Erin’s Comments (group member since Sep 09, 2020)

Erin’s comments from the Reading Classics, Chronologically Through the Ages group.

Hi Jenni,

Great blog post!

I agree that students should read the classics in school. Oftentimes, in the rush to be "relevant" to students, quality is forgotten. For instance, many readers written for the purpose of teaching students to read are very poorly written and not likely to inspire a love of reading.

There are many wonderful contemporary books schools could teach, but many times they don't introduce students to new ways of thinking, and instead stick with the same paradigm students already have. I encourage my students to read a variety of kinds of books to expose them to more vocabulary and ideas.

Another frequent objection to teaching classics is that they are "hard," to which I say: good! That's the point of going to school! (My students very quickly learn not to say something is hard.) If students don't learn the skills necessary for tackling the classics at school, then where will they learn those skills?

I also love your point about making up your own mind. Saying a boom is boring because it is old is just another way of judging a book by its cover. The only way to really know how good a book is is to start reading it!

Hi, everyone! I'm Erin. I teach 2nd grade, and absolutely love teaching. I'm also eager to continue my own education through reading. I've always loved to read fantasy and sci-fi, and as an adult I started reading more classics and nonfiction. Currently, I'm working on reading Well Educated Mind, and am excited to find a group dedicated to tackling these kinds of books.