| There are books, and then there are BOOKS. Those who have read certain books think that everyone else should read them too, simply because they provide insights that are much needed in virtually all individuals in a healthy society. The point of this thread is simple: What book(s) do you think a should kid have had to read in school? I'm mainly thinking different novels, and while the students are still in compulsory education. Please explain why you picked that book in particular, and give reasons for why students should have to read it. Common answers I always get are books like: Animal Farm, The Kite Runner, Crime and Punishment, and of course The Bible. But like I said, I want to know what you think. Hopefully, this might also give birth to a debate of some sort. I'm looking forward to reading all your answers! |
| Come visit my town // I apologize in advance for my second-rate English Join my fan club // Improve the transport network |
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it teaches them the basics of how to survive in the galaxy, essential reading. |
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| I grew up with Roald Dahl's books. They inspired me and sparked my creativity when I was a kid. Also Fifty Shades Of Grey. |
| The Holy Bible. |
| Losing an Argument online? Simply post a webpage full of links, and refuse to continue until your opponents have read every last one of them! WORKS EVERY TIME! "I was debating with someone who believed in climate change, when he linked me to a graph showing evidence to that effect. So I sent him a 10k word essay on the origins of Conservatism, and escaped with my dignity intact." "THANK YOU VERBOSE WEBPAGES OF QUESTIONABLE RELEVANCE!" |
| Mein Kampf - If you're gonna mention it so much you may as well make us read it. The Road - Because we all need some depressing literature to read that's gritty and "real." |
| Twilight. To know good literature you must first know bad literature. |
| The Art of Eight |
| In no serious particular order of importance: OLD: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid%27s_Elements http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principia_Mathematica http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wealth_of_Nations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophi%C3%A6_Naturalis_Principia_Mathematica New(er) http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Relativity:_The_Special_and_General_Theory http://as.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-EHEP000712.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Feynman_Lectures_on_Physics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_General_Theory_of_Employment,_Interest_and_Money Schaum's Outlines on ... Everything and Anything - Generally 'okay'-ish at least in terms of quality. Perhaps focussing on Linear Algebra Differential Equations Vector Analysis Tensor Calculus Fluid Mechanics Modern Physics I'd include more if 'articles' are allowed, but oh well, that's more than enough text to feed anyone. I also wonder if Ph.D. are considered books, since generally there will be submission of a book form. /biased opinion I should note that the above has no Cosmology. I personally read popular-level Cosmology for books, and slightly more technical level with articles. |
 「みんながいるからだ。」 － 棗鈴 |
| The Hobbit MellowJello said: Mein Kampf dankickyou said: Twilight. Don't know which is worse. |
dankickyou said: That suggestion is more stupid than the book. Twilight. To know good literature you must first know bad literature. Dune |
| ^_^ |
MellowJello said: The Road - Because we all need some depressing literature to read that's gritty and "real." You want kids to have mass depression? |
| The Art of Eight |
dankickyou said: MellowJello said: The Road - Because we all need some depressing literature to read that's gritty and "real." You want kids to have mass depression? yes May as well have them face depression early before they run into the "what am I doing with my life" stage. It's like chicken pox! :P Aside from mass depression, I actually think it's worth the childhood read. |
| Tales of Earthsea |
RandomPerson3 said: The Hobbit MellowJello said: Mein Kampf dankickyou said: Twilight. Don't know which is worse. Mein Kampf was pretty badly written but it did present some valid points about politics. Prejudice aside. I'd say every kid should read Frankenstein. |
| As a child, I was told that society is a melting pot of talents; knowledge and experience combined to form important alloys that will contribute to mankind. When I got to highschool, however, I thought that it's more like a river in which the water represents our peers while we ourselves are the stones in the river. Constant erosion by mindless majority sheeping has made us lose our unique edge. After I hit the age of 18, I realized that I've been wrong all along. Society is no melting pot. Society is no river. Society is a person, a very skilled rapist, and he has fucked us all. |
