Is American and British Literature? My kids read all kinds of books but last night a realitive asked my kids "how many American Lit. stories have they read?" They said they know of the authors and stories but haven't read them personally. I remember reading some of the stories in school and not getting much out of them. I think it's more appealing to learn about the authors and the context in what a story was written then to just read a story. Seriously some of my children were upset when they found out Romeo and Juilet weren't actually real people. Just want some opinions on the subject. Thanks!
IMO: I think the whole classic literature thing is WAY over-rated. Someone, somewhere, some time ago decided that there are certain books worthy to read and some that aren't. But, since then many other books have come along that are just as good or better. Plus, I personally don't think it is important to understand the Illiad or Shakespeare. Plus, if a child is interested in what he/she is reading they will expand their vocabulary and such (unless they are reading mindless drivel). As homeschoolers, I say break out of the box that public schools put kids in and enjoy every minute of it.
I agree with cabsmom40, these books are not hugely necessary to cover but reading great literature and discussing the themes behind the text is important. In saying that, there's no harm in exposing them to the classics, there's lots of modern takes on these texts too. They could read through Hamlet and then watch one of the modern movies written from this play.
Welcome, David, btw! I love literature, period. But having said that, no one is going to die because they've never read Huck Finn or Julius Caesar. Rachael has a credit of World Literature, because it's incorporated into the curriculum for Notgrass World History; she's currently taking American Lit because, again, it's part of Notgrass American History. But I would encourage you to spend time reading some of the "greats" aloud to the kids when they're younger. We started taking the kids to see Shakespeare when Phillip (youngest) was about 7; Columbus is blessed to have free outdoor Shakespeare in the summer. We read a synopsis before going, so they have a basic understanding of the story, and they are able to follow along pretty well. I have read to them all kinds of "great" literature. We've done Tom Sawyer (currently doing Huck Finn), The Prince and the Pauper, Pilgrim's Progress, Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, Around the World in 80 Days, parts of Beowulf and Canterbury Tales, A Christmas Carol, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth. I found The Pit and the Pendulum online when we studied the Inquisition. Oh, and we watched Ivanhoe when we studied the Middle Ages. Phillip was about 5 at the time. He was sitting there, holding his wooden sword and shield with the Richard the Lionhearted emblem on it. At one point, they were storming the castle and he forgot himself, jumped up brandishing his sword and yelled, "FOR KING RICHARD!!!" LOL!!! Other movies we watched (for my oldest one!) included "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Last of the Mohicans". (I decided both were going to be too much for my younger kids!) OH!!! And you'd be amazed at how many classics they learned through WISHBONE, lol!!!
I don't think of it so much as being the only way to learn a broader vocabularly or such, but I do think it's good to at least know a little about the more common stories. I think of it like this, if it's something that would be asked about on Wheel of Fortune or Cash Cab, then it's probably a common enough topic to at least learn a little something about. LoL I know, I'm probably crazy!
Lol, I remember a clue on Jeopardy... "Last night I dreamed I went to Manderly again." And I think I was the only one in the room that got it right immediately as Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca!
I feel it is like certain scientific theories. While I do not agree with these theories, I also do not want my children to becompletely ignorant of the subject should it come up in the future. Will it be devastating if they don't know it - no, but I don't want them to be embarrassed just because I didn't feel like teaching it, either. (Did that make more sense than my first post?? I am sorry, I let the boys sleep with me last night since Dad was out of town, and no one got any sleep!)
Thanks guys! I feel much better! We have read most of the books on all your list and then some! We are going to throw some more of the classics in but I'm not going to stress over it. Besides I'm 38 and have never had to reflect on what I had to read in high school. Again thanks! Hugs to everyone!
Oh one more thing... My kids get most of the answers correct on cash cab and probably jeopardy if we watched it! LOL!!!!
