When I was growing up most of the classic works that we were taught were mostly White American to White English writers, tho, I'm surprize things have change in the past 20 years since I've been to a public school. They really didn't teach us anything about other kinds of work from different writers of different races nor color.. That way the way it was back in my day.. I'm not hating anyone, but that's how the public school system was set up when I was a kid.
Wasn't Mark Twain a bit of a progressive guy for his time with his political views? Anti-religion, anti imperialist, a bit leftist, pro equality between races (and sexes) etc.
He was. In fact he was very outspoken about the treatment of the native americans. One quote I recall was "How ironic that we, the invaders, call these natives savages" or something along those lines.
there was an Archie Bunker line where there were for people's names to choose from and he said "here you go a Mick, a Wop, a Jew and a Regular Old American."
Quite true! If you read Moby Dick, you will see an ordinary, modern American liberal. For example, with Quiqueg (sp?), Ishmael mentions how the people in Nantucket had seeen "savages" before, but never walking about friendly with a white man. Today's modern Republican, if s/he actually bothered to *read* Moby Dick, would probably try to get it banned.
either way, Moby Dick is a great book. if you can adjust your 20th century sensibilities to his style of language and humor, it's effing laugh-out-loud hilarious... like Don Quixote.
lol, it's also ironic this guy mentioned Mark Twain, since he was sympathetic to other ethnic groups (wrote, e.g., "The Gentle, Inoffensive Chinese") and also an extremely depressing existentialist novel towards the end of his life, "The Mysterious Stranger", which almost no one would want taught to their children
I remember when a parent hounded our school to focus on handwriting. She thought her daughter had terrible handwriting until the Grandmother produced a sample of the mother's handwriting when she was in the second grade. LOL
Hmmm, I don't remember that when I read Moby Dick, but then again many teachers 'tell' you what the literature 'means ' (or what their teaching guide tells them it means) and its not wrong, but ir ain't necessarily right either.
I love how racism still lives. I wonder what some people are gonna do when the minority becomes the majority. In the words of Langston Hughes, "I too am America."
Moby Dick is anti-whaling. Perhaps Herman Melville was aware that whale populations were declining, and that mineral oil was replacing whale blubber as a source of fuel oil.
Mark Twain wrote such american classics as Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Advice for Little Girls (not that I've read the latter :)
I think "Dead White Guys" need far more respect than they currently get from our stultifyingly Politically "Correct" American teaching establishment. The way living boys and men get torn down and demythologized like the Pantheon of great books and authors that represent Euro-Centric "Western" or "Mediterranean" Civilization are legion. When the Roman Legions, at the conclusion of military training, yelled, "Decimate us!" I do not think they had Modern Feminism and Modern American Culture in Mind
lol I love the idea of teaching Moby Dick to Conservative Christians. My favorite line is "Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I'd strike the sun if it insulted me."
In high school and junior high, I couldn't stand reading books that supposedly everyone believed were classics. I thought they were over-rated and just hopeless.. Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, Catcher in the Rye, I was bored out of my mind reading what snobs considered classics.
Some are overrated but it is really based on opinions and you should at least knows most of what is considered the "classics" 20 years from now, Harry Potter will be considered a classic.
I would hope that they would not be rejecting all foreign authors...Writers like Kafka are great for high school kids because Kafka never wanted his message to be a mystery, he wanted people from all walks of life to be able to pick up his books and understand them. When I was in high school and we did Kafka a couple times people loved it.
The problem is these so-called 'renowned' authors aren't really that good. The students today spend their time reading garbage they're told is good, instead of the stuff that really is. And we wonder why no one reads anymore.
that is a good ass point.. i hardly ever read any of my high school assigned readings except for a few, Of mice and men was good but a catcher in the rye and othello.. mann that shit was boring.. but now i read all the time since college.. if i would have been given Fanon, Hume, Richard Wright, Nietzsche, Sarte, Foucault, Malcolm X's autobiography, Hobbes, etc. i would have read much more as a youth.. I totally agree with your point these high school reading curricula should be more diverse.
i would not say all white men are racist...of course not.but the ones who come at you with that kind of ignorance and stupity is almost always,well,racist and stupid
the thing is, the culture of America is racially centrist, cities are divided by racial boundaries while people maintain their respective ethnic enclaves; this isn't necessarily a bad thing until you begin to look at others as less. For that matter, i think most americans in general especially white americans are ethnocentric, the racism only comes about when you develop subtle attitudes of superiority over others based on their perceived ethnicity.
@rey9883 True, but when You break it down to the basic levels of all boundaries, most people are mostly trap in a loop of subtle attitudes on how they perceived the world in general, not so much the base around a certain race or creed, but of themseleves and others. The attitudes of superiority will never go away, because it's apart of the Human condition, and only a check and balance of one self can be improve on. So in simple english.. Just be yourself and know your weakness. and improve.
