I'm not even sure there is an answer. If you make kids read the classics or semi-classics at school, a lot of them will probably hate the good stuff forever - if you don't make them read more challenging stuff when young, a lot of them won't push their reading boundaries when older either.
There are quite a few Australian classics that I have never managed to overcome my secondary school loathing for; on the other hand, when they tried to pick 'populist' young adult books to appeal to the average teenager and at least get them started, they managed unerringly to pick stuff I hated :( I learned to love reading in the library and my parents and relatives' bookshelves.
The simple fact is, the more we read, the better we read (both in terms of physical skill and speed, and in terms of wanting better and deeper). Bit like school sports, I guess - no PE teacher ever found a way to me duds like me want to do more, so once we left school...
(PS - re Dickens, if you ever come across a copy of Juliet McMasters Dickens The Designer, try it. I picked it up in a remainders shop 15 years ago, deeply suspect it was the author's PhD rewritten for publication, and would count it as one of the books I would save if a bushfire was coming - absolutely adore it and what it did for my understanding of Dickens' imagery and metaphorical colour).
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2013-12-07 03:32 am (UTC)There are quite a few Australian classics that I have never managed to overcome my secondary school loathing for; on the other hand, when they tried to pick 'populist' young adult books to appeal to the average teenager and at least get them started, they managed unerringly to pick stuff I hated :( I learned to love reading in the library and my parents and relatives' bookshelves.
The simple fact is, the more we read, the better we read (both in terms of physical skill and speed, and in terms of wanting better and deeper). Bit like school sports, I guess - no PE teacher ever found a way to me duds like me want to do more, so once we left school...
(PS - re Dickens, if you ever come across a copy of Juliet McMasters Dickens The Designer, try it. I picked it up in a remainders shop 15 years ago, deeply suspect it was the author's PhD rewritten for publication, and would count it as one of the books I would save if a bushfire was coming - absolutely adore it and what it did for my understanding of Dickens' imagery and metaphorical colour).