Why does the school make kids read crappy books?

[The Butcher]

I want to know.

If it's to learn something,I'm not learning anything.
If it's to entertain,I feel like I'll die of boredom from those books.
If it's to get kids reading,it is not working at all.
If it's to teach morals,I think I want to make my own morals,and not base them off a book.

The books they read are just so boring. The plot is horrible,it's like a person with a one tracked mind wrote those books. The characters....god their characters are horrible.
Last time I checked,reading is for entertainment,not meant to take a knife and start mutilating the book because you wish it never existed. Things like A Doll's House,Things Fall Apart,Bronx Masquerade,and many more cannot compare to things like Cell,The Concrete Blonde,Eye of The Storm,Grave Peril and also many more.

Basically,I rage at the books they make us read .

What are your opinons on the schools?

[Diocletian]

They made me read the Outsiders. I'm cool with that book so I disagree with your point.

[Furore]

Bring your own books to read.
Half the time they're also stupid enough to leave enough clues in the questions about the book that you can make an educated guess and get it right.
Or bring a portable gaming device, mute it, prop a book up in front of you and you have something like classical goomba stomping which is much more mentally stimulating to do!

[GrimStride™]

I don't think they are doing it with the purpose of making us learn something specific and they certainly aren't doing it to entertain us.As kids grow they need stimulation and the teacher's job is to encourage the thinking process by making us use our heads and reading is a very important part of that.They can't let us make the decision because lets face it,if it was up to us students,to decide whether or not to read anything at all in school,most wouldn't choose anything.Reading,unlike TV is an active mental process,it gives us a glimpse into other cultures and places,improves concentration,it makes us use our imagination and because of that they make us read what they think will do us the most good.Books are so powerful they can corrupt the developing mind as some might say so they have be quite picky.That's why mandatory reading material in schools is quite different in areas with different religious and moral beliefs.Unfortunately these limitations lead to the inability to accommodate every one's tastes,anywhere.In literature class here,they make us read what they consider to be the best works of literature.Some of it is actually interesting but most isn't..It's the same everywhere

[Lady_Baneheart_Of_Blades]

I quite liked the books I read, like the south african folklore stories, also Love,david, District 6, scripts, circles in a forest and vaselientjie. Those were good books.

[ghostthegreat]

If you were only to read books you like, how would you know what else is out there? If you were only to eat Italian food, how would you know if you liked Chinese food or maybe even just one dish of Chinese food? Some of the most enriching experiences you can get are from reading books that you don't think you will like. And it's fine not to like them! But along the way, you will learn about different writers, styles, and genres. You might even stumble across something you thought you would never like, but find out that you do. Even if you absolutely hate, and I mean HATE (I hate Things Fall Apart, I don't care about your damn yams, shut up about your damn yams already) you should be able to find at least one thing in the book that you can take with you, either a message, a meaning, or even just a half way cool scene.

[The Butcher]

Bring your own books to read.
Half the time they're also stupid enough to leave enough clues in the questions about the book that you can make an educated guess and get it right.
Or bring a portable gaming device, mute it, prop a book up in front of you and you have something like classical goomba stomping which is much more mentally stimulating to do!

I always bring my books to read in my free time,but I'm not the kind of person who wants to get in trouble while being forced to read some crappy play or novel.

If you were only to read books you like, how would you know what else is out there? If you were only to eat Italian food, how would you know if you liked Chinese food or maybe even just one dish of Chinese food? Some of the most enriching experiences you can get are from reading books that you don't think you will like. And it's fine not to like them! But along the way, you will learn about different writers, styles, and genres. You might even stumble across something you thought you would never like, but find out that you do. Even if you absolutely hate, and I mean HATE (I hate Things Fall Apart, I don't care about your damn yams, shut up about your damn yams already) you should be able to find at least one thing in the book that you can take with you, either a message, a meaning, or even just a half way cool scene.

I try all different genres,even freaking romance sometimes(You can see that I will even torture myself to try something). I understood plays like Romeo & Juliet,fairly easy,while I could barely understand Thomas Harris' Red Dragon. I got to a high level of reading through the books I read,not the school's books, which I could even have understood back when I was in 6th grade.

[Furore]

It could be worse.
My class in highschool had 'visual texts' to study as well, one of which was Billy Elliot. I dislike that movie considerably so watching it and several key scenes several times wasn't on my list of things I liked about school. Even my gameboy couldn't salvage those lessons thanks to how high the volume was...

Also what is up with those centuries old texts they often use? Thou doth nay likely speaketh like that IRL.

[ghostthegreat]

I always bring my books to read in my free time,but I'm not the kind of person who wants to get in trouble while being forced to read some crappy play or novel.


I try all different genres,even freaking romance sometimes(You can see that will even torture myself to try something). I understood plays like Romeo & Juliet,fairly easy,while I could barely understand Thomas Harris' Red Dragon. I got to a high level of reading through the books I read,not the school's books, which I could even have understood back when I was in 6th grade.

