What Youth Read Today vs 100 Years Ago
As I worked through my reading list today, there was one article in particular that I perused with great interest.
Since I grew up as a homeschooler it is always interesting to see the research that people produce showing the decline in the quality of a public school education over the last century. The article I read is the result of one woman's research into the reading list of students from 1908 compared with the reading list of youth today.
I will not go on and on about the article but rather I will share the link for you to enjoy. The one thing that I will comment on is the idea of challenging ourselves to be better today than we were yesterday. The glaring difference in the two reading lists was the quality of books that the youth of 1908 read vs the youth of today.
It is a basic premise of life that if you are not challenged, you will not grow. Our muscles respond and adapt based on the exertion we ask of them in the gym. The brain is a muscle, and it will only become stronger correlated with the exercise that we engage in.
I hope you find the article as enjoyable a read as I did. May we continue to pursue excellence in every area of our life and encourage the youth around us to do the same.
School Reading Lists 100 Years Ago vs. Today Show How Far Educational Standards Have Declined
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That list is great! We use the Charlotte Mason Method to homeschool our kids so it is interesting that some of the older ones we use. Thanks for the post. Cool that you were homeschooled!
You went digging for that article, haha. Great to hear from another homeschool advocate! Charlotte Mason is a good curriculum. Following your blog to stay in touch now.
I think I searched for Charlotte Mason or homeschool to find you. :) Just trying to find/follow people I have something in common with!
Haha, perfect!
It's saddening sometimes when they say, "Should I read that still read that if I can watch it?" It's good if they want to read the book after watching a film of it but most of the times, they don't. I hope kids these day would also take time to read books. Just like how children wanted to learn and study before.
There are a few instances where I was fascinated enough by the movie to read the book. The rub for me often comes when I read the original books versus modern books written about the originals.
That principle can be applied to movies as well. There are classics that cannot be duplicated and unless some of those timeless principles are taught in the home, I don't know how the children will seek out those principles in what they read and watch.
This is exactly why we home school! Interesting to see you grew up that way. I am a personal fan of Emily Bronte. On a side note: I read "The Raven" to the children the other day. They loved it and were absolutely feeling the mood. When spoken word can make you feel such emotion...That is powerful.
That is brilliant to hear! It is incredible how the spoken word can impact us on an emotional level. I love that you read to your children - quality time right there.
We mainly use Charlotte Mason Method for teaching. Handwriting and Spelling are taught by using passages from great books that communicate great ideas rather than using just a list of words.
"Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life."-Charlotte Mason
That is a great quote - I am saving that one. We used a similar method in our writing and spelling. It was called Imitation in Writing. We read a classic story and then rewrote in our own words.
Thank you for posting @lydon.sipe.
Lovely picture and commentary. All so true.
Are you familiar with Art Robinson's list of books for homeschooled students.....almost every book is over one hundred years old and the recommended dictionary is Websters dated 1940. He offers a great curriculum as well.
All the best to you and @mustardseed.
Thank you for stopping by @bleujay. I always smile when I see a comment from you.
Art Robinson does not ring a bell but his philosophy sounds a lot like my mothers. I believe she found a Webster dictionaries from the 1800's for us to use.
A blessed day to you as well.
when I taught the University Preparation Course, I told my academic students that the materials we were studying on the course had a lower readability level than the materials studied in Ontario grade eight classes a hundred years before. I was at Pioneer Village and saw with my own eyes a typical Reader from the late 1800's. As a matter of fact, most of the classics we read today are abridged and are far less challenging than in their original form.
A modern novel (including my own) looks and reads like a play - the amount of dialogue is disproportional to the amount of commentary or description.
We are technologically sophisticated while devolving in literacy and comprehension