Summary: The Great Books Curriculum

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“Knowledge is power. Information is liberation. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” -Kofi Annan. If education is the premise of progress, then students must receive the education that will help gain knowledge in the best way possible. Schools should either adapt or hold original values according to whatever is best for the students and learning environment. The Great Books Curriculum (GBC) has experienced controversy recently over the debate of modern books and classic books being taught in schools. The discrepancy shows one side that believes school curriculums should deviate from the normal reading list and that students will learn from relatable, contemporary books while the other side believes only …show more content…

The language from classic novels is archaic and negligible because many contain words and vocabulary no average person would speak or know in modern times. Before education was more open and free, very few people could learn enough about reading and writing. According to Brianna Best (2015), in Oxford World's classics (2015), there were 325 male authors and only 46 female authors. There was also approximately sixteen times the amount of European/ classic literature listed compared to Eastern. Now that schooling is much more open to the public modern writers have become more diverse. Modern writers can write about more relevant topics. These topics can inspire or change history and students similar to influential classics such as. The Republic by Plato or Common Sense by Thomas Paine.
One solution to many problems with Classic books is to truly see how many there are. While most taught classics may be lacking in diversity, there are a copious amount of classics by a diverse range of writers that have not been taught. Examples are the fables of Vishnu Sarma, or the compilation of Japanese classics beginning in the ninth century made by Donald Keene. Diverse classics do exist, but curriculums rarely add many of them. Teachers can add and change classics to learn about the beginnings of different cultures and writing …show more content…

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