"Pop Fiction" vs. The Classics

"True, some classics are required by school districts, but, increasingly, I see teachers making substitutions. In a time when some of my colleagues are turning away from the classics and assigning pop fiction novels, because they're easier to read and kids like them, this Steinbeck novel led me to reflect on the advantages of "plowing through" a classic work with students.

Why wouldn't kids be more interested in "pop fiction"? Given a choice, they'll likely turn down the classic. Newer, inexperienced teachers, without a broad literature background, may feel more secure teaching modern literature. I've also seen teachers cut out the classics because they're tired of hearing their students complain about them -- but at what cost?

Even though teaching the classics might require a little more teacher and student effort, I think that extra effort is totally worthwhile. Classic fiction stories are just as interesting as their pop counterparts, if not more. The classics provide a great opportunity for higher-level learning because their plots are often more complex and the character development often is richer. The classic works have been around for a long time; their lessons are timeless.

So, when my juniors moaned as I told them we were going to read Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, I still pushed ahead. Everyone loves a good story, I figured. I "hooked" them with the classic's story line: "Hester is a girl who faces a pregnancy in a Puritan society," I told them. "Alone, she protects the father's identity from a judgmental society."

Now what teenager could resist that?"

Pop Fiction No Match For Classic Literature, National Education Association.

http://www.nea.org/classmanagement/ifc031209.html

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Kathleen Modenbach, educator and author of the article above, is one of the seasoned English teachers who believe that the classics are "The Classics" and using modern works (aptly named "Pop Fiction", is a cheating method used by younger teachers who are intimidated by the texts and the challenges of teaching them to their young students. I disagree - on so many levels.

Yes, the classics are going to be difficult to teach to our future students - but using modern editions is certainly not cheating by any means. Classics are a very valuable part of our culture, and can teach students to be critical thinkers - something that every English teacher strives to achieve. While I agree with Modenbach that the classics hold more complex character and plot development, the timeless lessons they teach are just that - timeless - meaning newer, "pop fiction" works can teach students those same lessons, only in such a way that our students will actually relate to.

"The American Dream" found in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, can also be found in it's 2003 counterpart Jake, Reinvented; The Scarlett Letter's interesting plot and story line can also be discovered in Speak, a young girl is a social outcast after her actions are looked down upon in a highly judgemental society (Puritans and High School Students can be equally judgemental); and the trials and tribulations found within forbidden love is taught in both Romeo and Juliette, and it's younger cousins Romiette and Julio and West Side Story.

Teaching "pop fiction" should not replace the classics, instead it should supplement and enhance those timeless ideas and lessons found within their pages. We shouldn't cut the classics out of today's curriculum - we should include their modern counterparts to enhance our student's learning.