Nice video, but I never thought Moby Dick was anti-American. "Ishmael" doesn't leave because he's unhappy with America, he leaves because he's feeling restless. Melville frequently points out that most of the crew is foreign, but most of the officers are American. The exact quote is close too "America supplies the brains, the world supplies the muscle."
If you haven't read Moby Dick, I highly endorse it. It's wonderfully experimental and playful; perhaps the most "American" novel there is.
True but Ishmael really points out how refreshing his friend is because of his nature while Ishmael feels pent up and stuffed by the fakeness of the society that he's used to.
Moby Dick is definately a classic. Though it's scope of the human emotion and feeling is far too vast for mere high schoolers to grasp and understand well.
A lot of the emotions of the sea, big/strong characters don't apply to teens cause they haven't even experienced life yet.
I never finished Moby Dick... and I've always been a book fiend. It was absolutely awful, every page I forced across my eyeballs. I'd never wanted to burn a book before... lol!
Anyway... how are there "prestigious" high schools?
Really? Hate for gays and atheists seems to still be accepted in most of America. You can't watch those NOM commercials and tell me they aren't hating on gays.
Are you talking about the ones where they are like "dark skies are looming overhead" and "the government wants to take away our rights as a straight couple", all that bullshit? yeah they're crazy people...people are so afraid in this country, that's what those people prey off of.
that is absurd.. whites can hate whomever they want but ANYONE who generalizes by hating an entire group is engaging in a racist activity. why the hell would you even want to hate an entire group..? what reasons would you have for it.. stereotypes? you sound like a racist!
Some people listen to the right wing wackos to much. It might be out the subject, but they aloways talk about with authors. There are no blacks or native Americans.
i bet this guy wants freedom fries! eventho french fries aren't french. or how about apple pie, wait thats danish..... this moron should be sent to high school instead of his kid
I had to LOL @ the comment below about War & Peace.
Gods, what a colossal waste of time. I hammered through all 1300+ pages, including both appendixes, and it was the most worthless book I have ever read.
All the characters are a bunch of whiny, arrogant, self-centered, asshole aristocrats. There is not a single sympathetic character in the lot.
Then when these misfortunes befall them (usually through their own greed and/or stupidity), Tolstoy seems to expect us to feel sorry for them.
wooooow what is this communist china where you can only read the pre approved literature? lol this guy doesnt realize how unamerican that story really was.. Very Ironic
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
It's ironic that you read Moby Dick, Cenk. Once in a while your education shows through despite your earnest attempts to hide it and thus appeal to your market. You provided a pretty good critique of Tim Geithner also, but Im sure you lost your audience on that one. If you're going to be a Leveller and strip away all privilege of intellect and education, you have to try harder to hide your own.
no. no fiction books in high school. teacher made me read Wuthering Heights and I did and I told her it sucked. she says it's a great novel, Heathcliff blah blah...I say no the story stunk like ass and she yell and send me to see principal
It's not a popular theory but this is form of white supremacy. It's not the KKK, which is ws taken to dangerous extremes. But just calling certain books "classics" and ALL those classics coming from the western tradition is a way in which we stratify literature, music, art, etc. Everything else is "other" and most people believe it should be relegated to a lesser place.
do u mean lord of the flies? cause lord o the rings is actually a good book n so are happy poters books. Happy potter alone has encouraged thousands of children to read and taught them that reading can be entertaining.
hey i didnt say i hated lord of the rings, i just think that instead of reading fantasy books at 16-17, they couldve at least exposed us to edgar allen poe, mark twain and other 19th century writers......but i liked lord of the rings and later the movie...i havent been able to get into harry potter though. im more of a tom clancy guy anyways.
Tom Clancy books rock, so does the video games. As for harry potter, i havent read all of em but from what i have read, it seems like a book that the school system can use to really encourage reading for teenagers. just a thought.
thats the only problem though.........down here in looney christian republican land (texas) they would ban that shit in a heart beat......here in my town, when the books came out, the local churches picketted outside to ban the books.........so theres no way in hell harry potter would be read in our schools........its fucking sad.
While these anti-american christians are banning books like Harry Potter someone should go behind their backs and give their kids books like Catcher in the Rye. Get their kids to call them phonies and hypocrites.
i think the only political type books we read, i say read, we watched the cartoon movie, was of "animal farm"........that'll do it. lets learn about commies.
