I do think there is something unique and valuable to what are considered Western classics. I particularly agree with the great (and self-evident!) point invisible makes:
any other artist's works are different from his and those of any other.
In this understanding it would seem unreasonable to simply throw away the old and replace it with the new. Sure, I think this is a valid thing to do in certain instances, but each work of literature is unique, since among many factors that make this so, it arises from a unique context, and a unique human author, and so it's not as if a new work can simply supersede an old work, especially if it is by all means a 'classic'. If a new work is indeed a good work, there is no reason why they cannot sit side by side on the bookshelf, or even side by side in a curriculum.
In regards to the Bible, I do respect the right people have to not want to read it, or have exposure to it, and to voice opinions that it is unnecessary. But to simply do away with the Bible - all faith aside, and simply as a composite work of literature - and to neglect any form of its study, would severely hamper one's historical Western understanding - simply on the basis of deleting from one's knowledge a body of work which has had tremendous influence over the lives of individuals and societies (for better and worse - based on the reader) especially for over 1500 years of the past 2000. Then there's the Old Testament in and of itself, in part stretching back by conservative (as in, mild/moderate) modern datings, to at least the 8th century B.C. To simply exclude the Bible from Western education would remove a key stone which vital to a wholesome and rounded understanding of Western civilisation/history.. Regardless weather lessons can or cannot be garnered from the Bible alone, or better from other sources, wholly or in part, such as from the Koran, the Bible has occupied a significant place (arguably an unparalleled influence) in the development of Western civilisation and hence its value as a classic and the need for exposure to it in order to approach a more holistic and sound Western education.
The Western canon is like a treasure chest of cultural heirlooms, which through contact with them one can learn so much; and their thematic concerns which are deeply human are thus universal and perennially relevant. I don't think everyone has to enjoy exposure to such works in the classroom, but I do think it's almost essential and at the least it enriches an education.
"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots." Marcus Garvey
It has also been attested how valuable and important it is for identity formation to have an understanding of one's cultural origins. Thus many initiatives exist for indigenous peoples (i.e. in Australia) who have been culturally displaced and dissociated from their cultural heritage through colonisation, to get in touch with their roots. In some ways this applies to those in Western countries, with the Western classics almost like cultural roots in and of themselves. This doesn't exclude the possibility of exposure to non-Western literature in education (which is also valuable for a rounded education), but perhaps the need for predominately Western literature.
To end and only repeat myself, I think both the best of the old and the best of the new should have their place in education. I think a heavier emphasis should be placed on the old, but others think the opposite. Yet regardless, to say the least, I think it is a shallow perspective (like the Romans burning the Library of Alexandria) to do away with the classics altogether. The following quote from Monsignor Luigi Giussani relates to the value of Western Classics, quoted in an online journal article "Infinity Goes on Trial" (Lisa Dias, 2008):
The need for goodness, justice, truth and happiness constitutes
Man's ultimate identity, the profound energy with which men in all
ages and of all races approach everything, enabling them to exchange,
not only things, but also ideas, and transmit riches to each other over
the distance of the centuries.
