Some people think that secondary/high school students should study literature (e.g. novels, plays, poetry) only from their own country. Others say it is more important for students to study literature from all over the world. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

There is reasonable debate over whether it is preferable to teach secondary school students only about national
literature
rather than teaching them about a broad range of
literature
from all around the world.
This
essay examines a number of valid reasons for both perspectives and outlines my belief that while national
literature
is essential, world
literature
imparts a more robust perspective. There are numerous reasons why teaching national
literature
is essential.
Firstly
, young people enjoy learning about their own, familiar culture, which is
also
appealing to educators and parents who can impart
first
-hand knowledge. In New Zealand
for instance
, students must read "Whale Rider" by Witi Ihimaera, and they can learn about Maori culture and imagine familiar landscapes and characters. Whatsmore, reading about national
literature
, especially
stories
by indigenous people teaches young folks to respect the traditional owners of the land and to embrace indigenous
cultures
.
On the other hand
, international
literature
is much more varied and gives youngsters a broader perspective on society. It is widely accepted that reading
stories
about foreign
cultures
makes people less biased and more accepting. A New Zealand student,
for instance
, would gain from reading Asian or African
stories
. There are universal ideas to be found across
stories
from all times and
cultures
, from Chaucer to Ishiguro. Love, they say, knows no bounds! I believe it is fundamental to encourage teens to read about other ways of life so that they learn to assess foreign
cultures
with an open mind. In summary, learning about the
literature
of your homeland is vital,
however
Add a comma
,however
show examples
this
perspective is, by nature, limited. Global
literature
is a vastly deeper and more multifaceted subject.
Therefore
, teaching teens about global
literature
is essential to create open-minded and tolerant attitudes.
Submitted by Oakes_amy on

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