Y9 English Lit - any teachers out there pls

[vickibee]

My son who is ASD so he struggles with communication and empathy has been set two poems this week - Sonnet 29 by Elizabeth Browning and Cousin Kate
I may be being harsh but what 13 yo boy is going to be interested in two love poems that are 200 years old? It was so hard and the questions that were set so deep and difficult. I virtually had to spoon feed him with the answers.
If there is any English teachers out there can you help me understand why this seems so irrelevant for todays teens?
Is this part of the GCSE Syllabus, he will never manange even though he is bright as a button becayse he does not understand inference or impled meanings

op just reading this and wanting to add my sympathy. My ds1 really struggled with English - "why does the author use this word?" he would say, how do I know? It doesn't say!

Yy the texts are onto the best, but once he has his GCSE he doesn't need to look at it again.

Mother Any Distance is one of my very favourite poems, cry when I read it (mum of older sons)

Sorry, Texts are not the best!

That's good he listened to Teams and made progress. I've just had a day of screaming here from DS whilst poor DD is trying to do GCSEs. DS had that poem last year but he got upset as he said why would anyone want to leave their Mummy?

I'm looking forward to them being back in class with teachers. Am very lucky, we have a lovely understanding English teacher who understands ASD though he still screamed / moaned throughout her lesson (and every subject today), its mics off and cameras off fortunately. At least its Friday.