re: Fine for college-bound kids.
"Do they never get a shot at a serious analytical course on a seminal cultural work?
Not all subjects require a classroom.
And any kid that takes any literature class, as an elective, is probably on a college track anyway. They can continue their literary pursuits in college. Can't you see the un-needed drama that issues like this cause?
If we focused on math and science kids might just learn something. But I guess that wouldn't be the ideal of a "well-rounded" liberal education.