I forgot where I’d picked up the link this morning, but this article in The Evening Standard (U.K.) News just about did me in. Evidently school libraries are refusing gifts of classic literature because "today’s pupils find them too ‘difficult’ to read."
Instead, they want Japanese comic books (which will be read, cover to cover, and that’s good, isn’t it?) which are the students’ favorites. The classics are too boring and not only in text; seems that "The paper jackets are ugly and unattractive and the binding is dull and boring."
In the meantime, "a new CBI report revealed that many business leaders are complaining that school leavers are lacking in basic literacy, numeracy and other ’employability’ skills."
Not everyone is agreeing of this discarding of the classics from the libraries, some are outraged, thank God. But the whole thing is so typical of today’s way of dealing with problems; you got dumb kids? It’s because the work’s too hard. Make it easier for them and they’ll be able to succeed.
At what? Being mediocre?
My reading rounds this morning brought out the above on the heels of that much overused and abused "society’s to blame" cliche which was the cry of the ’70s and for some reason still works today. For Pete’s sake; everything in society happens because of society–good and bad. It’s certainly a truism; but it’s about as vague as you can get for getting to the source of anything.
I’m sure we could come up with something more contemporary and drop the old "society" bit. How about Bush? We could always blame Bush; at least until another easy target comes along.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
I’m all for doom and gloom about the younger generation’s level of culture, but this news isn’t actually that bad: 4150 schools accepted the books, that’s almost 98%. That nearly 1% of schools had library space is depressing; that slightly over 1% didn’t want the books suggests that at least 1% schools are run by idiots, but we knew that already.
I think the “news” is worse than bad. The gap between what emerging and developing technologies demand of our college and trade school grads and the level of education/preparation being taught up through high school is widening. Parents are too busy, teachers far too apathetic at best. Our children are out of control, our teachers have no concept of the word and the government is too busy catering to the lobbyists’ to care. Sure schools/government are being run by idiots. But who allows all that to happen?
I happen to agree with the society is to blame theory without finding it one bit vague. We get what we deserve – and that’s not always a good thing. Unfortunately, it’s not our generation who will pay for the mistakes we’re making, the blind eyes we’re turning. We’ve got to stop singing “the buck stops miles from here”.
Intellectual–that is good news! Did I miss that point in the article? I suppose it’s typical that the dramatic, usually bad, news takes precedence over the good when it comes to the media reporting. There seems to be too many of us litbloggers around to take the dying of the classics as fact.
Anne, I understand what you’re saying and I agree, but I would still say that to blame society is like saying the earth is warmed by the sun. It’s a constant state of affairs–what society decides, decides society. But to stop at “it’s society’s fault” is to me, copping out on finding the event, invention, movement, etc., whatever it was that society incorporated into itself to cause the result.