That sucks dude, i live in toronto and harry potter is already being used by the school system n apparently its working. My little niece has finished all of em, n before she couldnt stand reading. Those hardcore christians should really try to see the big picture istead of trying to run other peoples lives, take it easy brother
to me they're all the same, both trying to run other peoples lives and telling who they can fuck, what they can read, if they can choose to abort a pregnancy (even if it was incest or rape). So to me thats considered hardcore and radical, both of which i despise.
well down here, religion and politics comes before education. the reason why they are against harry potter is because they think it supports the devil.....potter is like a saurcerer or a witch or something to them, so they ban it.
we had southpark reruns on local tv for about 6 months and they protested and got it thrown off the air too. and they also pickett when a new hooters restauraunt is built. its gay
i get what you're saying tho but on the other hand i get why they don't want kids to watch it, when the harry potter movies first came out i didn't get to see them because my mom felt the same way
I think my mother when the right way about it, parents should have a say in what their kids watch but not ban it
high school was a fucking joke, the stuff that they stressed as important i havent used and the stuff that seemed like blowoff classes i have so there ya go.
yea but i still think school is important. It does teach us if we want something then we got to work for it. Now if ur talkin about teaching stuff like money mangement, owning something instead of working, not working for money but have ur money work for you. Like robert kiyosaki. then i understand
Teaching English well isn't about picking the right books. It's about helping students build critical thinking and reasoning skills. It shouldn't make any difference what continent the author comes from or what gender the author happens to be.
I was telling this dude what a racist asshole Rush Limbaugh is. He says, "White people shouldn't criticize other white dudes. I said, "Oh yeah? Watch me." This guy is the sort of dickweed that come up with 'traditional American authors'.
Prestigious usually implies exclusivity. Many high schools require entrance exams. In New York, something like 19,000 kids take the specialized high school exam per year and only a few hundred are accepted in the top 3.
Umm, a private high school, maybe? There's plenty of top-dollar, old-money academies like that, especially in the Northeast. Andover, Trinity, Exeter, etc.
This is an interesting point. People in this country tend to be all into blind patriotism and flag waving, but when it really comes to doing some actually research into their beliefs, they don't. I have a similar experience when talking to people about music. So many people think that "Born In The USA" by Bruce Springsteen is such a patriotic song because of the title. However, if you just spend a minute and parse the lyrics you will find that the song is highly critical of this country
It is all about the talk, dude. I mean, I love Mark Twain and a FEW other American authors who set their novels IN America and I've read them, but most "patriotic" people just want to gather up other idiots and create a feel-good moment with beer, American rock, remember 9/11 etc. but intellectually it is quite lacking b/c a lot of Americans don't really read a lot, and there is no real productiveness in being patriotic besides, at best, putting up an American flag or sticker on your car.
here in canada, quebec, im tired of reading the three musketeers, fucking abridged, or of mice and men, abridged and translated...thats not how you learn or read books. if you want to conserve french, get us real books.
minorities can't even read the little fast food screen at Micky D's. always mess up my order. why would I read a book written by one?
Are you serious pulsar? you know those 'minorities' have written some of the greatest books ever written, but then again i can't expect an ignorant american to actually have the brain power to read.
they replaced crip with blue ...........0__0
IamLegendTV22 5 months ago
I was half expectin him to say "George Orwell, that's a real American author"
arachnophile01 1 year ago 4
When I was growing up most of the classic works that we were taught were mostly White American to White English writers, tho, I'm surprize things have change in the past 20 years since I've been to a public school. They really didn't teach us anything about other kinds of work from different writers of different races nor color.. That way the way it was back in my day.. I'm not hating anyone, but that's how the public school system was set up when I was a kid.
WarshipAngelus 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Cenk never read Moby Dick either. He is a fat fucking sausage.
nightfevers 1 year ago
@nightfevers
How would you know?
NUTCASE71733 1 year ago
Wasn't Mark Twain a bit of a progressive guy for his time with his political views? Anti-religion, anti imperialist, a bit leftist, pro equality between races (and sexes) etc.
omegavalerius 2 years ago
@omegavalerius
He was. In fact he was very outspoken about the treatment of the native americans. One quote I recall was "How ironic that we, the invaders, call these natives savages" or something along those lines.
NUTCASE71733 1 year ago
stupid dimwit parent
frankystein12 2 years ago
there was an Archie Bunker line where there were for people's names to choose from and he said "here you go a Mick, a Wop, a Jew and a Regular Old American."
Dahgrostabphri 2 years ago
I like moby dick...it's a good book
adi87tya 2 years ago 3
Quite true! If you read Moby Dick, you will see an ordinary, modern American liberal. For example, with Quiqueg (sp?), Ishmael mentions how the people in Nantucket had seeen "savages" before, but never walking about friendly with a white man. Today's modern Republican, if s/he actually bothered to *read* Moby Dick, would probably try to get it banned.
EvilTube2007 2 years ago
What is your point?
yak6ex 2 years ago
either way, Moby Dick is a great book. if you can adjust your 20th century sensibilities to his style of language and humor, it's effing laugh-out-loud hilarious... like Don Quixote.
bitchiwantdinner 2 years ago 3
lol, it's also ironic this guy mentioned Mark Twain, since he was sympathetic to other ethnic groups (wrote, e.g., "The Gentle, Inoffensive Chinese") and also an extremely depressing existentialist novel towards the end of his life, "The Mysterious Stranger", which almost no one would want taught to their children
odenskrigare 2 years ago 4
Wonderfully stated.
