Australian Politics Forum - Reading the classics

Wolseley Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 1453 Sydney Gender:	Re: Reading the classics Reply #15 - Apr 4^th, 2016 at 4:42pm Just realised I had forgotten about Gulliver's Travels.
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issuevoter Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 9200 The Great State of Mind Gender:	Re: Reading the classics Reply #16 - Apr 4^th, 2016 at 8:49pm I never read The Travels, but I believe it contains the Yahoos.
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cods

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Re: Reading the classics
Reply #17 - Apr 8^th, 2016 at 10:57am

bogarde73 wrote on Mar 31^st, 2016 at 10:13am:

Some people may regard the classics as things like Plato or the Odyssey, but I am thinking about 19th century and some 18th century books here.

Australia has its own classics and I have mentioned some in other threads, authors such as Henry Handel Richardson, Miles Franklin, Kylie Tennant. And America has its classics, Mark Twain, Henry James etc. And there are translations of French classics like Balzac & Zola. I like Balzac in particular.

But I still prefer the English classics and one author, apart from Dickens of course, stands out for me and that's Trollope. And from his unbelievable production line I like the Barsetshire series best.
I'm listening to one now, Dr Thorne. I've got the books and read them, but listening is good too.

What I like about the classics is they show you that people essentially don't change much over time. The rules of society might change but really people's behaviour doesn't. There is continuity which has probably been there for hundreds if not thousands of years.
I don't think schools devote enough time to classics. They're difficult and the curriculum is full of bits of everything. And there is the cult of Shakespeare which I think is carried to extremes.
To my mind, kids would derive more understanding from a Dickens or Trollope novel than they would from Shakespeare, which they can't understand anyway.

theres never enough TIME today boges.....kids are barely learning to read these days...they seem to spend more time on excursions...is that[living the dream]..I dont know anymore...the 3 Rs seem to be crammed in between well sex education for one thing.... Roll Eyes

.. looking round I dont think thats achieved much at all....

and to delve into the classics means time I would think....and of course an excellent teacher....which is rare today...do you think I stand any chance of dragging my 11 year old grandson away from his ipad...and into a classic.....even Harry Potter..at this stage the answer is NO>..

music is another thing fallen by the wayside...and its not encouraged either....

one good thing about Harry Potter it did get the kids reading a book..I read most of the Dickens books but not until I was older........

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Postmodern Trendoid III Gold Member Offline Posts: 10259 Gender:	Re: Reading the classics Reply #18 - Apr 8^th, 2016 at 7:23pm I have read Gulliver's Travels, The Canterbury Tales, and The Tempest (and Beowulf, but this isn't a 18th-19th century book). I didn't find them anywhere near as interesting as the Greek or Roman texts.
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bogarde73 Gold Member Offline Anti-Global & Contra Mundum Posts: 18443 Gender:	Re: Reading the classics Reply #19 - Apr 8^th, 2016 at 7:28pm All too true cods. The digital world is killing reading for kids. Of course I was thinking of say 14+ for kids to be introduced to classics, though at my school we were translating Julius Caesar at about 12. At home though I would have been reading Biggles. Remember him?
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John Smith

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Re: Reading the classics
Reply #20 - Apr 8^th, 2016 at 8:47pm

cods wrote on Apr 8^th, 2016 at 10:57am:

kids are barely learning to read these days

it's all depends on what the parents do. My 6 yr old is reading 3rd class material (8 yr old). His teacher has asked for a teachers aide because she doesn't want him to get bored and so that he can continue to read at his level while the rest of the class reads at their level. Right now, while I'm typing this, he's in the lounge, TV off (he turned it off) reading a book on basic mechanics (a 'how things work' book) while my nearly 4 yr old is sitting next to him reading about the solar system. Although I think with the 4 yr old he works more from memory more than actual reading.

