tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post3674450346125691013..comments2024-01-10T17:38:08.333-05:00Comments on Elizabeth Burns: Are Old Books Always Better?Liz Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16671844475303001610noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-53834964420226845972007-04-08T08:16:00.000-04:002007-04-08T08:16:00.000-04:00I would be interested, occidental girl, to be poin...I would be interested, occidental girl, to be pointed toward some of the relevant source material which would indicate that the Victorians viewed women as "dim" or "nitwits." In my reading of Victorian sources, I have not found this to be so. While it is true that women were generally not given the traditional "classical" education of Latin and Greek, it was more because their position in life and society did not require it of them than because they were considered dim. You can cast a ballot today because women of the Victorian era began to agitate for a more equal position in society, but their general intelligence was not in question.Karen G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00680320370181357559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-42810565975751244102007-04-07T01:26:00.000-04:002007-04-07T01:26:00.000-04:00I went to a lecture just yesterday which was reall...I went to a lecture just yesterday which was really excellent except for its insistence that no worthwhile picturebooks for children had been published after 1945.<BR/><BR/>Then again, it was a Humanities lecture (capital H), and I find that the social sciences tend to be much more willing to embrace not just contemporism, but also a general level of respect for people who aren't dead. (As a somewhat unimportant but meaningful example, the refreshments served at this event were all meat-based sandwiches - inappropriate for Passover and inappropriate for a primarily vegetarian audience.)Jillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09374440494257934297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-18670649121119524652007-04-06T12:29:00.000-04:002007-04-06T12:29:00.000-04:00I don't believe older books are necessarily better...I don't believe older books are necessarily better. I do think from each generation, there will be 10 or so standout books that carry forward.<BR/><BR/>That being said, I think it's hard to ignore the quality of children's and Young Adult literature of the moment. Compared to when I was a reading child in the 1970s, overall quality and choice for children is infinitely better NOW.Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15169707337312707247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-64774807225812778452007-04-06T11:52:00.000-04:002007-04-06T11:52:00.000-04:00Yes, I agree. I wrote a comment on Roger's blog ab...Yes, I agree. I wrote a comment on Roger's blog about how I think that while books such as these shouldn't be texts, their existence would be interesting as an illustration of past prejudices, as to how society was constructed then, and not how it should be now or that it would be in any way ideal.<BR/><BR/>What I find ironic is how, in the writings of Charlotte Mason that I have skimmed, she writes that the mother should be in charge of the children's learning, guiding a governess if need be - but fully at the helm of educational decision making with regard to what the children should be learning and why. Ironic, because we're talking about the Victorian era, where ladies were viewed as naturally dim and unsuited for higher education. And so, the thinking seems to have been, let's task those nitwits with teaching the next generation! <BR/><BR/>How amusing.Occidental Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08462196172327033327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-45350915452871036272007-04-06T11:17:00.000-04:002007-04-06T11:17:00.000-04:00Sometime spam gets thru despite all efforts. If i...Sometime spam gets thru despite all efforts. If its spam, or with a spam link, I will delete it.<BR/><BR/>Moving right along...Liz Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16671844475303001610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-72224224638725620152007-04-06T11:14:00.000-04:002007-04-06T11:14:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com