Well, I think you have just backed up my “stupid stupid” point, which is not wholly contained in the single sentence you have chosen to highlight. Reading the books just to check an item off the list isn’t enough. It needs to be accompanied with meaningful, open discussion, which is clearly lacking in many classrooms. Everything you have said makes sense, but many teachers (usually White, of course, which is a huge part of what’s wrong) are not teaching this work with the care that you put into it. That and an apparently very narrow definition of “classic” lit are much bigger problems than the books. Hopefully, your classroom discussions involve more diplomacy than your opening line. Thanks for reading.