blackklava said:
Jay - Okay, let's just be straight on this. Heinlein and Tolkien WERE very good authors;
You’re stretching it…either way; there are quite a few good, let alone very-good authors that are also not used within the schooling system.
have you ever read A Citizen of the Galaxy?
No, but just the title alone gives me the itches…
For the record, when I was in knee pants I tried _The Hobbit_ and found it to be less readable/interesting than, say, _Winnie the Pooh_. Then in my 20s I was friends with a well read chap who just bloody adored Tolkien. So I tried the first book of whatever all this movie stuff was about. I burnt the book and gave him the ashes (as a joke, not out of anger).
For Heinlein I’ve only read _Stranger in a Strange Land_ and maybe a handful of short stories. I didn’t feel the urge to search other stuff out.
Sorry, kids, I’m just simply too much of a big fan of Reality that I don’t need little journey across the galaxy or alien/orc beings.
And I don’t see them as a proper teaching tool.
Also, it's not like Tolkien gave the okay to making movies and video games out of his books. He's dead.
No doubt. I don’t necessarily fault someone for going for the gold (in this case his estate). It’s sad, but that’s life (or at least life here on Earth). Still, I think the books had a more valid standing before Hollyweird got involved.
Nowadays many books are written directly to be translated to the screen. Films rights are sold right along with the advance to the book.
and agree that students probably should read Shakespeare, like Romeo and Juliet. Which is hilarious if you can understand the humor.
It’s a shame many, many schools don’t have the opportunity to go SEE a play performed. This should be a ‘required’ school trip. Yes, I’m all for WS being taught and while R&J has some funny moments, give _Twelfth Night_ a spin. Seriously funny stuff.
On the other foot, I HATED everything Steinbeck wrote, and thought that The Catcher in the Rye was trash. Innovative trash for its time, but still stream-of-consciousness crap.
I think _Of Mice and Men_ is a hell of a story, but unfortunately, for me, Steinbeck hasn’t really held up over the years. He was an early influence but after reading Faulkner much of JS seems very…simple.
‘Rye’, I agree. I didn’t like it at all.
But as I’ve said, I’ve very, very willing to let anyone “hate” something, one can *still* receive an A grade for explaining WHY.
Lemming said:
As a budding young physicist (yawn), I believe that everybody should be required to have a go at reading Stephen Hawkin's 'A Brief History of Time.' It gives an amazing insight into what reality is and how nature phenominally acts.
That’s a bit out of the high school level, hell in many Universities in the US this is still too advanced.
As a budding you physicist I can not recommend Dr Richard Feynman enough to you. His physics stuff is amazing and even non scientists can easily enjoy _”Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character_ & _What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of…_
Some of his letters have just been published too. Truly a great man.
j