| I'd say books that teach them practical skills; Cooking books, survival books, swordfighting books, etc. etc. |
| "He's not dead, he's Katsura." |
HiddenVoice said: I'd say books that teach them practical skills; Cooking books, survival books, swordfighting books, etc. etc. Sword fighting has not been a practical skill in about 200 years. |
| The Art of Eight |
| Swordfighting... practical... If it's English class, I first want them to remove Shakespeare. Seriously, I still don't get why students are forced to study old language that is completely irrelevant today. English class could be about epistemology of words, if only students be allowed to understand and apply modern grammar and language first. I think I've read a Shakespeare book every year in 4 years of high school, wwwwwwwwwhhhhhhy. Let people read poetry and from other authors instead. I don't think I remember reading poetry once in high school. Stop overhyping Shakespeare imo. |
| The phone book. No but in all seriousness, the Odyssey and the Illiad. Two of the greatest works of literature that the world has ever seen. AnnoKano jokingly said the bible, but I actually think that would be a good thing for kids to read. As well as the qur'an. Since a lot of people actually believe this crap, I think it's important to know the specifics of what they believe. |
| > The Fellow MAL Users Social Link has reached level 6! > Your power to create Forum Posts of the Anime Arcana has grown! |
| 1984. They get a glimpse of where our world is going. Good education for the kids. |
HiddenVoice said: ..oh.I'd say books that teach them practical skills; Cooking books, survival books, swordfighting books, etc. etc. This is a list of all the books (I can remember) that I had to read during High School: 9th Grade Lord of the Flies Romeo and Juliet The Odyssey 10th Grade Frankenstein Night Oedipus 11th Grade The Tipping Point Into Thin Air Anthem The Crucible A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Fahrenheit 451 The Catcher in the Rye Wind From an Enemy Sky 12th Grade Hamlet 1984 Things Fall Apart Pygmalion There were more, but they have slipped my mind. |
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| Seconding Catcher and Mockingbird. For Lit/World Lit: The Stranger The Color Purple Dubliners Great Expectations Fahrenheit 451 (as an alternative to 1984, because you're going to read it eventually anyway) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Old Man and the Sea (or A Farewell to Arms, or For Whom the Bell Tolls, or a study of Hemingway's short stories) Plays: "Waiting for Godot" "The Visit" "An Enemy of the People" (or "A Doll's House") Nonfiction (for any other class): Management - Drucker (Or a digest of it) Meditations on First Philosophy - Decartes Looking at Philosophy - Palmer Poetry: Robert Frost Edgar Allen Poe Other figures of Romanticism and Transcendentalism that I can't name off the top of my head. |
DeseradaJan 7, 2013 9:02 AM
 Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur. |
tanshiniza said: I remember growing up reading Artemis Fowl and really enjoying it. It is important to learn things but being able to enjoy what you are reading is just as important otherwise you won't get anything out of it. Artemis Fowl is indeed a good read. |
Vinter said: Similarly, I would like World Religions courses to be mandatory for at least a semester, and be available with one or two year long courses, by level of rigor. That alone would dramatically reduce the amount of ignorant people in the world, as I feel that religion is one of the most understudied subjects.The phone book. No but in all seriousness, the Odyssey and the Illiad. Two of the greatest works of literature that the world has ever seen. AnnoKano jokingly said the bible, but I actually think that would be a good thing for kids to read. As well as the qur'an. Since a lot of people actually believe this crap, I think it's important to know the specifics of what they believe. I'll add the Tao Te Ching, The Upanishads, and the Rig Veda to that list. |
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur. |
| The Little Prince comes to my mind. It's not my most favourite book ever, but if I read it earlier, I would have probably grasped it differently. |
| The only thing you can rely on is that you can't rely on anything. |
| For the purpose of making them think about the world and their place in it, Catcher In The Rye, Catch-22, Fahrenheit 451 and 1984. For the purpose of confronting them with literary prose of the highest level, Blood Meridian or anything by Hemingway. |
| Ara ara. |
| The one I fully agree with is Fahrenheit 451, so idiocy like burning games in Connecticut doesn't have to happen. |
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| Lord of the Flies. The very hungry caterpillar. Horrible History/Science books - Always nice to be informed. I don't think Shakespeare is too bad really, his stories are very well suited for study. Lolita. |
