Stress and the English Language...

Remembered reading about a kid sometime ago who did himself in because he couldn't take the strain of... this is the sad bit CBSE English. It's bad enough today's world has kids complaining of stress, then complaining of not being able to handle it and when all of us who've been there and done that tell them it isn't a big deal, they do themselves in. It says in the bible that the punishment for suicide is eternity in hell with demons slowly pulling bits of your soul while the rest of you cooks over a slow fire a la Empire grill chicken. Fear not me hearties, I'm still an atheistic fundamentalist (haven't quite figured that out yet though...). The hell bit is something I picked up from Constantine. I liked it. The rest of you all who didn't... well I liked the Matrix Reloaded too. Go figure.
Disgression is a greivous fault and greivously shall I pay for it. My point is this - kids unable to handle their issues is one. The other point albeit minor, is that the issues itself are trivial. CBSE English. I rest my case.
CBSE English underwent a metamrphosis circa 1993-94. They decided that it was no longer important to learn by reading good english. Instead they had us make a radio show. Fill in the blanks like we were demented little morons. And read great works of fiction by Jayant Narilkar. Outside of The Frog and The Nightingale (from Beastly Tales from Here and There) by Vikram Seth, 4 pages of The Importance of Being Earnest and that poem about a lady who swallowed a fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly, perhaps she'll die; I couldnt stand what I was made to read. And for five odd years this went on. I'm only glad there was some sort of underground resistance to this and we still read classics and pulp alike to keep the interest in language going.
But when I mentioned this to one of my colleagues recently when we were watching the story about this kid who couldn't handle english, he blew up. Said it wasn't necessary to read any good literature while learning a language as long as at the end of it one could speak fluently. And he got to read some good vernacular literature since that was his first language... Well I agree but where's the joy? Comments anyone?