EMPERORMIKI 2 years ago
I remember when a parent hounded our school to focus on handwriting. She thought her daughter had terrible handwriting until the Grandmother produced a sample of the mother's handwriting when she was in the second grade. LOL
chairde 2 years ago 36
@chairde - well it's true that they don't teach penmanship like they used to. It's becoming a lost art.
MrRedFredSaid 1 year ago
@chairde PWWWNNNNT
Sephlock 1 year ago
Ignorance will never die
Oli3TB76 2 years ago 47
I second that!
intrigueme7 2 years ago
Hmmm, I don't remember that when I read Moby Dick, but then again many teachers 'tell' you what the literature 'means ' (or what their teaching guide tells them it means) and its not wrong, but ir ain't necessarily right either.
nicstepro 2 years ago
I love how racism still lives. I wonder what some people are gonna do when the minority becomes the majority. In the words of Langston Hughes, "I too am America."
scj16 2 years ago
sad, sad people, man
levimon 2 years ago 2
Former pro wrestler and Governor of Minnesota Jessie Ventura said it best.
There's no difference between US politics and professional wrestling.
Democrats vs. Republicans. Conservatives vs. Liberals. It's all a big joke.
Anyone who has their hopes pinned on Obama is going to be in for a rude awakening.
HEYBUDD 2 years ago
does anyone ever tell this commentator that he presents as a really sheistey kind of character?
the kind of guy who shorts your dime bag, then makes up some story about it
like a slippery used car salesman...lol
Littlezombie 2 years ago
Moby Dick is anti-whaling. Perhaps Herman Melville was aware that whale populations were declining, and that mineral oil was replacing whale blubber as a source of fuel oil.
Mark Twain wrote such american classics as Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Advice for Little Girls (not that I've read the latter :)
MythicalSword 2 years ago
Moby Dick is not about anti-whaling it's about if you hold on to resentments of past wrongs you destroy your soul.
...at least thats what I got from the movie :P
Joxman2k 2 years ago
May a book propose only one moral virtue?
MythicalSword 2 years ago
Yes a book may :)
But I think it is a classic because it is a(n) universal statement on the human condition that transcends time and culture.
Who among us has not at least at some time in our lives had to struggle with forgiveness, not for the other party's sake, but for our own.
:)
Joxman2k 2 years ago
errr I meant .... Yes a book may propose more than one moral virtue.
Joxman2k 2 years ago
A gentleman and a scholar Joxman2k
MythicalSword 2 years ago
langston hughes is the only black author worth reading. so i was told by my high school english teachers.
icronianson 2 years ago
lol i don't think they said that,
they probably said something like hes a great black author cause what you said sounds pretty racist
Calamanatione 2 years ago
i know it sounds racist but thats exactly what they said.
icronianson 2 years ago
"langston hughes is the only black author worth reading. so i was told by my high school english teachers. "
idiot
18bites 2 years ago
yo man all i was saying was that that same sentence could be said in a way thats not racist...
I just don't believe his teachers would say something like that cause in essence they are saying black people can't write books worth reading,
And thats no reason to call someone an idiot
Calamanatione 2 years ago
lol i'm not kidding they actually told me that.
icronianson 2 years ago
tell me about. that's good ole public education for you.
icronianson 2 years ago
Comment removed
betterversionn 2 years ago
oops - sorry, deleted my previous comment because I realized what i read was COMPLETELY out of context.
betterversionn 2 years ago
I think "Dead White Guys" need far more respect than they currently get from our stultifyingly Politically "Correct" American teaching establishment. The way living boys and men get torn down and demythologized like the Pantheon of great books and authors that represent Euro-Centric "Western" or "Mediterranean" Civilization are legion. When the Roman Legions, at the conclusion of military training, yelled, "Decimate us!" I do not think they had Modern Feminism and Modern American Culture in Mind
mdelcamp1 2 years ago
that is just not true.
GabrielGrewal 2 years ago
books should be written by authors
imo
xsabbathgamer 2 years ago 4
i agree lol
KrasnayaArmada 2 years ago
They are.
hazel10987 2 years ago
this didn't completely make sense. why does an american mean a pro-american writer. look at john steinbeck.
joanswitches 2 years ago 2
Another good anology would be christians and their bible.
melowar78 2 years ago
lol I love the idea of teaching Moby Dick to Conservative Christians. My favorite line is "Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I'd strike the sun if it insulted me."
wormbaby79 2 years ago
Who cares as long as the kids are reading? ! ?
WhiteBull 2 years ago
It just shows the idiocy and ignorance of some people
bluesboy25000 2 years ago
Guess so !
