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    Joined: Feb 2009
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    Thanks for the Open University tip. They do offer Shakespeare, but not a real British Lit course.

    Ellipses #95909 03/02/11 12:42 PM
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    IME, "British Literature" doesn't really exist as a discipline in Britain. That's way too broad. (Does "American Literature" exist in the US? Maybe, given that the literature of the US is so young.)

    If you can say a bit more about what you're looking for and with what aims, I may be able to help.


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    Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Ellipses. Darn.

    I suppose one could do a British Poetry course relatively easily on one's own.

    Let me cogitate on it further, as this was my dad's real passion and he, er... inculcated me reasonably well in spite of myself. I know that somewhere I have this massive TOME that he passed down to me which is a British Literature sampler/survey of sorts.

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    Howler Karma, you mentioned elsewhere the distinction between gifted who specialize well vs those who generalize well; I wanted to ask you, having been there, for one who naturally should end up specializing eventually would you recommend guiding them twords resources and mentors throughout their childhood or do you think it's better if they are left alone to find their own?

    Hmmm. Well, it's certainly an interesting question. I tend to think (personally) that the specializers are more-or-less born with a particular destiny that they then merely need to find in order to ignite a life-long passion for it. Like a greyhound is born to run, these people seem born to a particular passion, too. Physicians and artists are familiar examples of this-- where the exposure to the subject of specialization is really the only 'push' that they need. It's like they discover the great love of their lives.

    That's not to say that 'specialists' like that are necessarily one-dimensional. I know a fair number of them, and they tend (at least the HG+ ones among them) to be people that have surprising and oddly unrelated areas of passionate expertise: a cardiologist who builds his own vacation home and paints in oils... a physicist that writes poetry and is a licensed pilot, a tort-attorney that is a respected regional expert at viticulture; that sort of thing.

    Honestly, I think it probably depends on personality alone. For some kids, any attempt to 'steer' their destiny is going to backfire, and for others, they WANT to be led. For some people, investigation and exploration seems to be a solitary pursuit, and a mentor relationship isn't really helpful.

    My own strategy is to let my DD try a lot of things, and see what catches on the sticky spots. laugh Where she seems likely to develop a passionate interest, I'm willing to offer additional enrichment... but I'm being guided by her interests.

    What I don't agree with is allowing self-guided specialization too early (as pure unschooling can with those who have a specialization destiny)-- because we aren't the same people at ten as we will be at thirty, and learning how to approach a subject is an important thing. Therefore, I tend to think that the basic notion of kids learning a broad survey of subjects/disciplines as students is a good thing-- regardless of whether they'll be 'specialists' one day. Everyone needs to have some exposure to the thought process of historians as well as linguists, artists, poets, and architects. Even physicists should know a little something about sociology, economics and psychology. This allows you to live a more contented and fulfilled life as an adult, because all that exposure gives you a chance to find your own sticky-spots and adapt to new ones throughout your life.

    It also enriches you within your specialty, though that is something that most of us don't truly realize until we are into middle age. I'm a MUCH better scientist for my life-long interests in history, though that isn't always an obvious source of insights.


    Generalists, of course, learn that way to begin with, and seem to need a vast canvas of information and exposure to make sense of it all. If generalists are developing knowledge like a lake deepened over time by melting snow and rain, specialists seem to do better with a model that looks like a snow-melt fed river, with tributaries pouring into it from several directions, though it is definitely headed in one direction. Don't know if that analogy actually works, but it made sense in my head.





    Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.
    ColinsMum #95913 03/02/11 12:52 PM
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    Originally Posted by ColinsMum
    IME, "British Literature" doesn't really exist as a discipline in Britain. That's way too broad. (Does "American Literature" exist in the US? Maybe, given that the literature of the US is so young.)

    If you can say a bit more about what you're looking for and with what aims, I may be able to help.

    That's a great point-- at the high school level, there are survey courses, though it is often broken out by genre or period.
    "Early American Literature: Prose" for example, might include selections from authors through about 1820, and then additional coursework for poetry/dramatic works.



    Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.
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    Yes, we have American Lit here. British lit has all but been banished here.

    I did not find the course that I was looking for - except at Ashworth. I am unsure of the school, but love the course.

    Ellipses #95916 03/02/11 01:21 PM
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    But what is it you want?


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    Yes; what are the essential features that you were expecting to find in a good course?

    Broad time-coverage? Broad genre coverage? Deeper coverage of lesser-known authors? More thorough coverage of the best-known authors? Inclusion of complete works, or a greater number of 'excerpted' or shorter ones? (That matters, as novels are seldom going to offer the breadth of coverage in a survey course covering 500 years of literary tradition, but on the other hand, excerpting and short stories are not going to offer the in-depth look at the writing tradition, either...)







    Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.
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    I love the way you talk. It sounds so crisp and clear.
    So, either way, just watch your kids closely and give them the whole world to consume and digest. I guess the lake and river analogy means generalists will take in the local environment while savants or specialists will draw what they need to them.
    Ellipses, let me go google-fishing see if I can't find some Brittish lit curriculum. What age?- ish.


    Youth lives by personality, age lives by calculation. -- Aristotle on a calendar
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    Here's one:
    http://www.oxfordhomeschooling.co.uk/KeyStage3/KeyStage3English.html
    That's got a list of a few books they're reading.
    Be back. Shopping is my savant knack.

    actually, here. This is where I got that, cause that girl got more suggestions-
    http://malaysia.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100103020832AAYjP9n

    Last edited by La Texican; 03/02/11 02:35 PM.

    Youth lives by personality, age lives by calculation. -- Aristotle on a calendar
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    Well shell. This just calls brittish lit stuff like Jane Austin, Charles Dickens, H. G. Wells, Animal Farm, and Oscar Williams poetry book. That can't be right, is it? I think my link in the last post was for brittish children and my link in this post is for American children studying brittish lit.
    http://www.lamppostpublishing.com/learning-language-arts-gold-british.htm

    Let me know how much of a curriculum do you want (like, am I looking for their Michael clay Thomas or their houghton mifflin? And what grade? Brittish grade. Hey, maybe there's a blog.


    Youth lives by personality, age lives by calculation. -- Aristotle on a calendar
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