We have always read at least 2 and up to 5 books to them, every day since they were about 3 months of age. We were shocked when talking to a mum of a kid in his class once when she mentioned that she had only ever read her son ONE book 3 or 4 times. She should be charged with child negligence in my opinion.

My kids have no ipads, iphones, tablets or any of that crap ... plenty of time for that later. I hope that if I can get them interested enough now, they'll keep it up later. Ohh, the best bits (in my opinion) they both prefer knowledge books to story books. And the six year old retains a lot of what he reads. He's not just going through the motions

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Wolseley Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 1453 Sydney Gender:	Re: Reading the classics Reply #21 - Apr 8^th, 2016 at 9:09pm bogarde73 wrote on Apr 8^th, 2016 at 7:28pm: At home though I would have been reading Biggles. Remember him? And Algy, Ginger and Bertie...
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Annie Anthrax Gold Member Offline Take the plan, spin it sideways Posts: 7057 Gender:	Re: Reading the classics Reply #22 - Apr 10^th, 2016 at 6:31pm Postmodern Trendoid III wrote on Apr 8^th, 2016 at 7:23pm: I have read Gulliver's Travels, The Canterbury Tales, and The Tempest (and Beowulf, but this isn't a 18th-19th century book). I didn't find them anywhere near as interesting as the Greek or Roman texts. Beowulf was a chore.
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greggerypeccary

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Re: Reading the classics
Reply #23 - Apr 10^th, 2016 at 7:21pm

bogarde73 wrote on Apr 8^th, 2016 at 7:28pm:

All too true cods. The digital world is killing reading for kids.
Of course I was thinking of say 14+ for kids to be introduced to classics, though at my school we were translating Julius Caesar at about 12. At home though I would have been reading Biggles. Remember him?

I read every Biggles book I could get my hands on, when I was about 10 or 11.

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Postmodern Trendoid III

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Re: Reading the classics
Reply #24 - Apr 11^th, 2016 at 6:50am

Annie Anthrax wrote on Apr 10^th, 2016 at 6:31pm:

Postmodern Trendoid III wrote on Apr 8^th, 2016 at 7:23pm:

I have read Gulliver's Travels, The Canterbury Tales, and The Tempest (and Beowulf, but this isn't a 18th-19th century book). I didn't find them anywhere near as interesting as the Greek or Roman texts.

Beowulf was a chore.

Yes. Not only is the old English hard to read but stories about 'dragons' just doesn't do it for me.

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Sprintcyclist

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Re: Reading the classics
Reply #25 - Apr 11^th, 2016 at 7:55am

bogarde73 wrote on Mar 31^st, 2016 at 10:13am:

Some people may regard the classics as things like Plato or the Odyssey, but I am thinking about 19th century and some 18th century books here.

Australia has its own classics and I have mentioned some in other threads, authors such as Henry Handel Richardson, Miles Franklin, Kylie Tennant. And America has its classics, Mark Twain, Henry James etc. And there are translations of French classics like Balzac & Zola. I like Balzac in particular.

But I still prefer the English classics and one author, apart from Dickens of course, stands out for me and that's Trollope. And from his unbelievable production line I like the Barsetshire series best.
I'm listening to one now, Dr Thorne. I've got the books and read them, but listening is good too.

What I like about the classics is they show you that people essentially don't change much over time. The rules of society might change but really people's behaviour doesn't. There is continuity which has probably been there for hundreds if not thousands of years.
I don't think schools devote enough time to classics. They're difficult and the curriculum is full of bits of everything. And there is the cult of Shakespeare which I think is carried to extremes.
To my mind, kids would derive more understanding from a Dickens or Trollope novel than they would from Shakespeare, which they can't understand anyway.

thanks Bogarde - Quote:

Henry Handel Richardson, Miles Franklin, Kylie Tennant.

Will look into them .

I also liked Boyle T. Coraghessan, Anais Nin is beautifully evocatively poetic,
Joseph Heller was overated.
Vladimir Voinovich is a good Russian author.

