9 ms·

The same thing happens with great novels. I have recently been re-reading some of the novels I was forced to read (and hated) in high school, but I understand a

The same thing happens with great novels. I have recently been re-reading some of the novels I was forced to read (and hated) in high school, but I understand and appreciate them so much more as a middle-aged adult. I thought of myself as a pretty smart kid back then, but there were so many things I just could not understand without sufficient life experience.

pmulv 9y ago
This is interesting to me as I've been trying to read books that I couldn't get into in high school like "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451" and I had to force myself through both because the interest wasn't there. I will say that 1984 was more interesting to me because of the parallels in the world today (and i'm sure every generation sees the parallels which makes it such a classic), but I didn't feel it was an entertaining read. The book within the book section was torture for me.
- ambrosite 9y ago
  I will not say it's true for every novel. The Outsiders was a book that bored me in school, and I still find it boring. Cry, the Beloved Country on the other hand was completely over my head in high school, but it is one of my favorites now.
jerf 9y ago
I am personally a huge advocate of not forcing this stuff on high schoolers, on the grounds that it has the effect of inhibiting them from ever getting into ever again because they think they already tried it. I believe we should find ways to get the same ideas across, but with works that are more approachable to people of that age, and build a pathway for them forward into the great works of the past instead of trying to teleport them directly to the end goal. But until people in general stop essentially celebrating how awesome it is that we force students into unpleasant and unapproachable works, and consider their distaste and writing off of literature forever as a sign that things are being done correctly, nothing will change. I've often thought I could make a pretty decent literature-appreciation course around the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which, no sarcasm, is what really opened my eyes to these issues for the first time, somewhere in my mid-20s. It would piss people off who would assume that it simply can't be possible that we could learn how to appreciate literature from such an accessible and fun (and not-stuffy) source, but I know it can be.
- mcguire 9y ago
  I would just like a guide to Buffy with references and annotations.
- ScottBurson 9y ago
  Oh wow, you should do it! I bet Khan Academy or someplace like that would love it!

pmulv 9y ago

This is interesting to me as I've been trying to read books that I couldn't get into in high school like "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451" and I had to force myself through both because the interest wasn't there. I will say that 1984 was more interesting to me because of the parallels in the world today (and i'm sure every generation sees the parallels which makes it such a classic), but I didn't feel it was an entertaining read. The book within the book section was torture for me.

ambrosite 9y ago
I will not say it's true for every novel. The Outsiders was a book that bored me in school, and I still find it boring. Cry, the Beloved Country on the other hand was completely over my head in high school, but it is one of my favorites now.

jerf 9y ago

I am personally a huge advocate of not forcing this stuff on high schoolers, on the grounds that it has the effect of inhibiting them from ever getting into ever again because they think they already tried it. I believe we should find ways to get the same ideas across, but with works that are more approachable to people of that age, and build a pathway for them forward into the great works of the past instead of trying to teleport them directly to the end goal. But until people in general stop essentially celebrating how awesome it is that we force students into unpleasant and unapproachable works, and consider their distaste and writing off of literature forever as a sign that things are being done correctly, nothing will change. I've often thought I could make a pretty decent literature-appreciation course around the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which, no sarcasm, is what really opened my eyes to these issues for the first time, somewhere in my mid-20s. It would piss people off who would assume that it simply can't be possible that we could learn how to appreciate literature from such an accessible and fun (and not-stuffy) source, but I know it can be.

mcguire 9y ago
I would just like a guide to Buffy with references and annotations.
ScottBurson 9y ago
Oh wow, you should do it! I bet Khan Academy or someplace like that would love it!