| I would rather have a better educational system than having to read any specific book. There is no point for kids in reading Homer or Shakespeare when their general knowledge in high school ,is at grade school level. Also I dont know if I hate seeing people suggest Homer and other Greek poets/authors because I read/hear about them since grade school I was able to understand words or because my teachers on the subject were ALL weirdos. |
He teaches you colors and butterflies that might save your everyday needs. |
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| Screw Harry Potter, The Hobbit, Lord of the Flies; bust out the history books! |
| I think they should bring more non-fiction books, that aren't textbooks, into schools. I've never heard of anyone having to read even one such book. Things like: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman Red Families v. Blue Families by Naomi Cahn and June Carbone Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Something about the loss of privacy in the internet era, there are plenty. These are by no means unengaging books, and are probably a lot easier to get into than some of the complex fiction novels found in a typical high-school curriculum. |
LoneWolf said: @Josh makes me sad to call myself Canadian. |
ssjokg said: I would rather have a better educational system than having to read any specific book. Fair comment. ssjokg said: There is no point for kids in reading Homer or Shakespeare when their general knowledge in high school ,is at grade school level. How can the knowledge of the average high school student be at the level of a grade school student? ssjokg said: Also I dont know if I hate seeing people suggest Homer and other Greek poets/authors because I read/hear about them since grade school I was able to understand words or because my teachers on the subject were ALL weirdos. Someone appoint this man as minister for education. |
| Losing an Argument online? Simply post a webpage full of links, and refuse to continue until your opponents have read every last one of them! WORKS EVERY TIME! "I was debating with someone who believed in climate change, when he linked me to a graph showing evidence to that effect. So I sent him a 10k word essay on the origins of Conservatism, and escaped with my dignity intact." "THANK YOU VERBOSE WEBPAGES OF QUESTIONABLE RELEVANCE!" |
| Les Misérables by Victor Hugo |
| tfw no gf tfw i keep getting the banhammer on here tfw Koleare keeps banning me every other day tfw I'm misunderstood by le mod |
AnnoKano said: ssjokg said: There is no point for kids in reading Homer or Shakespeare when their general knowledge in high school ,is at grade school level. How can the knowledge of the average high school student be at the level of a grade school student? It is possible when the system sucks.Yes the students are responsible too, but when there is chaos inside the classroom and the teacher doesnt give a fuck or worse, if he is afraid to punish them it makes things way worse even for those that want to learn.Also some teachers just dont give a fuck.They enter the classroom and just talk about their subject without actually giving any explanation.If the student is lucky and has rich parents then he can be saved by cram schools.There were people in my class that couldnt find our country on the national map in high school and no, they werent mentally retarded.Probably. AnnoKano said: Why the sarcasm when I didnt even say something ''smart''?ssjokg said: Also I dont know if I hate seeing people suggest Homer and other Greek poets/authors because I read/hear about them since grade school I was able to understand words or because my teachers on the subject were ALL weirdos. Someone appoint this man as minister for education. |
ssjokgJan 7, 2013 11:39 AM
InfiniteRyvius said: Ah. I had to read this for my Intro to American Studies Class (BS class) last semester.Lolita. It was interesting to hear reactions of disgust and the like from my classmates, while being an anime fan where liking "lolis" is a norm. |
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Duckonator said: Philosophy: - The Republic - Plato Though initially I diliked this suggestion (Most of what is written in the Republic is either nonsense or a bad idea, and totally out of date) I would be in favour of studying about his Academy, because learning about how education has developed seems like a worthwhile pursuit. |
| Losing an Argument online? Simply post a webpage full of links, and refuse to continue until your opponents have read every last one of them! WORKS EVERY TIME! "I was debating with someone who believed in climate change, when he linked me to a graph showing evidence to that effect. So I sent him a 10k word essay on the origins of Conservatism, and escaped with my dignity intact." "THANK YOU VERBOSE WEBPAGES OF QUESTIONABLE RELEVANCE!" |
Duckonator said: I actually feel so stupid for not having read any Dostoyevsky yet. I should remedy that this summer.Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky |
LoneWolf said: @Josh makes me sad to call myself Canadian. |
