School Books That Set Us Up For A Lifetime Of Depression
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Re: School Books That Set Us Up For A Lifetime Of Depression
#2There was that book about the two friends, where the one friend pokes a beehive with a stick and the bees swarm him and it turns out he was allergic to bees and then he dies and I think his mom brings the other kid a pie or maybe it's the other way around.
Either way, we read that in 4th grade. We never had to read Terebithia, although my son likes that story. I won't let him read the bee book.
Re: School Books That Set Us Up For A Lifetime Of Depression
#3The only problem I found was Lord of The Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird in 6th grade because we were in an advanced english class, not really the best books for a younger audience.
On the other hand I read the Rye in 9th grade and found it to be a very interesting and relatable book and even though it is not the best book for a young audience there is not much of a difference when you have reached high school.
Re: School Books That Set Us Up For A Lifetime Of Depression
#4There was that book about the two friends, where the one friend pokes a beehive with a stick and the bees swarm him and it turns out he was allergic to bees and then he dies and I think his mom brings the other kid a pie or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, we read that in 4th grade. We never had to read Terebithia, although my son likes that story. I won't let him read the bee book.
Sounds kind of like My Girl, one of the few films that can make me cry.
Re: School Books That Set Us Up For A Lifetime Of Depression
#5It’s one thing when you read these books on your own but the thing is - being GRADED on books that scar you for life - at that age - is a lot like a Rorschach test being conducted using human blood to a classroom of fresh faced 12 year olds who so far have cakewalked through life and don’t have a care in the world.
The problem with English classes in a nutshell. You ruin a beautiful thing when you assign it a grade, no (or exceedingly few) exceptions.
That one comment aside: This is not only listspam, it is not at all Hacker News, it doesn't stimulate me in any way, and it's wrong. Bridge to Terabitha is about enjoying life in the face of that threat of its cessation; The Giver says that we should not accept our assigned place in society and that it's possible to be different; The Diary of Anne Frank illustrates the beauty in a single human life and reminds us that everybody is amazing (a lesson that many of us online tend to forget); and I wrote about Catcher in the Rye a few days ago, but it's not a bad thing to address alienation at a young age, because it's certainly there before most of us turn ten.
Re: School Books That Set Us Up For A Lifetime Of Depression
#6There was that book about the two friends, where the one friend pokes a beehive with a stick and the bees swarm him and it turns out he was allergic to bees and then he dies and I think his mom brings the other kid a pie or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, we read that in 4th grade. We never had to read Terebithia, although my son likes that story. I won't let him read the bee book.
Sounds kind of like My Girl , one of the few films that can make me cry.
I think it might have been "In Watermelon Sugar". Yeah, that's the one.
Re: School Books That Set Us Up For A Lifetime Of Depression
#7The only problem I found was Lord of The Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird in 6th grade because we were in an advanced english class, not really the best books for a younger audience. On the other hand I read the Rye in 9th grade and found it to be a very interesting and relatable book and even though it is not the best book for a young audience there is not much of a difference when you have reached high school.
I read "To Kill a Mockingbird" in fourth grade. I liked it. I still like it.
Personally I think it's a book that grows with you.
Re: School Books That Set Us Up For A Lifetime Of Depression
#8It’s one thing when you read these books on your own but the thing is - being GRADED on books that scar you for life - at that age - is a lot like a Rorschach test being conducted using human blood to a classroom of fresh faced 12 year olds who so far have cakewalked through life and don’t have a care in the world. The problem with English classes in a nutshell. You ruin a beautiful thing when you assign it a grade,…
I think I agree with you about English class?, but I'm sure I disagree with you about whether this is fit for HN. Geeking out about books from grade school is absolutely stimulating: it made you talk about the meaning of The Giver, Ann Frank, and Catcher In The Rye.
Re: School Books That Set Us Up For A Lifetime Of Depression
#9It’s one thing when you read these books on your own but the thing is - being GRADED on books that scar you for life - at that age - is a lot like a Rorschach test being conducted using human blood to a classroom of fresh faced 12 year olds who so far have cakewalked through life and don’t have a care in the world. The problem with English classes in a nutshell. You ruin a beautiful thing when you assign it a grade,…
I think I agree with you about English class?, but I'm sure I disagree with you about whether this is fit for HN. Geeking out about books from grade school is absolutely stimulating: it made you talk about the meaning of The Giver, Ann Frank, and Catcher In The Rye.
I guess, but I'd rather geek out about something other than what I disagreed with in an article.
Re: School Books That Set Us Up For A Lifetime Of Depression
#10It’s one thing when you read these books on your own but the thing is - being GRADED on books that scar you for life - at that age - is a lot like a Rorschach test being conducted using human blood to a classroom of fresh faced 12 year olds who so far have cakewalked through life and don’t have a care in the world. The problem with English classes in a nutshell. You ruin a beautiful thing when you assign it a grade,…
I think I agree with you about English class?, but I'm sure I disagree with you about whether this is fit for HN. Geeking out about books from grade school is absolutely stimulating: it made you talk about the meaning of The Giver, Ann Frank, and Catcher In The Rye.
I agree with the original comment. I don't have any problem with talking about books from grade school, and I do agree with you in that this has started an interesting discussion.
But I'm pretty much only finding the discussion interesting. While there is nothing wrong with the list of books, the article seems to be mostly listspam. It seems like he just gives a brief overview overview of the book and then complains about how inappropriate it is for grade school.
For example, I haven't read The Giver, and this article doesn't really give me any reason to do so. There are no themes discussed, well except that it sounds like the book might involve free will and predestination. All I really get from the description is that the book paints a really depressing picture of the future. I am more inclined to read the book from its description on Wikipedia.