For The L♥ve of Reading discussion

I've posted this on a couple of other boards and gotten some interesting responses, so I thought I'd see what people here have to add:

I thought this would be an interesting question. I realize that most of the people who are members of this group are likely to have gone to college, but what about those who haven't? More people *don't* go to college in the United States than do. Why don't we make a list of the books that you think would give you the equivalent of a decent college education? I wouldn't worry too much about what degree, what university, possible masters/doctorate after the baccalaureate, just what books do we think would give a person a good, well-rounded education?

Kristopher

Night Flying Woman: An Ojibway NarrativeIgnatia Broker

This would be a good book to read for part of Native American Cultures. Ojibway is not closely related to my tribe but I found it to be a good read for my Native American class.

It looks very interesting, Elyssa. I've got it on my own TBR pile, now. :) what is your tribe?

Kristopher

I am Oneida. Part of the League of the Iroquios.

Black ElK Speaks is sort of the Native American bible, as good as any discriptions. It is about Black Elk growing up and about the his spiritual visions. Near death, slaughters if the people, and other things. Also a highly recommended book.

Jesus the Misunderstood Jew by Amy Levine (I think) is an excellant book for religious studies. Christianity vs Judism. It let's you know the important stuff and it is a fun easy read. Def not heavy like you would expect.

How about The World's Religionsfor a broader view point? It's easy to forget while living in America that most of the people of the world *don't* practice any type of Judeo/Christian religion.

Kristopher

interesting topic. as an english major, i am thinking mostly literary works. so i would have to say Watership Down, The Scarlet Letter for sure. i want to add that i didn't read either of those books in high school.

it would be difficult to compile a list that encompasses all possible degrees.

I agree with you about the difficulty of covering all majors, Elizabeth. I'm thinking more along the lines of a "liberal arts" degree. Not too much concentration in any one area, but fairly well-rounded when you're done.

I'm also an English major and am finding the Literature books to be the hardest part. I was leaning toward Brave New World and To Kill a Mockingbird. I'm also cognizant of the fact that my little list doesn't contain any books that are pre-20th century. I think if I had to add one ancient classic, it would probably be The Odyssey. I think for math we could probably do Mathematics for the Nonmathematician. Does anyone have any suggestions for science books?

Kristopher

Elizabeth,

I forgot to mention in my post that I wasn't assigned either of the books you suggested in high school, either. I went to school in a very small, very backwards town in Tennessee and went through high school without being assigned a single book to read. I have no reason to think that things have changed there, which makes me want to cry for the students that are attending that school.

Kristopher

interesting. i just had this discussion with a friend at work: about the books assigned to us in school. i've always read and i LOVE reading. so i am excited to begin reading books with my daughter who is five now. but i don't remember reading in school. only outside of school.

i grew up in houston and attended schools in aldine ISD which is a good school district. the school i attended has been rated among the top twenty in houston. but i really don't recall reading a lot in high school with the exception of AP english my senior year.

Isn't that sad, Elizabeth? We give a lot of mouth service to promoting reading in our country, but if we don't expose kids to really good books, how can we expect them to learn to enjoy reading? I'm pretty confident, based upon most of the people I know, that kids aren't going to be given access to really good books at home, so they'll be spending their entire lives without them.

Kristopher

On the subject of Education Without College, I would like to tell you about my best childhood friend, who quit school before 9th grade. Instead she went to the library and studied, the subjects she WANTED to learn about. I had moved away just prior to that My dad got a job with Boeing in Wichita, KS so we moved there from Hammond, IN. I was very concerned about my friend, being a staunch supporter of Continuing Education...but after a few years I had to admit that quitting school was not the worst thing she could have done. That was in the mid-50's and since then Jan married and is still continuing her self-tutored studies. Her husband went to Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and (I believe) graduated with a degree in biochemistry. Of course, she studied that subject right along with him, just to be able to keep up with the conversation.

Perhaps this is not the kind of post you were looking for, and I definitely would not recommend quitting school for 98% or 99% of the population, but it worked out well for my friend. And I have to say that I, myself, probably would not have had the ambition or drive to be self-taught to that extent...I need the 'herd' mentality when it comes to studying something I really want to learn. Also, I need to be 'shown' something, rather than listening to lectures non-stop or reading a page over and over that doesn't connect me with other truths.

Carol,

Your friend is exactly the sort of person I had in mind when I started this thread. I wasn't always the mild-mannered fellow I am today, and I was cordially invited to spend my time elsewhere by my high school principal when I was 17. I got my GED and never looked back until I was 28, when I started going to college. I'm now midway through my Junior year with a 4.0 GPA. My reasoning behind this thread was my oft-repeated complaint that I have learned nothing in college that I couldn't have/hadn't already taught myself. I did what your friend did, namely self-educated. I still feel that college is over-rated, with entirely too much money being spent for a piece of paper, but I also realize thy our society is fixated on thy piece of paper now.

Kristopher

I don't believe in education without college. I think that every single one of us should go through college at some point in our life. It is a very valuable experience and should not be taken for granted. And I am not talking about studying or all that stuff. Right now, with our educational system, it is a total waste of time. I left college after my second year and I don't regret it at all. If I needed some help, I just went to a thesis writing service at Paperial and that's it. It was a great thing for me to replace lazy teachers.