by Susan A. Howard
Fortunately for me, my eldest daughter, necessarily the homeschooling Guinea pig of the family, had always loved literature. This was a great surprise to me as neither I nor my husband were big readers. As a baby, Alane would pretend to read her picture books, telling the imagined story with drama and inflection in very convincing baby babble. She began using common language early and by two was carrying on fairly comprehensive conversations. So, I instinctively began teaching her the alphabet and phonics. We made a game out of it and all the teddies, dollies and stuffed Disney characters joined in.
Fortunately for me, my eldest daughter, necessarily the homeschooling Guinea pig of the family, had always loved literature. This was a great surprise to me as neither I nor my husband were big readers. As a baby, Alane would pretend to read her picture books, telling the imagined story with drama and inflection in very convincing baby babble. She began using common language early and by two was carrying on fairly comprehensive conversations. So, I instinctively began teaching her the alphabet and phonics. We made a game out of it and all the teddies, dollies and stuffed Disney characters joined in.
By the time Alane entered Kindergarten she was reading. By the end of first grade she was reading at the fourth grade level. By the time she was in second grade she had exhausted all the possible reading material appropriate to her young age. She skipped the Juni B. Jones and Magic Treehouses and went straight to Kenneth Grahame, E.B. White, Laura Ingalls Wilder, C.S. Lewis, and Roald Dahl.
By the time she graduated high school she had built a reading list of over 250 classic titles that included such diverse authors as Dante, Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, the Brontes, Chaucer, Ray Bradbury, Oscar Wilde, and Homer. Because of her voracious appetite for literature and my own delight in it, one of my homeschooling friends asked me, so what good really is reading the classics over reading more modern literature? Isn’t the fact that she is reading the important thing? I guess the answer lies in why a classic is a classic.
Classic literature offers readers more than reading material – more than a venue for practicing a practical technique. Through classic literature, education is compounded. A student is exposed to the many edifying qualities of classical literature simultaneously.
At its least classic literature offers readers a unique aesthetic experience. Dicken’s delightfully clever phraseology, Twain’s sarcastic wit, Shakespeare’s expressive poetry, and Charlotte Bronte’s warmth provide a valuable artistic experience for the reader. The reader learns that communication is not just about conveying information, but doing so with style and compelling expression.
Classic literature provides a window of experience for readers, a vehicle for seeing places and meeting people they might not otherwise have an opportunity to experience especially at a young age. By travelling the world and beyond throughout history by way of the written word, students experience life from a safe distance, gradually broadening their scope in a healthy way. To get a sense of regret without having to regret, to experience the ruination of revenge without being ruined, to learn the meaning of real vs. superficial love without having to throw away one’s heart to a rogue, to understand sacrifice before having to make it, prepares students for these very challenges they will face sooner or later in their own lives. Consequently, avid readers of classical literature demonstrate surprising maturity for their age.
Occasionally, a work of literature will qualify as a classic because it introduces a radically new idea or theory. In some cases that idea is a poor or dangerous one. Mein Kampf and the Communist Manifesto for example are responsible for great human tragedies. The Catcher in the Rye has been cited as influencing the violent actions of Mark David Chapman, John Hinckley Jr. and Lee Harvey Oswald. Whether or not some these works are suitable for youth is a judgment that parents must make based on the personality and maturity of their students. Regardless, like all classic literature, they certainly provide intellectual value and an opportunity for a student to practice their critical thinking skills. If the student is not challenged intellectually he is most likely beyond the book. But for those who do not yet have the skills to analyze and criticize objectively, these works must be scrutinized and considered carefully.
By contrast, the best of classic literature has a depth of profound truth that teaches the reader something of life. Whether it is the consequence of a particular character or behavior, a contrasting point of view, an aspect of the human condition, a universal problem that we all must face, or all of the above, classical literature offers invaluable wisdom and insight. It is this quality that allows a reader to revisit a book multiple times and having grown from previous reading will discover new ideas and insights that he was not previously prepared to process.
By exposing your students to great books, you will prepare them for life, develop their intellects, spark their imaginations, and expose them to the great truths of human existence. Isn’t that what education is all about?
For two great resources on classical literature, take a look at Mortimer Adler’s How to Read a Book and Susan Wise Bauer’s The Well Educated Mind. You can also access LessonMinder.com’s extensive classical literature database at www.lessonminder.com
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