The problem with that line is that while 'older' people may appreciate it's meaning, most young people don't have a past to be borne back to. They have nothing to beat on against, no current pulling them back

It just doesn't resonante with a teenage audience, because the majority of them lack the experience nessesary to truly comprehend what it means. And that is precisely the reason why most students consider it boring. (I mean one of the comments here says it first got popular with soldiers. The overlap between children and soldiers should preferably be 0)

One can argue about the use of literature in class but you still have to keep in mind that teenagers have a very different outlook on life than adults do, so the same book can come across in entirely different ways. The skill of literally analysis is certainly valuable, but I'd wager more students may pay attention if they actually care about the characters, and that can be better accomplished with a book selection that keeps it's target audience in mind.