Genre fiction books can be just as valuable as literary works, and they may be the only way to wage war on this "Readicide".
I could not agree with you more! I said the exact same thing, "Classics are called classics for a reason." (that was taken directly from my blog). I also loved how you talked about how when people say it is like a certain thing, we get the idea of what it is about. I think that reading genre fiction in class would not only create links in people, but also get students excited about going to class again. When we were kids, we used to love going to Language Arts class because our teachers would read popular books to us. I know in my fourth grade class, my teacher read us Found.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Even in Bestsellers you can see how classics unite people. Sometimes Mr. Coates will mention a character from a classic, and immediately everyone's like, "Oh! Yeah! I know them!"
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