Have you ever considered life without books? Books are unique sources of knowledge, information, and perspective, written by individual authors. Active reading requires an individual response and interaction with the author and the book content. We often find agreement or disagreement with the author’s message, but because we’ve interacted with the author, we have grown or changed in our individual perspective.
In the dystopian book, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, life without books clearly demonstrates the dangers of literary decline. In this book, literature as a source of individual ideas and personal life philosophies is squelched by the government, so as to allow the government to define a communal thought process. Our whole family read this book individually, then I posed the following questions to them (junior high and high school age):
What effects do cell phones, IPODS, Blackberries, big screen TVs with 100 channels, and video games have on our nation’s literacy?
Should we believe everything we hear on TV? Who controls what is televised?
To what degree should government control the ideas presented in books and TV?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of government censorship?
Should parents "control" the amount of technology used for entertainment in their homes?
What price would you be willing to pay for the individual freedoms we currently enjoy?
What are the sources of our individualism? What "inputs" effect your opinions?
How has Bradbury, who wrote this book in the 1950′s, accurately predicted the future in regards to technology?
Since reading A Thomas Jefferson Education, classic literature has taken a much higher priority in our homeschool journey. By 7th and 8th grade, I have found the kids very able and willing to read and discuss some of the classics. I’ve attempted to select classic literature which will appeal to their interests and teach virtues and life lessons. I’ve also experimented with the concept of a "Family Classics" night. In addition to Fahrenheit 451, we previously enjoyed discussing Little Britches. What efforts have you found successful to encourage good literature in your home?
Related Tags: classic literature, book clubs, reading lists, A Thomas Jefferson Education, family reading
Core Phase 
Maureen