I've had to answer this because I'm an English graduate and a trained English teacher (11-18 age range).
I think there is nothing wrong with having Tolkien in the curriculum/syllabus for English, although LOTR is perhaps far too long and daunting a book for many students, and The Hobbit may be better, particularly for those starting at secondary school. My only reservation, and it is quite a big one, is that frequently students grow to hate any literature studied at school, and as a Tolkien fan, I would hate this to happen. Now, having extracts from Tolkien may be a particularly good idea in an English class. As an example, a class studying horror may benefit from reading Fog on the Barrow-Downs. Why do I think it's a good idea? Because Tolkien has a great appeal for boys, and it is
very difficult to find literature which appeals to boys! Also, there is another bonus in that as the films are so well-liked, then reading at least a little Tolkien may generate interest and excitement in a somewhat cynical class.
I think, however, that there may not be that many English teachers, certainly in the UK, who would choose to include Tolkien in the syllabus, as his writing is not studied in universities, and it still does not attract the critical/academic interest as much as other writing does.
About Shakespeare, if you are finding it boring at school, then perhaps it is being taught the wrong way? I had one diabolically bad English teacher who made me hate Macbeth. Luckily our normal teacher returned from her maternity leave and she made sure to turn our opinions around - she was an excellent teacher.
It's my opinion that a good high school English literature syllabus should contain as broad a range of works as possible and I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't get to study more contemporary work. My own 'O' level syllabus included a volume of classic sci-fi stories (Asimov and Clarke etc), alongside Shakespeare and narrative poetry. But my 'A' Level syllabus was a real revelation. Taught by the excellent teacher I mentioned earlier, we studied Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Richard II, Thomas Hardy, Brian Friel's contemporary play Translations (about Irish politics and language), Iris Murdoch, EM Forster, Alice Walker and John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman. She also demanded that we read wider and some of us who sat Oxford entrance exams had to actually develop specialisms.
Now, sorry for the long post - it's a bit of a favourite topic of mine!
