… The use of popular literature has run up against traditionalists, who fear it will dumb down the curriculum, and parents who object to the controversial themes that characterize many of the selections.

“A young-adult text is more accessible to students and allows them to think more about complex themes,” said Ken Lindblom, the director of English teacher education at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. “Just getting students reading texts that they enjoy is more important than exposing them to high literature.” …

Thanks to a growing market for young-adult literature, and prominent new awards for high-quality books in the genre, many more titles than in the past are available for teachers to incorporate into their classes. But some experts say the problem is that the growing number of such choices has not yet transformed the curriculum.

“I would be very pleased if it was a trend, but I don’t see it,” said Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, a professor of English education at Idaho’s Boise State University and the author of You Gotta Be the Book: Teaching Engaged and Reflective Reading With Adolescents…

“The classical, canonical literature, which I personally love, in fact was written for very sophisticated adult readers, … but the attitude [among English teachers and traditionalists] is, ‘Let’s kick their butts with something they can’t possibly understand.”

Mr. Wilhelm argues that the high school English curriculum needs an overhaul, including incorporating more relevant and engaging reading assignments. In his interviews with teenage boys, most, including both high- and low-achieving students, expressed dissatisfaction with their reading assignments.

“It was almost completely agreed upon that school reading sucks and that they hate it,” Mr. Wilhelm said.

Source: Education Week
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/03/30/31literature.h26.html