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really dire ones to read like the book 'Of Mice and Men' and I hated all the slang and dumbing down in that.
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I thought Of Mice and Men was a fascinating book as it gives us a look inside the dust bowl era of the US. It wasn't "dumbed" down it was written from the perspective of people of the era. Plenty of excellent English literature uses this, Dickins is an example that comes to mind.
The Grapes of Wrath is also another example by the same author of the "Arkies and Okies" period of the dust bowl.
However the fact that English has taken a slapping as subject at both A-Level and degree level is something I agree with. Old English I believe is no longer a compulsory subject at some of our top red bricks which I think is a shame.
As for whether a Potter book should be on the syballus depends really. If it's for the discussion of contemporary popular literature and it's effect on culture then why not?
If it's purpose is to replace classics of English literature from Beowulf to the Canterbury Tales, through Utopia, Jane Eyre, Lord of the Rings then I agree that is silly.
I think though you need to teach contemporary popular literature as PART of English or the subject ends up in stasus at some arbitary point in history.
Ea of dune