Why read classics?

Bodrogean Maria

11th Grade A

Why should students read the classics? Consider first the scale of the problem: hundreds of millions of adults worldwide still lack basic literacy, a reality that makes the case for serious reading education impossible to ignore.

How often do we hear that “nobody reads classics anymore”? Unfortunately, this statement reflects reality: the National Literacy Trust reports that only 34.6% of young people aged 8–18 enjoy reading in their free time, and merely 20.5% read daily. This decline in reading habits, especially of classic literature, threatens to weaken intellectual and emotional growth.

Reading classics offers proven cognitive benefits. Studies at Harvard Medical School show that reading complex texts activates and strengthens connections in the brain’s language and reasoning areas, effectively improving focus, comprehension, and memory. Researchers at Emory University even found that reading engaging novels increases brain connectivity for days after finishing them, as if the brain “experiences” the story itself. Moreover, literature enhances empathy and social awareness, since readers must imagine and understand the perspectives of diverse characters.

Beyond the brain, reading classics prepares people for the real world. Imagine a librarian, curator, or educator who has never read Pride and Prejudice or Crime and Punishment. They could still perform their duties, but they would lack the cultural depth, interpretive insight, and intellectual authority that great books provide. Classic works develop the ability to think critically, analyze language, and recognize timeless human themes, qualities valued in nearly every profession, from law to journalism.

Equally important is the educational and moral value of reading. A long-term U.S. study involving over 10,000 adolescents revealed that reading for pleasure correlates with higher cognitive performance and fewer behavioral issues. Reading, especially of complex literature, fosters patience, reflection, and mental discipline, abilities essential in both academic and everyday life, but also the same abilities that are lacking massively in more recent generations.

So, the question remains: do we want a generation that merely scrolls through information, or one that understands and questions it? The classics teach us more than language or history, they teach us how to think. Keeping them alive in classrooms is not a nostalgic choice; it is an investment in humanity’s intellectual future.