EdugeBDroN 2 years ago
Why is this news?
mrbrownjohn 2 years ago
I think it would be great if they could get students to read AT ALL.
Frackin64 2 years ago
In high school and junior high, I couldn't stand reading books that supposedly everyone believed were classics. I thought they were over-rated and just hopeless.. Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, Catcher in the Rye, I was bored out of my mind reading what snobs considered classics.
StanPowder 2 years ago
Some are overrated but it is really based on opinions and you should at least knows most of what is considered the "classics" 20 years from now, Harry Potter will be considered a classic.
HammandClov 2 years ago
dumb ppl lol
SimonsComicReview 2 years ago
I would hope that they would not be rejecting all foreign authors...Writers like Kafka are great for high school kids because Kafka never wanted his message to be a mystery, he wanted people from all walks of life to be able to pick up his books and understand them. When I was in high school and we did Kafka a couple times people loved it.
seestickglue232 2 years ago
LMAO! Cenk! Toni Morrison is NOT a dude! =-= She's a chick.
lilmissnisa 2 years ago
"That Vietnamese dude"
He was talking about Toni Morrison, then he moved on.
2realmadrid3 2 years ago
that host is just great ;D
Kodam4 2 years ago
oh, and "The Sea Wolf" by Jack London is better than Moby Dick.
franksnow79 2 years ago
The problem is these so-called 'renowned' authors aren't really that good. The students today spend their time reading garbage they're told is good, instead of the stuff that really is. And we wonder why no one reads anymore.
franksnow79 2 years ago
that is a good ass point.. i hardly ever read any of my high school assigned readings except for a few, Of mice and men was good but a catcher in the rye and othello.. mann that shit was boring.. but now i read all the time since college.. if i would have been given Fanon, Hume, Richard Wright, Nietzsche, Sarte, Foucault, Malcolm X's autobiography, Hobbes, etc. i would have read much more as a youth.. I totally agree with your point these high school reading curricula should be more diverse.
rey9883 2 years ago
i would not say all white men are racist...of course not.but the ones who come at you with that kind of ignorance and stupity is almost always,well,racist and stupid
fenderbass 2 years ago
the thing is, the culture of America is racially centrist, cities are divided by racial boundaries while people maintain their respective ethnic enclaves; this isn't necessarily a bad thing until you begin to look at others as less. For that matter, i think most americans in general especially white americans are ethnocentric, the racism only comes about when you develop subtle attitudes of superiority over others based on their perceived ethnicity.
rey9883 2 years ago
@rey9883 True, but when You break it down to the basic levels of all boundaries, most people are mostly trap in a loop of subtle attitudes on how they perceived the world in general, not so much the base around a certain race or creed, but of themseleves and others. The attitudes of superiority will never go away, because it's apart of the Human condition, and only a check and balance of one self can be improve on. So in simple english.. Just be yourself and know your weakness. and improve.
WarshipAngelus 1 year ago
haha
snskidtv21 2 years ago
Nice video, but I never thought Moby Dick was anti-American. "Ishmael" doesn't leave because he's unhappy with America, he leaves because he's feeling restless. Melville frequently points out that most of the crew is foreign, but most of the officers are American. The exact quote is close too "America supplies the brains, the world supplies the muscle."
If you haven't read Moby Dick, I highly endorse it. It's wonderfully experimental and playful; perhaps the most "American" novel there is.
mehal2 2 years ago 2
I like "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street"....."I prefer NOT to."
MikeNobodyIsBack 2 years ago
True but Ishmael really points out how refreshing his friend is because of his nature while Ishmael feels pent up and stuffed by the fakeness of the society that he's used to.
Moby Dick is definately a classic. Though it's scope of the human emotion and feeling is far too vast for mere high schoolers to grasp and understand well.
A lot of the emotions of the sea, big/strong characters don't apply to teens cause they haven't even experienced life yet.
Vash1202 2 years ago
I'm laughing at this story, but at the same time...How effing sad!
ldbia 2 years ago 3
I never finished Moby Dick... and I've always been a book fiend. It was absolutely awful, every page I forced across my eyeballs. I'd never wanted to burn a book before... lol!
Anyway... how are there "prestigious" high schools?
DeadlyChinchilla 2 years ago
My brother is in a Christian School and in that school, the kids' favorite books are the twilight series and "Are You There Vodka It's Me Chelsea?"
