Jenni’s Comments (group member since Jan 19, 2020)

Jenni’s comments from the Reading Classics, Chronologically Through the Ages group.

I hope I'm posting this in the right place.

I saw a blog post a few months ago about why schools should not be reading the classics, but students should be reading more relevant books, i.e. modern books.

I've been mulling that over in my mind, and today I posted my thoughts on why reading the classics is still important:
https://jennienzor.blogspot.com/2020/...

What do you all think?

I just finished! It took me almost 2 months, and I just read the recommended essays by Baeur.

He is such an endearing narrator. I liked how self-effacing he is. I found it interesting as with all these older books how little times (or rather, people) have changed in 600 years. I thought his ruminations on mortality and old age were really insightful. I also liked what he had to say about living an ordinary life and being humble is wisdom.

I didn't agree with much of what he said about child rearing/education except for his points about children needed a teacher of character and really knowing and understanding books, not just checking them off a list. While I could follow some of his allusions to Greek/Roman authors, I probably missed some things because I'm not that familiar with Seneca, who was quoted frequently. I also found the allusions to people of his times a little hard to follow at times.

But overall, an interesting read. I read some of these essays in high school and even had to write an essay in his style. It was fun revisiting Montaigne.

Cleo, I'm glad I'm not the only one who had trouble with those chapters! I'm really enjoy Montaigne right now too.

I just finished this one! I really liked the first 10 books, which were more autobiographical. The pear scene stuck out to me as well. When he is setting a scene, like that one or the scene in the garden when he has his epiphany, his writing is really engaging.

I also liked the section about his mother. She was quite impressive in the way she didn't give up on him and even followed him to Italy.

I also wrote down many quotes, because he had so many insights about God, faith, and human nature. I am used to modern autobiographies, so sometimes the philosophizing got in the way of the story for me. I also had a really hard time getting through the time chapters. :)

Thank you for the warm welcome, Cleo! I will definitely check out your reviews, and I'm encouraged to hear that you liked the histories. :)

Hi, I'm Jenni. I homeschool two high schoolers and also teach for an online charter school. My new year's resolution/goal is to tackle more WEM books. I've read most of the titles on the novel list (mostly due to my English lit degree), and I am starting on the biographies and am in the middle of Augustine's Confessions. I look forward to reading and discussing with you all!