I needed to hear this as well, thanks everyone for reminding me that just because there are typical reading requirements in high school, that doesn't mean we as homeschoolers need to follow those requirements. Who ever decided which books are the best to read, and Suzanne, you are absolutely right...when have I EVER had to use anything from what I read in high school! Understanding literary tools is one thing, having a basic understanding of the style of certain authros, sure, that that can be gained from reading excerpts, etc. I think it's more important to have a child find what they love and read, read, read!!! After all, as adults we read what we want! No one is shoving Thoreau in our faces and saying "You have to read this...this is GOOD literature!" as they yank my Stephen King novel out of my hands! Hahaha! Cindy
Suzanne, sounds like you have some smart cookies! And I agree, Cindy - having kids that enjoy reading is so much more important!!
instead of having them read Shakespeare.....(which is the lamest way of learning it, IMHO) take them to some plays. It is much easier to understand when you can see it and the actors take on it. But really, there is a reason it is called "classic literature"; many of these books have stood the test of time and are very good. (some others that are considered classic are not, especially the more modern writers) There are some awesome stories out there. I wouldn't couch them in the terms of "this is American lit and you have to read it." But I would get a classic book list and start enjoying the stories you find on it. Some of them won't interest your kids....some of them will.
We enjoy watching most of our great literature. :lol: For instance, we read The Hobbit but watched Lord of the Rings. I find that movies based on great literary works (classic or modern) spark my kids' interest in reading the book or vice versa. We watched the Borne movies which sparked ds's interest in reading the books; however, ds read the Percy Jackson series first and then couldn't wait to see the movie. Both of those are examples of modern lit, but great lit nonetheless. We tend to err on the side of exposure rather than reading complete works.with the biggies like Shakespeare and Homer. That being said, my ds has been a Greek and Roman mythology buff since he was 5. Now at 14, he can watch a movie and tell me all the deviations from the real myth. And dd11 got interested in Romeo and Juliet after I explained to her that Taylor Swift's Love Story is based on the Shakespeare play.
YES, YES, YES!!! I'm one to push the movie AFTER having read the book, if at all possible. I read Treasure Island to the kids, and then we had a big Treasure Island Family Night. We watched the old Disney movie, The Muppets Treasure Island, Treasure Planet, and WISHBONE, all in one LONG NIGHT! Kids had a blast! Right now, I've got a reserve on for the Around the World in 8o Days with Pierce Brosnan. We read that book in the fall, and saw the old version and the Jackie Chan version already.
:?: I guess I'm out of it, but what is Cash Cab? I think literature is important, but it doesn't have to be American or British. Dh and I both love literature so I can't imagine not making it important in our homeschool, but I'm sure there are some things that others do that we don't.
FWIW, I didn't get much exposure to literature during high school. It wasn't until college that I had much exposure to literature and that is probably because I was an English minor.
Ah great literature. LOL. Here's my opinion: just like the other posters, someone somewhere has an arbitrary measure of what makes it 'great'. For example: I am an avid reader. But I abhor Melville. Why? Because no one should ever write a sentence that's an entire paragraph long. I own Moby Dick, and have tried to read it countless times. I can't get past the first chapter. I realize it's a beautiful work, but... I've attempted to read a short story by him as well. Again, that wasn't happening. Opinions on what makes good literature are entirely the opinion of SOMEONE ELSE. The story in High School that changed my life was not considered 'great'. It was called "The Garden Party", and the moral of that particular piece has colored much of my adult life in some way or another. Shakespeare.... not so much. (Two more life-changing short stories imho are "The Metamorphosis" and "Kings meat" but don't read the second unless you have a very strong stomach and aren't easily offended by the story itself) I took a creative writing class a few semesters ago and I absolutely hated the 'Great' selections the teacher had us read. In my opinion, many of them would NEVER make it print these days. Some of the 'Greats' are poorly written, and I have doubts that the morals and ideas attributed to these stories even entered the heads of the creators. Now that said.. I really like Mark Twain, and I think his work is important. There are a number of others that I find valuable, as well. There are some things my kids will have to read when they get older that I feel are important (the letters from John Smith for example) to get a better of idea of WHO these people really were. But I wouldn't make my kids read anything just because someone else said they were 'Great', no matter who those people were. Should they know what they are? Certainly. Should they suffer their way through something just because someone else thought so? Nope.
Meghan, I agree wholeheartedly that what one person considers great is another person's flop. I don't necessarily agree that we should teach out kids certain things so they won't be caught not knowing and be embarrassed. I see what you are getting at, I just don't agree. It may be that I have NEVER had a time where someone looked down at me because I didn't know who so and so was or what a certain story/book was about. I also know my son well enough to know that he will not be concerned with this in his future. I truly believe that even if someone were to belittle him, he wouldn't mind-he would just go about doing all the cool things he can do (that maybe they can't).