Fallalery 2 years ago
I knew it, all white men are racist!
evane1989 2 years ago
all people in the world are racist.
ddamico3 2 years ago 4
white men aren't allowed to hate anybody. they can't hate blacks, gays, jews, latinos, asian, or women.
the only people white men can hate without being called out for it, are other white men!!!! LMAO
Ceddyohtwo 2 years ago
let you tell it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
fenderbass 2 years ago
Why would you have a need to hate other races?
rickelmonoggin 2 years ago
it was just a joke. lol
Ceddyohtwo 2 years ago
Really? Hate for gays and atheists seems to still be accepted in most of America. You can't watch those NOM commercials and tell me they aren't hating on gays.
jstutz2003 2 years ago
Are you talking about the ones where they are like "dark skies are looming overhead" and "the government wants to take away our rights as a straight couple", all that bullshit? yeah they're crazy people...people are so afraid in this country, that's what those people prey off of.
seestickglue232 2 years ago
unless the white man in question is running for political office. then he's on to a winner
spoolworm 2 years ago
that is absurd.. whites can hate whomever they want but ANYONE who generalizes by hating an entire group is engaging in a racist activity. why the hell would you even want to hate an entire group..? what reasons would you have for it.. stereotypes? you sound like a racist!
rey9883 2 years ago
LOL...
i love this story
ebutym11225 2 years ago
I recommend the latest best sellers by O'Reilly and Coulter. pick up copies of Bold Fresh and Guilty at your local bookstore today.
pulsar00815 2 years ago
Some people listen to the right wing wackos to much. It might be out the subject, but they aloways talk about with authors. There are no blacks or native Americans.
tiofelipe1987 2 years ago
The children should be reading "True Crime" books and other stuff about serial killers.
To prepare them for the "christians" they'll have to put up with once they leave the nest.
GLB2Video2 2 years ago 2
White people...
carboy101 2 years ago
Man, I read Moby Dick - great book, but waaayyy too long.
hottfrogpines 2 years ago
i bet this guy wants freedom fries! eventho french fries aren't french. or how about apple pie, wait thats danish..... this moron should be sent to high school instead of his kid
alejbr4 2 years ago 4
I had to LOL @ the comment below about War & Peace.
Gods, what a colossal waste of time. I hammered through all 1300+ pages, including both appendixes, and it was the most worthless book I have ever read.
All the characters are a bunch of whiny, arrogant, self-centered, asshole aristocrats. There is not a single sympathetic character in the lot.
Then when these misfortunes befall them (usually through their own greed and/or stupidity), Tolstoy seems to expect us to feel sorry for them.
R3dp055um 2 years ago
I never thought about it like that. Except for Nikoli's wife, I agree.
busymartian 2 years ago
Classics are as overrated. There good, don't get me wrong, when compared to other book's of there time.
But better books have come since then.
War and Peace = Sedative
Blac13 2 years ago
Vietnam for life.
Yee
DoctorZee3 2 years ago
wooooow what is this communist china where you can only read the pre approved literature? lol this guy doesnt realize how unamerican that story really was.. Very Ironic
allenanb 2 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
It's ironic that you read Moby Dick, Cenk. Once in a while your education shows through despite your earnest attempts to hide it and thus appeal to your market. You provided a pretty good critique of Tim Geithner also, but Im sure you lost your audience on that one. If you're going to be a Leveller and strip away all privilege of intellect and education, you have to try harder to hide your own.
obamajoke 2 years ago
no. no fiction books in high school. teacher made me read Wuthering Heights and I did and I told her it sucked. she says it's a great novel, Heathcliff blah blah...I say no the story stunk like ass and she yell and send me to see principal
pulsar00815 2 years ago
its sad when people like that value profit to be worth more than education, and then they wonder why the american education system sucks so bad
waqas202k 2 years ago 3
i never read one book in high school. I always rented the movie.
Shane444888 2 years ago
lol
tico8007 2 years ago
Oh. My. God.
kwatson813 2 years ago
lulz retarded racists
Piercepb1996 2 years ago 2
all those authors, not steinbeck???
we're taught 'of mice and men' in school here in britain, it's one of my favourite books now.
JackBrindelli 2 years ago 2
john steinbeck pastures of heaven
that's a great book to
ltdan676 2 years ago
lol
It's not a popular theory but this is form of white supremacy. It's not the KKK, which is ws taken to dangerous extremes. But just calling certain books "classics" and ALL those classics coming from the western tradition is a way in which we stratify literature, music, art, etc. Everything else is "other" and most people believe it should be relegated to a lesser place.
SquallCloud 2 years ago 2
Ahhhh yes, bigotry... The gift that keeps on giving.
satxgs500f 2 years ago 2
u made me lolz good show
Azzaiel 2 years ago
ok , I knew what u meant I wasjust being an ass lol
candiceevans1 2 years ago
who is happy potter lol
candiceevans1 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Im no reader. I dunno shit about literature.
But I know enough that this can't be news.
Efferts 2 years ago
Of course they should teach the classics, but there's nothing wrong with branching out to some other authors as well.
