My friend Queen Bee wrote a thought-provoking post on the fact that kids (even homeschoolers) aren’t reading classic literature. She has noticed this with her writing students, and she feels this impoverishes their writing.
I am predisposed to agree with this; it’s one of the reasons I was attracted to Charlotte Mason when I first started homeschooling. She did a beautiful job of articulating how growing thinkers and writers need to be nourished with great literature.
On the other hand, my own kids — including Marie, who is an avid reader and writer — DON’T read classics. Marie reads some good stuff, including some award-winning young adult literature, but she has deftly dodged all my efforts to get her to read classics. 
When she was about 9, she let me read her Anne of Green Gables, which I dearly loved when I was a kid, but it was just a tease.
I don’t really consider this a problem, at least not one I intend to tackle aggressively. I’ve never required my kids to read any particular books (and all my brilliant, inspired strewing goes largely ignored). I believe that many wonderful books have been spoiled for kids because they were force-fed.
I was an avid reader as a little girl, and read all the old classics (many of the books on those Ambleside lists). But in high school, Ethan Frome, The Scarlet Letter, and Oliver Twist left me cold. (Thank God for Cliff Notes.) Of course, I was predisposed to avoid anything someone told me I must or should do. In fact, I was surprised to realize, in my thirties, that Charles Dickens and Edith Wharton were actually wonderful writers, not a form of torture inflicted on hapless 11th and 12th graders. I was also in my thirties when I discovered Jane Austen, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and many others. Luckily, there is no statute of limitations on developing a taste for great books.
My only concern is that Marie wants to write, but she is finding herself limited. All her stuff is more or less in the style of popular young adult literature. There is nothing wrong with that. But SHE is beginning to feel “stuck” and which she could cultivate more variety in her writing.
Any other thoughts? Experiences?
ETA: P.S. — There is a related discussion going on here. Check it out! 
Filed under: Homeschooling, Language Arts, Literature & Movies
Hmm, have you read Mind Games post about classics? or maybe the two of you are building off the same “conversation.”
Anyway, my thoughts are laid out for her. If you read a lot of whatever, you’ll trip over the classics sooner or later.
My kids certainly have – though I think Newberry has worn out it’s welcome. Giving them something marked Newberry winner is a sure way to turn them off.
I think it’s more important to just read a lot of variety. Instead of assigning “the classics”, I would just encourage the reading of lots of different stuff. I’m always wary of anyone saying there are certain books that “have to be read”, because who gets to pick that? There’s not enough time in life to read everything that’s worth reading, so no one can ever be done reading. Thank goodness!
I think perhaps it all boils down to what is considered “good” writing. Is it merely being communicative AND contemporary, or is the style in the Classics regarded as the target?
I guess such a question really needs to take into account language education as a whole.
Our homeschool group we spend time with each week has decided to have our kids read classic novels in a book club format. We thought it might be more fun for them to be reading these books with friends, and be able to discuss them with each other. We’ll guide them along with discussion questions. Pinkmonkey.com has some good notes on many of the classic books.
David and I read lots and lots of classics. . . right now, we are reading The Count of Monte Cristo, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, The Black Arrow, Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, and I could name more . . . My fault is I do not like most modern novels, but I figure he’ll get plenty of those in college. We are reading C. S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters and Perelandra plus some good modern biographys (John Perry’s Unshakable Faith and also David McCullough’s John Adams).
I’ve not read many of the “classics” myself but then I’m not a writer, either, in the way Tigger is. Tigger has moved into them largely through drama. She’s doing Dickens Great Expectations adapted as a play so we’re doing some 19th century lit alongside that. So she’s read Jane Eyre. And then a neighbour was selling a bunch of books and Mat picked up some classics and he read Gullivers Travels to her. I’m not sure.
I think I agree that there is no point in requiring your kids to read them. Look where that got you (and so many others). But having them lying around might be good. And given Marie’s interest in movies, maybe watching some of the better adaptations would be a good way in.
Sweetums reads abridged versions. This way I know that she’s been exposed to the classics in a language that she can understand. Works for us.
i’m not sure how this works. i am a big reader and read all the classics when i was a child. i loaded up my sons’ bookshelves with all the classics and they have read them along with contemporary YA stuff. we always read a mix of books aloud — classic, new, fiction/nonfiction. maybe it’s just personal taste, but i suspect it helps to introduce it young. you know how you always like your mom’s cooking just because it’s what you were used to. ;^)