If he can’t teach a simple classic with timeless themse like the Merchant of Venice succesfully then he has no right to call himself a teacher. (And obviously while some kids won’t be interested, they are unlikely to be any more interested in modern classics than old ones)

Sure Thomas Hardy is out of date claptrap with no relevance to the modern world, and with such use of language that a translation is needed for a typical reader to understand what is happening.

But thats not true of Dickens. And if the education system doesn’t teach such culturally important works then whats the point in education?

Sure we could teach kids the things they need to know to get good jobs without teaching anything about great literature - but is that all teaching is about?