LaughingManRa 2 years ago
omg
loverofbeats 2 years ago
LOL thats awesome.. almost like something out of a sketch
AvatarOfGames 2 years ago
the only shit we read in high school was the fucking "lord of the rings" and "to kill a mockingbird" and that was about it.
crowdaddy13 2 years ago 2
do u mean lord of the flies? cause lord o the rings is actually a good book n so are happy poters books. Happy potter alone has encouraged thousands of children to read and taught them that reading can be entertaining.
abi420 2 years ago
hey i didnt say i hated lord of the rings, i just think that instead of reading fantasy books at 16-17, they couldve at least exposed us to edgar allen poe, mark twain and other 19th century writers......but i liked lord of the rings and later the movie...i havent been able to get into harry potter though. im more of a tom clancy guy anyways.
crowdaddy13 2 years ago
Tom Clancy books rock, so does the video games. As for harry potter, i havent read all of em but from what i have read, it seems like a book that the school system can use to really encourage reading for teenagers. just a thought.
abi420 2 years ago
thats the only problem though.........down here in looney christian republican land (texas) they would ban that shit in a heart beat......here in my town, when the books came out, the local churches picketted outside to ban the books.........so theres no way in hell harry potter would be read in our schools........its fucking sad.
crowdaddy13 2 years ago 3
While these anti-american christians are banning books like Harry Potter someone should go behind their backs and give their kids books like Catcher in the Rye. Get their kids to call them phonies and hypocrites.
mogulwraith 2 years ago
i think the only political type books we read, i say read, we watched the cartoon movie, was of "animal farm"........that'll do it. lets learn about commies.
crowdaddy13 2 years ago
That sucks dude, i live in toronto and harry potter is already being used by the school system n apparently its working. My little niece has finished all of em, n before she couldnt stand reading. Those hardcore christians should really try to see the big picture istead of trying to run other peoples lives, take it easy brother
abi420 2 years ago
There's a difference between being a hardcore christian and being an radical
itamaru123 2 years ago
to me they're all the same, both trying to run other peoples lives and telling who they can fuck, what they can read, if they can choose to abort a pregnancy (even if it was incest or rape). So to me thats considered hardcore and radical, both of which i despise.
abi420 2 years ago
well down here, religion and politics comes before education. the reason why they are against harry potter is because they think it supports the devil.....potter is like a saurcerer or a witch or something to them, so they ban it.
we had southpark reruns on local tv for about 6 months and they protested and got it thrown off the air too. and they also pickett when a new hooters restauraunt is built. its gay
crowdaddy13 2 years ago
well technically he is a sorcerer, not just to them
good point tho
Calamanatione 2 years ago
well, ok but not like in a calling up the devil sorta way tho
crowdaddy13 2 years ago
i get what you're saying tho but on the other hand i get why they don't want kids to watch it, when the harry potter movies first came out i didn't get to see them because my mom felt the same way
I think my mother when the right way about it, parents should have a say in what their kids watch but not ban it
Calamanatione 2 years ago
hooters is gay?
18bites 2 years ago
no, i think its gay when ppl protest against hooters
crowdaddy13 2 years ago
the only thing i read in school was the test of the person beside me. lol j/p.
usernamehere84 2 years ago
no shit right.....LOL
high school was a fucking joke, the stuff that they stressed as important i havent used and the stuff that seemed like blowoff classes i have so there ya go.
crowdaddy13 2 years ago
yea but i still think school is important. It does teach us if we want something then we got to work for it. Now if ur talkin about teaching stuff like money mangement, owning something instead of working, not working for money but have ur money work for you. Like robert kiyosaki. then i understand
usernamehere84 2 years ago
true, i just remember them stressing like biology, and i havent used it at all.......but health class.....oh yea. LOL
i did excellent in college, however my school didnt prepare me for college at all....thats where im gettin at
crowdaddy13 2 years ago
LOL@Dick'ed rooting for Anti-American Moby Dick!
brukins 2 years ago
loool
micahgee 2 years ago
Teaching English well isn't about picking the right books. It's about helping students build critical thinking and reasoning skills. It shouldn't make any difference what continent the author comes from or what gender the author happens to be.
ibnsina786 2 years ago 3
exactly............but i think our school really shorthanded us with our books, i wish they wouldve assigned us some better material.
crowdaddy13 2 years ago
I was telling this dude what a racist asshole Rush Limbaugh is. He says, "White people shouldn't criticize other white dudes. I said, "Oh yeah? Watch me." This guy is the sort of dickweed that come up with 'traditional American authors'.
menthol5 2 years ago 2
This has been flagged as spam show
1. copy and paste
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3. hold your breath for 10 seconds
4. press refresh twice
3. LOOK AT YOUR BACKGROUND
masudurrahman1968 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I think only great American novels should be taught.
rickelmonoggin 2 years ago
Like Nazi Gemrany when only great german novels should be taught?
