Disturbing Assigned Reading

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t HS kids today read the classics?

What would be the "classics"?? I think the definition of this is subjective. Also society progresses as does literature. Would hope my kids don't read the same books I did 40 years ago. Maybe you sad they not reading Oedipus you know the guy that was banging his mom and murdered his father. Classic .

So long as the contemporary books are as challenging as the classic ones. Classic novels are either simply written and easily accessible but steeped in another world, or, written in language that is hard to access. And both are important. It’s why I like classic novels. It pushes kids to read something they’re not initially comfortable with, but by the end they’ve grown as readers and now have the capacity to read novels outside the modern realm. It’s quite a gift.

Well, sure, if you're starting with the assumption that it's bad for children to read books that aren't challenging...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t HS kids today read the classics?

What would be the "classics"?? I think the definition of this is subjective. Also society progresses as does literature. Would hope my kids don't read the same books I did 40 years ago. Maybe you sad they not reading Oedipus you know the guy that was banging his mom and murdered his father. Classic .

So long as the contemporary books are as challenging as the classic ones. Classic novels are either simply written and easily accessible but steeped in another world, or, written in language that is hard to access. And both are important. It’s why I like classic novels. It pushes kids to read something they’re not initially comfortable with, but by the end they’ve grown as readers and now have the capacity to read novels outside the modern realm. It’s quite a gift.

Well, sure, if you're starting with the assumption that it's bad for children to read books that aren't challenging...

High schoolers we are talking about here. For English class. And yes that’s my assumption. We are not talking about pleasure reading at home where kids can read good mysteries, juicy romances, fantasy, thrillers or whatever their interests are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a vast difference in writing skill between Rowling and Tolkien. You may have noticed Tolkien's influence on Rowling's work. She used exact names, versions of names and similar characters that he created 40 years earlier (ex. Bagshot, Gandalf vs Dumbledore). A paranoid reader might even detect plagiarism. See also: Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, which obviously influence Rowling's stories. Why not read the originals or, at least, not hold Rowling up as equally talented when she borrowed ideas and characters.

Yes, there is. Tolkien rambles on and on and on, including pages of gratuitous poetry. Rowling keeps the plot moving (except in Harry Potter and Order of Teen Angst).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t HS kids today read the classics?

What would be the "classics"?? I think the definition of this is subjective. Also society progresses as does literature. Would hope my kids don't read the same books I did 40 years ago. Maybe you sad they not reading Oedipus you know the guy that was banging his mom and murdered his father. Classic .

So long as the contemporary books are as challenging as the classic ones. Classic novels are either simply written and easily accessible but steeped in another world, or, written in language that is hard to access. And both are important. It’s why I like classic novels. It pushes kids to read something they’re not initially comfortable with, but by the end they’ve grown as readers and now have the capacity to read novels outside the modern realm. It’s quite a gift.

Well, sure, if you're starting with the assumption that it's bad for children to read books that aren't challenging...

High schoolers we are talking about here. For English class. And yes that’s my assumption. We are not talking about pleasure reading at home where kids can read good mysteries, juicy romances, fantasy, thrillers or whatever their interests are.

I'm especially tickled because a lot of these "classics", at the time, were popular fiction. Dickens published by the chapter in magazines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a vast difference in writing skill between Rowling and Tolkien. You may have noticed Tolkien's influence on Rowling's work. She used exact names, versions of names and similar characters that he created 40 years earlier (ex. Bagshot, Gandalf vs Dumbledore). A paranoid reader might even detect plagiarism. See also: Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, which obviously influence Rowling's stories. Why not read the originals or, at least, not hold Rowling up as equally talented when she borrowed ideas and characters.

Yes, there is. Tolkien rambles on and on and on, including pages of gratuitous poetry. Rowling keeps the plot moving (except in Harry Potter and Order of Teen Angst).

How uncivilized and inelegant of you to say so. Don't get me started on must read poets and poems.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry for your DC OP. I haven't read the whole thread but I saw some good advice about asking for an alternative book. DD who is not a sensitive person normally had a similar experience being really moved and sad about a class reading that contained a suicide.