Disturbing Assigned Reading

[Anonymous]

Grow up

Anyompwho thinks this book is inappropriate grow up and shut up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On the classics question, there is more to being educated that just reading books a bunch of old dead white men wrote.

The problem is, they did write some pretty good books. And reading books that may not be that great, but written by non white non dead non men, doesn’t mean better education
They will grow up having never read the classics
Which in my book means not really educated
- DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the classics question, there is more to being educated that just reading books a bunch of old dead white men wrote.

The problem is, they did write some pretty good books. And reading books that may not be that great, but written by non white non dead non men, doesn’t mean better education
They will grow up having never read the classics
Which in my book means not really educated
- DP

What are "the classics" though? Who decides? When and why do books stop being "classics"? When and why do they start?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the classics question, there is more to being educated that just reading books a bunch of old dead white men wrote.

The classics are such a narrow range of human experience. They are best addresses in a history class as a way to study the values of the time periods in which they are written.

This is just not true. They are classics because their themes are eternal and still relevant in our day and age
While the books du jour they are replaced with - who knows if they will last?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the classics question, there is more to being educated that just reading books a bunch of old dead white men wrote.

The problem is, they did write some pretty good books. And reading books that may not be that great, but written by non white non dead non men, doesn’t mean better education
They will grow up having never read the classics
Which in my book means not really educated
- DP

What are "the classics" though? Who decides? When and why do books stop being "classics"? When and why do they start?

My theory is that they withstand the test of time. The test of educated people with good, developed literary taste. Even if these people are- the horror!- white men
Leo Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina which is not about the white men problems at all
It is still relevant despite how much has changed, including the fact it didn’t even happen in America
It’s written really well, withstands the test of time and place, you have your classics

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe if every American read it, we would not have left Afghanistan like we did - women are suffering there again.

Exactly, at least those who voted for this disastrous administration.

No, you’re confused. We voted out the disastrous administration in 2020. Do try to keep up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it Kite Runner? My child had to read that in ninth grade and found it extremely disturbing.

Mine had to read it in 6th but they never said anything about it or led me to believe it was violent.

Your child read the Kite Runner in 6th grade?? I find that incredibly hard to believe.

My child read Animal Farm and Things Fall Apart as assigned reading in 6th grade. Which, ok, but even at the time, I wondered what they thought an 11-year-old would get out of it.

Still better than books du jour of questionable quality that are assigned nowadays left and right

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the classics question, there is more to being educated that just reading books a bunch of old dead white men wrote.

I take it you've never read Jules Verne. You missed out. The classics are classics for a reason. It is a shame you don't appreciate them or recognize their value.

And the reason is that the people who get to decide what is a classic decided that it's a classic. So your mention of Jules Verne is funny, because the classic-deciders have never decided that Jules Verne was a classic for assigned high school reading, as far as I know. (Also, he actually is an old dead white man.)

There are no classic deciders on a high school level lol
-DP

[Anonymous]

I am a bit shocked by this thread. From age 14 probably we all read everything under the sun, including books mentioned here but also non fiction about the holocaust and wars and all the classics. How can a book not be appropriate for an 18 year old? I’ve read some wonderful things and some very sad and terrible things, some of which I still remember to this day and helped me grow as person. It’s part of the experience of reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the classics question, there is more to being educated that just reading books a bunch of old dead white men wrote.

I take it you've never read Jules Verne. You missed out. The classics are classics for a reason. It is a shame you don't appreciate them or recognize their value.

Also, I loved reading Mysterious Island as a kid. There are many wonderful books from my childhood that my kids will likely never know about. The few books the county seems to pick out are usually about some disadvantaged person from a third-world county which but it would be nice if they broadened their repertoire.

I wonder if you grew up in the former USSR like I did.
I am also kind of traumatized by books depicting class injustice or some such

[Anonymous]

Kids just read Daniel's Story in 7th grade. Lots of violence and murder there. Should they have read something else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you read the classic, The Dog Whistle, by DCUM member?

Lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teach her how to skim/skip the violent parts.

I'm in my 50s and I still do that all the time.

30s here but same. I can’t tolerate violence in books and movies, and avoiding those experiences doesn’t prevent me from understanding the atrocities that have and are occurring around the world. Help her see that she can read one line every couple pages and start reading again when it’s not too bad. The story may be confusing for a bit but she’ll pick it up. Honestly if it were my child I’d probably read it for her and help fill the gaps for the part she didn’t want to read.

Reading it for her and filling in the gaps is such a ridiculous suggestion! Talk about helicopter parenting! Skipping a gruesome section is fine, but then she should fill in the gaps on her own. Read a summary online, perhaps? What parent of a high school senior has the time or inclination to read a book alongside their child for the sole purpose of filling in the gaps?

I read a lot. I enjoy reading things my HS kids are reading in school alongside of them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the classics question, there is more to being educated that just reading books a bunch of old dead white men wrote.

The problem is, they did write some pretty good books. And reading books that may not be that great, but written by non white non dead non men, doesn’t mean better education
They will grow up having never read the classics
Which in my book means not really educated
- DP

What are "the classics" though? Who decides? When and why do books stop being "classics"? When and why do they start?

My theory is that they withstand the test of time. The test of educated people with good, developed literary taste. Even if these people are- the horror!- white men
Leo Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina which is not about the white men problems at all
It is still relevant despite how much has changed, including the fact it didn’t even happen in America
It’s written really well, withstands the test of time and place, you have your classics

Yeah it is.

I have read a lot of "classics". I tried to read Anna Karenina. You can keep it. In fact, you can keep all of Tolstoy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the classics question, there is more to being educated that just reading books a bunch of old dead white men wrote.

The problem is, they did write some pretty good books. And reading books that may not be that great, but written by non white non dead non men, doesn’t mean better education
They will grow up having never read the classics
Which in my book means not really educated
- DP

What are "the classics" though? Who decides? When and why do books stop being "classics"? When and why do they start?

My theory is that they withstand the test of time. The test of educated people with good, developed literary taste. Even if these people are- the horror!- white men
Leo Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina which is not about the white men problems at all
It is still relevant despite how much has changed, including the fact it didn’t even happen in America
It’s written really well, withstands the test of time and place, you have your classics

Yeah it is.

I have read a lot of "classics". I tried to read Anna Karenina. You can keep it. In fact, you can keep all of Tolstoy.

It’s not a difficult read. It’s just long.