Books Outside Students' Interests?

I do believe in assigning students readings that are likely to lie outside their interests. I am guessing this will not be a popular stance. But if we do not expose children and young adults to a wide variety of texts, many of which would not instinctively appeal to them, how can they even decide what their true interests ARE?

I actually do not have much to say on the subject because my opinion is so strongly in the affirmative. Yes: let us please assign diverse, high quality texts to our students. They should not even all be canonical - there is a lot of wide-ranging reading material out there worth bringing into the classroom. Of course, I also do not want to see the canon die. It is our literary culture. Canonical texts carry more than their intrinsic value; they constitute a common culture that we all share.

I have not enjoyed reading The Sound and the Fury. There is a reason I never picked up Faulkner before. But I am glad to be forced to read this book because now I am experiencing Faulkner for myself and he is a big deal. I have an increased share in American culture, which I value. But for that I needed a push.