I suspect there are some books written by "old dead white males" which ought to be included at some point in high school (including at least a bit of Shakespeare) simply because they are so embedded into the cultural fabric. So I hope this wave of Political Correctness doesn't lose sight of that (an' I suspect most english teachers realize that).

As to Lord of the Flies, or To Kill a Mocking Bird, sure there is a great 'moral theme' behind each. But I'm not sure how many people became more virtuous after reading either.  

Just don't pick second-rate novels on the basis of, "We have to have someone from 'this' group".  Giving students a choice of novels is probably the fairest way to handle this. 

I recall in Grade 7 having the choice of 'Anne Frank' or 'Treasure Island'. Unfortunately all the copies of 'Anne Frank' had been scooped up by the time it got to me so I read 'Treasure Island'. I don't think it had much effect on me one way or the other, though.

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