Well all we can do is sigh through required reading Morsul. I won't complain about the mentioned writers myself -- though I have suffered through Macbeth at least 6 times in different grades -- repeatedly!
I will affirm however that LOTR does take long to read. I talked to my past teachers about why it is not required (save for Summer Reading perhaps) and their reasons appear plausible.
1)Not everyone has the same reading speed (WPM) -- believe me it's so frustrating to have to wait for people to finish
2)It is easier to get a student engaged in reading and analyzing a certain piece if it is interactive -- like a play for example
3)If LOTR were to be a reading requirement it would take even more than a school year (4 semesters) to read,analyse,quiz, and test
Though it may seem unfair to many people I appreciated the fact that I was able to read Tolkien on my own time. And having the Downs (well that's years later) under my finger-tips makes it convenient for me to discuss these pieces of amazing prose with seasoned pros of Tolkienology (heh).
I'm glad for the people who have had the opportunity to have Tolkien in their curriculum (truly it is not devoid of observance by other teachers). And besides it's not like he is not introduced.
The Hobbit was required reading in elementary and that is the reason I went and bought LOTR and so on and so forth.
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Originally Posted by Morsul
The point I'm trying to make is this, we learn nothing in school of true drama. LOTR is shoved aside by Romeo and Juliet, a tale of two lusting teenagers that kill themselves, and thrown to the wall by A Tale of Two Cities, A uncomprehensible text of discription.(We watched the movie and it was a very good story, but as a book I got confused, and I'm good at comprehension.) LOTR is clear and decisive and teaches values such as friendship, love, loyalty, devosion.
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Drama is for Theatrics is it not? Moral values are not exactly the point behind teaching Shakespeare or any other piece of literature that is taught in school.
The point of its presentation is to hone the ability to comprehend plot structures, themes -- the whole nine yards if you will.
Thanks for this topic Morsul I've been thinking about it myself.