Chaucer and 21st Century Readers Literature & Language Essay (Essay Sample)

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Chaucer and 21st Century Readers
Chaucer remains one of the most remarkable authors in the middle Age. He is one of the most important figures in literature. In Europe, Chaucer is highly regarded with his works widely read and taught in schools. In the U.S., the situation is different considering that the European author is not widely taught. The popularity of Chaucer in the U.S. is depended on teachers to create interest among their students about his works. Despite the challenges facing the teaching of Chaucer in the U.S., websites like Visualizing Chaucer, are critical in engaging students with the author.
Unlike in Britain, it is difficult to teach Chaucer in American high schools/colleges. Firstly, the choice of the curriculum in American schools/collages is based on the ethnic composition of the individual classrooms. Given that American teachers have a degree of choice regarding what they can teach, there is a tendency to drop Chaucer from the curriculum to cater for the diverse needs of the students. Where students demonstrate poor reading skills, American teachers would prefer to have texts that are more accessible than Chaucer. In addition, the U.S. has a strong immigration policy creates diversity in the classroom. Such students would prefer to read works of authors who talk about experiences they can relate with on their daily lives. Given that the ultimate goal of the classroom is to teach and improve the reading skills of the students, American teachers select the texts the students connect.