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Binary

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Re: Reading the classics
Reply #26 - Apr 23^rd, 2016 at 5:05am

John Smith wrote on Apr 8^th, 2016 at 8:47pm:

cods wrote on Apr 8^th, 2016 at 10:57am:

kids are barely learning to read these days

it's all depends on what the parents do. My 6 yr old is reading 3rd class material (8 yr old). His teacher has asked for a teachers aide because she doesn't want him to get bored and so that he can continue to read at his level while the rest of the class reads at their level. Right now, while I'm typing this, he's in the lounge, TV off (he turned it off) reading a book on basic mechanics (a 'how things work' book) while my nearly 4 yr old is sitting next to him reading about the solar system. Although I think with the 4 yr old he works more from memory more than actual reading.

We have always read at least 2 and up to 5 books to them, every day since they were about 3 months of age. We were shocked when talking to a mum of a kid in his class once when she mentioned that she had only ever read her son ONE book 3 or 4 times. She should be charged with child negligence in my opinion.

My kids have no ipads, iphones, tablets or any of that crap ... plenty of time for that later. I hope that if I can get them interested enough now, they'll keep it up later. Ohh, the best bits (in my opinion) they both prefer knowledge books to story books. And the six year old retains a lot of what he reads. He's not just going through the motions

Does my heart good to see there is still hope left in the world.

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Frank

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Re: Reading the classics
Reply #27 - Apr 23^rd, 2016 at 10:58am

bogarde73 wrote on Apr 4^th, 2016 at 4:12pm:

I have to admit though I haven't read much pre-18 century.
I've read Tacitus, the Odyssey and maybe a couple of other things but that's it.

Many of the great before the invention of the novel by Cervantes are in verse form - Dante, Chaucer, Homer, Virgil, Gilgamesh, Mahabharata etc - and even after - Milton, Goethe, Byron, Shelley etc - and so I think they should be first heard, not read.

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bogarde73

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Re: Reading the classics
Reply #28 - Apr 23^rd, 2016 at 12:55pm

I did read Don Quixote & Canterbury Tales but they would have been modern English translations I'm sue and in any case they are gone from the memory now.

For Sprint I will add my favourite Russian novel is probably And Quiet Flows the Don. What a sweeping epic of the Cossack experience before and after WWI.
And also another Aussie author worthy of note is Ruth Park.

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bogarde73

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Re: Reading the classics
Reply #29 - Nov 26^th, 2016 at 6:52am

Binary wrote on Apr 23^rd, 2016 at 5:05am:

John Smith wrote on Apr 8^th, 2016 at 8:47pm:

cods wrote on Apr 8^th, 2016 at 10:57am:

kids are barely learning to read these days

it's all depends on what the parents do. My 6 yr old is reading 3rd class material (8 yr old). His teacher has asked for a teachers aide because she doesn't want him to get bored and so that he can continue to read at his level while the rest of the class reads at their level. Right now, while I'm typing this, he's in the lounge, TV off (he turned it off) reading a book on basic mechanics (a 'how things work' book) while my nearly 4 yr old is sitting next to him reading about the solar system. Although I think with the 4 yr old he works more from memory more than actual reading.

We have always read at least 2 and up to 5 books to them, every day since they were about 3 months of age. We were shocked when talking to a mum of a kid in his class once when she mentioned that she had only ever read her son ONE book 3 or 4 times. She should be charged with child negligence in my opinion.

My kids have no ipads, iphones, tablets or any of that crap ... plenty of time for that later. I hope that if I can get them interested enough now, they'll keep it up later. Ohh, the best bits (in my opinion) they both prefer knowledge books to story books. And the six year old retains a lot of what he reads. He's not just going through the motions

Does my heart good to see there is still hope left in the world.

Me too. And a round of applause for John & his family, who themselves and their children will always remember with fondness & pride the effort, if that's the right word, they put in.

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