Duckonator said: Philosophy: - The Republic - Plato - Critique of Pure Reason - Immanuel Kant - Thus Spoke Zarathustra - Friedrich Nietzsche Critique of Pure Reason especially would need be taught by a qualified individual that is specifically accredited in philosophy. At least in america, philosophy has been taken out of the curriculum so philosophy books are sadly not at all introduced. From my own personal experience, mind you I went to a private high school, we touched a majority of the recommended books in this thread and touched existentialist writing, but solely from a literary standpoint. Edit: To add to the thread a book that has not been mentioned. Slaughterhouse-Five |
ssjokg said: It is possible when the system sucks.Yes the students are responsible too, but when there is chaos inside the classroom and the teacher doesnt give a fuck or worse, if he is afraid to punish them it makes things way worse even for those that want to learn.Also some teachers just dont give a fuck.They enter the classroom and just talk about their subject without actually giving any explanation.If the student is lucky and has rich parents then he can be saved by cram schools.There were people in my class that couldnt find our country on the national map in high school and no, they werent mentally retarded.Probably. The only way it is possible for the average high school student to have the intelligence of the average grade school student is for there to be no progression whatsoever from grade school to highschool. My point was that as a criticism what you said was so vague that it is of no use at all. ssjokg said: Why the sarcasm when I didnt even say something ''smart''? Because what you said about the teachers who taught you Classics was moronic. |
| Losing an Argument online? Simply post a webpage full of links, and refuse to continue until your opponents have read every last one of them! WORKS EVERY TIME! "I was debating with someone who believed in climate change, when he linked me to a graph showing evidence to that effect. So I sent him a 10k word essay on the origins of Conservatism, and escaped with my dignity intact." "THANK YOU VERBOSE WEBPAGES OF QUESTIONABLE RELEVANCE!" |
AnnoKano said: That is the case for many public schools here.Many go to highschool without having learnt the basics.It may be difficult for you to believe it but it happens.At least during the time I was in school.ssjokg said: It is possible when the system sucks.Yes the students are responsible too, but when there is chaos inside the classroom and the teacher doesnt give a fuck or worse, if he is afraid to punish them it makes things way worse even for those that want to learn.Also some teachers just dont give a fuck.They enter the classroom and just talk about their subject without actually giving any explanation.If the student is lucky and has rich parents then he can be saved by cram schools.There were people in my class that couldnt find our country on the national map in high school and no, they werent mentally retarded.Probably. The only way it is possible for the average high school student to have the intelligence of the average grade school student is for there to be no progression whatsoever from grade school to highschool. My point was that as a criticism what you said was so vague that it is of no use at all. AnnoKano said: ssjokg said: Why the sarcasm when I didnt even say something ''smart''? Because what you said about the teachers who taught you Classics was moronic. Is there some rule that says that all teachers are normal?All 3 of them were weird and the entire school knew that.Regardless of how capable they were as teachers.I really dont understand what's your problem. |
ssjokgJan 7, 2013 1:32 PM
| The Harry Potter Series. |
 |
MitsukiHimeka said: And, might I ask, what exactly does the HP series add to the academic experience?The Harry Potter Series. |
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Red_Keys said: MitsukiHimeka said: And, might I ask, what exactly does the HP series add to the academic experience?The Harry Potter Series. I guess them experiencing the fantasy type genres. |
|
| primary sources in history class teachers here teach out of a textbook with little regard for primary sources and the historians that gathered accounts for a holistic view of history no one gets it |
| ~"The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands." (Pirsig) |
| The bible is something that does not belong in public schools and no one should ever force anyone to read it (just like other religious books). If an adult or child/teenager wants to read the bible or other religious books then I see no problem in it if they want to explore if religion is for them or not; however, religion is something that needs to stay out of public schools. As far as books that I feel people should read is: Hamlet Romeo and Juliet Black Beauty Uncle Tom's Cabin Heather Has Two Mommies Where the Red Fern Grows Harry Potter (all 7 books) because these are really, really good books for newer fantasy fiction. |
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