“Whenever you feel like criticizing someone, just remember that all the people in this world have not had the advantages that you have had” (Fitzgerald, 1).F . Scott Fitzgerald opens his 1925 novel The Great Gatsby with this sentence. This piece of literature tells the story of a young man who ventures from his quiet Midwestern life to the big city where he becomes involved in the glamorous and scandalized world of Manhattan's elite. While the novel may be widely critically acclaimed as a “classic,” it may be surprising to learn that only 52% of public schools in the United States consider Gatsby required reading (NCTE). Independent schools rank even lower, at 49% (NCTE). The questions become apparent: Why don't high schools educate their students about “classic” literary works? What is considered most important? Shouldn't there be a mandatory list of titles that students should read before graduating from high school to better understand how to interpret literature? While these are good questions, it should be emphasized that students do not need to learn what society deems “classics” to become well-educated members of society. In fact, schools should not be required to teach specific texts because this not only detracts from the individualism of the educator and his or her teaching style, but also detracts from the diversity of knowledge based on students' different learning experiences. One One of the foundations that the United States prides itself on is freedom of choice. This freedom is given to every citizen of the nation, including educators and their students. By creating a required reading list, this freedom would be taken away. However, it is... half of the document ......df>.“Common Core State Standards Initiative l The Standards”. State initiative on common core standards l Home. ND Web. 31 March 2011. .Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Sons of Charles Scribner, 1925. Greer, Michael. “New NCTE Books Spark Debate Over Poetry Canon.” The Council Chronicle, February 1996 "National Academic Standards Released - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking news, world news and multimedia. Dillon, Sam. June 2, 2010. Web. March 31, 2011. National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) "Most Frequently Requested Qualifications, Grades 9-12." 1992. Print. Pirofski, Kira Isak. "Multicultural Literature and the Children's Literary Canon." October 23. 2006. .