Why Isn't Milton or Chaucer Taught in Schools Nowadays?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AP prep

+1. DC read Donne, a tiny bit of Milton and a Chaucer story or two in AP Literature. This was at an area public school.

That said, I think it helps to bring a certain level of maturity to Milton to appreciate the pathos of "better to reign in hell." High school kids are likely to giggle at Adam and Eve figuring out they're naked, instead of wondering or feeling regret about humanity's loss of innocence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP prep

+1. DC read Donne, a tiny bit of Milton and a Chaucer story or two in AP Literature. This was at an area public school.

That said, I think it helps to bring a certain level of maturity to Milton to appreciate the pathos of "better to reign in hell." High school kids are likely to giggle at Adam and Eve figuring out they're naked, instead of wondering or feeling regret about humanity's loss of innocence.

And while I'm at it, Paradise Lost is about a midlife crisis.

[Anonymous]

As a child educated in India till 10th grade I have to say the U.S system is VERY lacking. I had to take Economics, Geography, Physics, Chem, Bio, English literature, English grammar, Mathematics, Geography, 2nd language all from 8th to 10th grade, and in 11th grade you went into selected subjects depending on what you wanted to major in college in. This was a English medium school, private school, everything taught in English. I believe in the general government school, the children had to take all these courses also except Economics, maybe. And, studying included a lot of reading of your textbook and memorization of facts (this seems to be something kids are being taught not to do here). I was taught Julius Caesar, and poems from author's like Robert Frost. I had read the understood the Canterbury tales, and other classical poems to name a few.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a child educated in India till 10th grade I have to say the U.S system is VERY lacking. I had to take Economics, Geography, Physics, Chem, Bio, English literature, English grammar, Mathematics, Geography, 2nd language all from 8th to 10th grade, and in 11th grade you went into selected subjects depending on what you wanted to major in college in. This was a English medium school, private school, everything taught in English. I believe in the general government school, the children had to take all these courses also except Economics, maybe. And, studying included a lot of reading of your textbook and memorization of facts (this seems to be something kids are being taught not to do here). I was taught Julius Caesar, and poems from author's like Robert Frost. I had read the understood the Canterbury tales, and other classical poems to name a few.

OK. In my kid's MoCo middle school they read Julius Caesar, and they generally do a different Shakespeare play each year through high school. I'm pretty sure they did some Robert Frost along the way. You're right that economics and geography aren't covered, except occasionally in social studies in MoCo, and unless you take AP Economics in high school. Also the language requirements are less stringent here, although you could argue that the 1 year of computer science in MoCo high schools replaces that somewhat. But other than that, it doesn't sound like a huge difference.

FWIW, DC has several friends from Europe who are currently in public high schools in VA and DC. They complain bitterly about how stressful it is compared to back home.