why does reading literature in school matter?

First of all to familiarize yourselves with different words and grammer.

Also, literature is a form of art...and if people never read literature...they might not be authors now.

Read it, even if you don't like it, you may just learn a thing or two and become a writer yourself.

Because the arts are worthwhile pursuits for their own sake. Sure, you don't necessarily need literature to survive, but bare survival is pretty much an animal state. Literature is for people who want a more cultivated, enriched life.

Literature reflects who we are as human beings. It's more than just the factual data, it's looking at life from a human perspective and our human values.

Reading improves your ability to communicate and improves language overall. Reading is obviously important and they make you do it with literature since it covers a broad area instead of making you read a Science magazine.

to make you think further about different situations. it's not so much a 'you should read this book' thing. it's about the themes presented in the books, which are themes that are very integral in our lives and thought processes. it's a way to encourage you to think more deeply about things and situations that usually you wouldn't consider. don't just blow of your lit classes and think it's just a bunch of books. you'll end up seeing some things in a whole new light instead of just blindly following what you are told

It relates to reality and can give you a sense of what can happen in real life. Also a lot of movies/shows are loosely based on their plots.

I want to get an English degree, so It helps me. Plus it's mandatory, so they teach us ways of reading, writing and how to type up essay or term papers.

it doesn't it's just teachers trying to find new ways on how to kill us of boredom until we can no longer take it because they like to see us suffer because they're bitter and underpaid.

you know, ive always wondered that.

its not like most of us are going to be using that information in the future. like i wanna be in the medical field...and idk how literature and history relate...?

It doesn't..try playing Scrabble in different languages !!