Reply to Elementary teacher doesn't know Dickens rote Great Expectations

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[quote=Anonymous]Great Expectations was required reading (9th grade?) where I grew up.  I remember it as being excruciatingly dull.  I certainly don't consider it as one of Dicken's best.

I really like the idea of a common core of knowledge.  I definitely think everybody should be familiar with Dickens.  That being said, I don't think that unfamiliarity with this particular story is any great loss.  It's hardly the pinnacle of English literature.

A high school English teacher who didn't know the author of Great Expectations would surprise me, but I wouldn't necessarily expect them to know the author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar or Goodnight Moon.  Similarly, I suspect the teacher is an expert in her field.  Moreover, I imagine that she is not wholly ignorant of Dickens and could identify him as the author of some of his better known works.

I agree that Americans can be shockingly ignorant in many respects.  (Personally, I know my knowledge of geography is abysmal).  That being said, I don't feel this shortfall falls anywhere near that category.  I suspect there are some areas of "common knowledge" that the teacher might be stronger in than OP.[/quote]

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