Read, Read, Read

School is quickly approaching and students are scrambling to finish reading those summer books for AP and advanced English courses. I hate to keep harping on reading, but just this summer I have come to see the very stark difference between how we read in the U.S. and how people read in the U.K.

Of course there is illiteracy on both sides of the big pond. Students are not thrilled with mandatory reading no matter what country they hail from. But, corresponding with some writers in the U.K. has made me realize that we in the U.S. are reading driven, but are not necessarily literature driven. We also have more controversy over what the literary canon is now, since we have been trying very diligently to acknowledge the writings of diverse groups inhabiting the U.S.

If you have a teen, it is not too late to point him/her in the direction of great literature. For so long we have been elated if a teen reads anything that we have settled for far less than the great classics, just so long as something was read. But most popular literature is either lacking in an investigation of the great themes of mankind or does not approach them in depth or critically. Years later it would be difficult to have a real discussion of these works, as their qualities are transitory.

Given the vast number of great works of literature, one cannot wait until adulthood to begin reading. One would already be at a disadvantage if one waited too long, and this is what happens to many Americans. It does not mean we are bad people or may not be able to provide a good living for our families. I think, though, that our reading level corresponds highly to achieving greater success in life and getting more out of life.

What is the difference between literature and plain novels? Some children's works have become classic literature, for example T.H. White's The Once and Future King. I have in mind, though, more along the lines of Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Education of Little Tree, and other works that we wait until high school to introduce, possibly for fear of being sued by various parties. Some great works of literature we do not approach at all for the same reason.

This is a list of required readings in the U.K. for students ages 11 to 14. How many of these authors have you read?

Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, John Bunyan, Wilkie Collins, Joseph Conrad, Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, George Eliot, Henry Fielding, Elizabeth Gaskell, Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jonathan Swift, Anthony Trollope, HG Wells, EM Forster, William Golding, Graham Greene, Aldous Huxley, James Joyce, DH Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, George Orwell, Muriel Spark, William Trevor, Evelyn Waugh, JG Ballard, RK Narayan, Berlie Doherty, Susan Hill, Laurie Lee, Joan Lingard, Alan Sillitoe, Bill Naughton, Mildred Taylor, Robert Westall, Chinua Achebe, Maya Angelou, Willa Cather, Anita Desai, Nadine Gordimer, Ernest Hemingway, HH Richardson, Doris Lessing, John Steinbeck, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o...

But more importantly, are our students ages 11 to 14 getting this enrichment? I was shocked when my friend sent the list to me. Some of these works we wait until adulthood to read. Granted, this is the British reading list and they have a much longer literary heritage than we do, but now it is time for Americans to catch up, grow up.

Keeping American students from reading great literature is partly to blame for the ennui students experience in public school. A rich tradition is a fun approach to literature - possibly the only fun approach - imagine how powerful it would be combined with new technology in America.

Here is a web site sponsored by an association of libraries which contains a suggested reading list for teens who want to read both classic literature and modern literature, as well. They recommend everything from Jodi Picoult to Mark Twain, and the books are recommended by teens themselves. It could be useful for both readers and non-readers alike:

http://www.teensreads.com/