Propagandhi900 2 years ago 3
yeah, that was actually a kind of subtle joke. probably too subtle and probably not very funny either! :-)
rickelmonoggin 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
none of those scum authors' books should be taught in public schools. works of fiction have no place in the classroom.
pulsar00815 2 years ago
pulsar you should tone down your trolling just a bit, nobody gets pulled in when you're too obvious.
subtlety is the key to really piss people off lol.
mccainMOARlikemcFail 2 years ago 5
Yeah, I'm actually wondering whether or not if he believes what he says, and hes just posting on all these videos just to piss people off.
HeartlessLiberal 2 years ago
read a book pulsar it will do you good
RichOrElse 2 years ago
If you want a "real" classic American author, give Herman Wouk a try.
Other then that, I'd try Christopher Moore. That mad is hilarious.
PhrexianReturns 2 years ago
Christopher Moore is THE BEST !!!
leglessnotlegolas 2 years ago
I got my nephew to read "The City Boy" by Herman Wouk. He couldn't put it down.
busymartian 2 years ago
I guess Hank Hill exists in real life
assclown2k6 2 years ago
i fucking lol'd
mccainMOARlikemcFail 2 years ago
yeah he does u must not live in the south lol there everywhere
xiilmaticx06 2 years ago
quit a whackin in my tool shed beavis
crowdaddy13 2 years ago
how absurdly stupid to have some kind of "color/ethnic requirement" for artists. are americans not supposed to read haiku, satre, tolstoy, etc?
5ken7 2 years ago
intolerant racist parent pwnage!
lisa89 2 years ago 3
your absolutely right i was thinking of Hemingway
mahyarmohaghegh 2 years ago
you're
77Fortran 2 years ago
haha
your such a grammer nazi you dont have to call out his mistakes only because he dosen't no witch won too use wear.
mccainMOARlikemcFail 2 years ago 2
fuck man, you spell like a monkey hooked on phonics
Dan4157 2 years ago
lol i love people who don't know the difference between:
your/you're
their/there/they're
to/two/too
mccainMOARlikemcFail 2 years ago
very sad, isn't it? i learned it in first grade and have experienced people fucking it up along the way for the past twenty years.
destituteillusion 2 years ago
Teacher should issue "to kill a mockingbird" as the next novel ... At least one parent needs to read it.
PlayT0E 2 years ago 4
i agree 100%
14mm2 2 years ago
dead on...racist parents raise racist children....eyeroll
jaim12005 2 years ago 3
they do freshman year
Spartan54232 2 years ago
They should teach Tom Clancy novels in high schools! He is a white patriotic author!
Dantinus 2 years ago 4
white is right to most Americans
xxShannonGreenxx 2 years ago
hermen Melville was a close friend of Castro! he visited cuba after the revolution, and can be seen with Castro....
doesn't seem too traditional to me...except maybe about beating his wife and stuff....
mahyarmohaghegh 2 years ago
Prestigious high school? Since when did high schools become "prestigious"? There is something wrong with that picture right there.
Argonaut22j 2 years ago
Prestigious usually implies exclusivity. Many high schools require entrance exams. In New York, something like 19,000 kids take the specialized high school exam per year and only a few hundred are accepted in the top 3.
worldsavy 2 years ago
Umm, a private high school, maybe? There's plenty of top-dollar, old-money academies like that, especially in the Northeast. Andover, Trinity, Exeter, etc.
Stefanthenautilus 2 years ago 2
Yeah! If you don't like it, send your kid to a private school.
GEDno3 2 years ago
All high school should be public. You shouldn't be able to buy your child a better high school education.
College, yes, but not high school.
Argonaut22j 2 years ago 5
This is an interesting point. People in this country tend to be all into blind patriotism and flag waving, but when it really comes to doing some actually research into their beliefs, they don't. I have a similar experience when talking to people about music. So many people think that "Born In The USA" by Bruce Springsteen is such a patriotic song because of the title. However, if you just spend a minute and parse the lyrics you will find that the song is highly critical of this country
alphacause 2 years ago 4
It is all about the talk, dude. I mean, I love Mark Twain and a FEW other American authors who set their novels IN America and I've read them, but most "patriotic" people just want to gather up other idiots and create a feel-good moment with beer, American rock, remember 9/11 etc. but intellectually it is quite lacking b/c a lot of Americans don't really read a lot, and there is no real productiveness in being patriotic besides, at best, putting up an American flag or sticker on your car.
HammandClov 2 years ago 6
here in canada, quebec, im tired of reading the three musketeers, fucking abridged, or of mice and men, abridged and translated...thats not how you learn or read books. if you want to conserve french, get us real books.
AcdcfreakRocks 2 years ago 2
minorities can't even read the little fast food screen at Micky D's. always mess up my order. why would I read a book written by one?
Are you serious pulsar? you know those 'minorities' have written some of the greatest books ever written, but then again i can't expect an ignorant american to actually have the brain power to read.
AngelusVesica 2 years ago 3
Hey, don't respond to his intentionally provocative racist bullshit with more of the same.
eirefrance 2 years ago 3