I honestly do not think there is too much of a problem with the books assigned to read in schools. It would be a horribly idea to swap Of Mice and Men for Twilight...and what kind of teacher would ever go for that?? When I think of reading books in school I think of Sophomore English reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and Junior English where we read Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, and Of Mice and Men. All of those ended up being some of the best books I have ever read...because I actually read them. The problem with Literary Fiction in schools is that kids get so caught up in the work that goes along with it to forgetting about actually enjoying the books and therefore do not see the greatness in them. Although I found The Great Gatsby to be a great book and movie, I don't see how high schoolers are able to relate to it, besides to learn the history aspect.
In a way, I do agree with Melissa Thomas when she is talking about fantasy books and says, " it is an undistilled version of human imagination-momentary worlds and magic that may be at odds with the rational truth, yet continue to reflect our culture and times."
Although all of us would not willingly choose to pick up and Twilight book and dig in, there is an aspect of adventure and imagery and description that allows us to see things with our imagination vividly. That is something that SHOULD be taught in schools. These fantasy books give us something that To Kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye cannot give us...which is the ability to use our imagination and escape to another world. All in all, I am pretty indifferent about this topic to be honest.
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