Classics- Are They Actually Important?
Classics- Are They Actually Important?
Edited by Ella Byrne-Cabot
Edited by Ella Byrne-Cabot
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Classical literature. We've all had to read at least one of these seemingly never-ending novels in school. They are a big part of our English education, and often take up a lot of space in our curriculum. But do we really need them? Are they an actual necessity in our education, or just an outdated custom that schools can't seem to get over. In this article, some of the pros and cons of classical literature will be evaluated.
Against today's society, classical literature is obviously very outdated. It skews the world through an Eurocentric lens that isn’t reflective of the diversity and acceptance that is often encouraged in schools. It’s not hard to understand that many students feel underrepresented in the books we read, with the majority of them being written by old white men. The staggeringly large amount of white male authors that we read, compared to the little amount of women and BIPOC authors, which are often confined to summer reading, is a gross misrepresentation of the diversity we see today. We need to allow students to read things that they can relate to and that represents their experiences. “It gets exhausting only getting to learn about white [or] Eurocentric culture, enough is enough,” says Victoria Gorum, a student at Stanford University. For minority students, it can feel as though white culture is being pushed upon them, and not seeing people of their race being portrayed in a protagonistic light can be more degrading than is often realized. In a country made up of so many different people and voices, it’s essential that they are all heard.
There is also the matter of racist classics, although curriculums tend to try and avoid the outright racist books, there are more subtle notions that are often looked over in the classroom. Take To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, for example, it’s often taught as a book overcoming racism, yet it inserts a white savior character, silencing black voices in the process. It is important to understand how deeply a white savior complex is rooted in our society. It’s not uncommon to read and sometimes hear slurs from these classics that we read, and teachers and administrators have forced BIPOC students to continuously be subjected to them, claiming it’s to help them “understand racism”.
However, there are some benefits of reading classical literature. It has been proven to increase reading proficiency, and expand vocabulary. In a study at Michigan State University, students were put under an MRI machine and given a book by Jane Austen to read. The results were certainly surprising. The scans showed increased blood flow to regions far beyond those of executive function, which is activated when doing a task that requires intense focus, such as completing a complex equation, or studying for a big test. Based on this research, it seems as though classics provide a critical exercise to underused parts of the brain. It suggests that it could completely change the way that we pay attention and how we read.
In conclusion, classics are not completely irrelevant, but should be put on the back burner for the time being, to make way for more inclusive works. While they do provide excellent insight to morals, and can help shape your brain in ways casual reading cannot, it’s crucial that we adjust our education system to be more inclusive and tolerant.
Works Cited
Chien, Joelle. “Do We Still Need to Read and Teach the Classics?” The Stanford Daily, THE
STANFORD DAILY PUBLISHING CORPORATION, 30 Aug. 2020,
https://www.stanforddaily.com/2020/08/30/do-we-still-need-to-read-and-teach-the-classics/.
“Reading the Classics: It's More than Just for Fun.” MSUToday, Michigan State University, 14
Sept. 2012, https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2012/reading-the-classics-its-more-than-just-for-fun.
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