If you are already reading books you don't like to explore different genres, then that's great! But, most (ie 99%) of students will not. So, books ranging from Grapes of Wrath to Things Fall Apart to Shakespeare are thrown in the curriculum to give these students an idea of what is out there. Does it make sense to have authors like these grouped together? Not a chance. However, in High School, they are mostly trying to give you an overview of literary works. Once you reach the collegiate level, you'll find more specific classes (a whole class for Shakespeare!) and usually the books are a much more enjoyable read as well. And as for specific books like Red Dragon(have never read this myself), sometimes they just pick really weird books, depends on the teacher sometimes too.

[GameGeeks]

The worst book I've had to read for school is Sophie's World and that was a living nightmare to have to read. And, to add insult in injury, I had to pay for the blasted book. School has introduced me to some great books though, like That was Then This is Now and 1984.

[Lady_Baneheart_Of_Blades]

We could choose what sort of twelve books to read in highschool to be graded on.

[-Ro-]

They didn't let us choose what books to read except one time, when I read the Fellowship of the Ring. I hated nearly all the books they made us read, especially Lord of the Flies... *ugh*. Lucky for me I can barely remember what any of the books I read were about. I didn't get anything out of them except maybe how to write better essays. I would rather have more freedom and still probably learn that way than read stuff I'm not interested in.

[The Butcher]

They didn't let us choose what books to read except one time, when I read the Fellowship of the Ring. I hated nearly all the books they made us read, especially Lord of the Flies... *ugh*. Lucky for me I can barely remember what any of the books I read were about. I didn't get anything out of them except maybe how to write better essays. I would rather have more freedom and still probably learn that way than read stuff I'm not interested in.

You lucky.

I can't erase what I have read in school.

[Light Buster]

I think the point of it is for you to learn something. I never liked it but I learned something from them.

[Wio]

They make you read books because most kids wouldn't read otherwise. They have everyone read a certain book so that the class can discuss themes of the book. They don't want to waste time looking for book that the students like and is appropriate for class, so the teacher chooses from a pre-approved list.

I don't see how this is a difficult concept to understand. What do you expect, exactly? If you expect that their is some book that the entire class is unanimously enjoy, then you ask for the near impossible.

[GameGeeks]

Not really, I took a mythology class and everyone enjoyed the books in that class. I must be odd since there was rarely a book I hated that I was made to read. In fact the only one that comes to mine is Sophie's World and as far as I was made to read it was all just her reading letters ever single chapter for the whole chapter. I like philosophy but that book just drawled on and on.

[The Butcher]

They make you read books because most kids wouldn't read otherwise. They have everyone read a certain book so that the class can discuss themes of the book. They don't want to waste time looking for book that the students like and is appropriate for class, so the teacher chooses from a pre-approved list.

I don't see how this is a difficult concept to understand. What do you expect, exactly? If you expect that their is some book that the entire class is unanimously enjoy, then you ask for the near impossible.

I know not everyone will like the same thing,but something like Velocity,or Intensity are better than the books they read now.

[The Angelic Anathema]

One reason they give you books they know you probably won't like is because if they let everybody choose for themselves 9 out of 10 kids would choose books that have no literary value (i.e. Twilight)
Not to mention they can't write tests up for 30 different books. The only real solution is to finish the assigned book and then read something you enjoy.

[Jack Frost]

Eh, I'm generally ok with the books they make us read -cough- Outsiders -cough- But the boring ones like Night and Of Mice and Men just couldn't keep my interest at all. And some had such confusing words you needed a dictionary next to you at all times (Les Miserables). I think there should be a list of books (at least 20) and then the students get to pick which books to read.

[The_Angry_Princess]

Because they need to make their mine smarter with boring books and no bad language

[maskedrose]

Just grin and deal with it until you get to college. Public school is such BS anyway.

[brolyx74]

The only good book I've read because of school was 1984. All of the others sucked. I feel like the books they have us read that are so called "classics" should be replaced with either more current selections, orlet us pick our own books. The Picture of Dorian Gray was horrible. Macbeth was ok, but overall, it gets a C-. Don't get me started on the Catcher in the Rye. I used to be a great reader, but then I stopped because school ruined reading for me. If it wasn't for light novels and manga, I probably never would have started reading for fun again.

[Psyco_Panda]

I figure its to torture us sometimes. Lol

[QueerFeminist16]

I'd say it depends heavily on the teacher: even the seemingly dullest of books can come alive, if a teacher can find some themes with which we (the students) can relate - and is passionate about conveying it to us. This, however, takes a keen mind, a willingness to connect with one's students, some creative freedom in the classroom (not having to 'teach to the test'), and plenty of rest the night before - stuff that many of the U.S's overwhelmed, underpaid teachers are thoroughly lacking.

[Capernicus]

OP: You need to get a grip. I have been made to read dozens of books that, at the time, I seriously despised to read. Now, later looking back, I see that they were all books that I learned something from, and grew personally as a writer. You learn tone, technique, style, culture, empathy, etc etc from such books. So if YOU'RE not learning from the books, I have to say that you're doing it wrong. Yeah, no one likes being made to read something, but you HAVE to do it so, if nothing else, you may as well buckle down and try to enjoy it. No reason to be dead set on hating it, it just makes the experience worse for you. Doesn't hurt the teacher or anyone else one bit. So stop QQing and do your damn assignments.

The only reason other people are agreeing with you and complaining is because they are all ungrateful teenagers like you, and they can't see the value in the reading. Take from someone whose older and has gone through all that: you will get something out of it.