fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2238 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2238 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

__________________________________________________

02.

__________________________________________________

03.

__________________________________________________

04.

__________________________________________________

05.

__________________________________________________

06.

__________________________________________________

07. [posted twice]

__________________________________________________

08.

__________________________________________________

09.

__________________________________________________

10.

__________________________________________________

11.

__________________________________________________

12.

__________________________________________________

13.

__________________________________________________

14.

__________________________________________________

15.

__________________________________________________

16.

__________________________________________________

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 097 secrets from Secret Submission Post #320.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I have...issues...with the way classic literature is taught in school (er, American public schools to be exact). But that's not really about the books themselves and more related to my strong views about the anti-intellectual education industrial, so I'll save that rant for another day and just simplify it down to the TL;DR version: "the modern teaching of classic literature is butchering interested in reading, reading comprehension, and critical analysis in modern day students".

And to be honest, only about half the people who read classics are genuinely interested in them and/or are actually able to discuss things intellectually. The other half are mostly just spouting buzzwords they remember from high school to try and sound smarter than they are (which is kind of sad, seeing as most of these people were very well rounded in other areas and could have very intellectual dialogue about other topics if they wanted that kind of conversation, but in their heads "classic literature = smart" and they won't budge from that, making their conversation idiotic and more often than not, that mindset makes the person in questions very judgmental, often more than people who have genuine interest in classics).

but in their heads "classic literature = smart"

I imagine it would be kind of a passive peer pressure thing, as this entire thread alone shows that people consider you unintelligent and poorly read for not reading classics.

Even people I know who haven't read any since high school consider people who read classics somehow smarter and better than those who don't, as if reading the odd old book here and there somehow contributes to their knowledge more than a modern day book.

I'm all for history, but the fascination of "older things likes books and knowledge are smarter and better and more of a challenge than modern day things" creeps me out.

It's basically Nostalgia Filter + leftovers of the Renaissance obsession with Old Things. Unfortunately, most of modern society has some element of conditioning to think of "old = good". (Just look at any sort of herbal medicine advertisement, how many of them use ancient roots as some kind of selling point? For that matter, how many foodie and health-nut things are sold with the word or concept of "ancient" in the advertisement?)

To be honest, I tend to assume that anyone who thinks "classic literature = well read, modern literature = idiot" is an idiot, themselves. It's one thing to love classics and/or appreciate their impact on arts and society, it's another thing to assume they make or break how intelligent you are.

"the modern teaching of classic literature is butchering interested in reading, reading comprehension, and critical analysis in modern day students".

Fucking THIS. I recently overheard my niece say that she got a new book but refused to read it until summer break because otherwise it wouldn't count towards her total 'summer pages' assignment. So reading it now would have been a 'waste of time'. Kids are being taught that reading is work, something one does because one must, and that's *it*.

Welcome to reading. Read x chapters of this book in a certain amount of time and then do a report. If you're not lucky enough to have a family that models reading for pleasure - or, gasp, reads *to you* - so that you love it *before* you start school, the deck is stacked against you.

I remember in school, how some people used to think me and my friends were crazy for enjoying reading. If there were other things that we enjoyed that most students didn't, it was just different tastes, but if it was reading, then Something Was Up, because obviously no one reads just for fun. >.<

I will happily lambast the way modern English classes are a.) intended to impart critical analysis skills and b.) doing exactly the opposite of that, but perhaps even worse is the way they slowly kill any interest in reading whatsoever. Sometimes I'm almost convinced that the Powers That Be are doing this on purpose to make kids - and future citizens of society - easier to control by narrowing their perspective intake. @_@

Forget classics. Most English teachers (in NSW, anyway) take deconstruction to such an extent that all meaning is lost. Every word has to mean something! The poor author can't so much as misplace a comma without a teacher's pouncing on it. The point of reading a book is not to pick it apart to within an inch of its life! Some deconstruction is all right, but use it where it'll help, for heaven's sake.

tl;dr I'm still bitter about high school English. Sorry for the rant. Carry on.

That's not deconstruction, that's just analysis.

And, yes, it is true that some people, and especially teachers, can go overboard on analysis. At the same time, though, I think there's a tendency for some people to overreact to that. And analysis is in and of itself both good and valid and something that enriches the reading experience. I mean, making points about works by close reading and thought and critical analysis is cool and totally legitimate, as long as you're not getting into scholastic hairsplitting or whatever.

Yes, and I'm talking about deconstruction taken to utterly stupid and unnecessary levels, when the word or phrase someone is analysing is not relevant to the author's message in any way; this is different from close reading in general, which is useful.

It's okay, I'm still bitter about my English classes, too.

I remember, once, a really long time ago, letting a Very Deconstructive Type (not an actual English teacher, but close enough given the context) read some notes on a creature I'd made up for one of my fantasy novels. The actual physiology/description of the creature was mostly just to look creepy/cool and meant to be relevant in the locals' mythology and superstitions that influenced the plot. However, the friend went on and on about the different meanings and interpretations of my creature and what purposes I must've had in creating them and all the Deeper Meanings. I just sat there basically going, "Um, sure, why not?"

That's pretty much the day I became convinced at least three quarters of my English teachers' deconstruction and interpretation is bullshit.

Deconstruction has lost a lot of its meaning, if not most of it, with the way it's handled. Some books warrant that level of deconstruction, but from what I've seen most don't require nearly that kind of attention to detail. (And the way this kind of deconstruction is killing critical analysis-- *keyboardsmashrageface*)

[ SECRET POST #2238 ]

The obsession over classic literature is kind of ridiculous, honestly

Re: The obsession over classic literature is kind of ridiculous, honestly

Re: The obsession over classic literature is kind of ridiculous, honestly

Re: The obsession over classic literature is kind of ridiculous, honestly

Re: The obsession over classic literature is kind of ridiculous, honestly

Re: The obsession over classic literature is kind of ridiculous, honestly

Re: The obsession over classic literature is kind of ridiculous, honestly

Re: The obsession over classic literature is kind of ridiculous, honestly

Re: The obsession over classic literature is kind of ridiculous, honestly