[Carolinamom]

Thanks so much for steering me to Diane Ravitch's The English Reader, Molly. I've ordered it and will certainly enjoy this anthology.

I've also been enjoying reading Elizabeth Kantor's The Politically Incorrect Guide to English and American Literature, a Christmas gift and an excellent consideration and analysis of the best Western literature that, unfortunately, is NOT being taught in our schools/colleges...and that's the premise of the book.

(One consolation to being my age is that I DID have teachers who taught the classics. Kantor's book gives new insights into them, and I am enjoying this bonus.)

[Miss Marple]

Did I ever tall you that a friend of mine used me as a source for students in his middle school class? I would get calls from kids who would ask me questions about history, literature, poetry, science, etc.

It was pretty amazing, because the questions were about things which I thought were common knowledge.

I don['t understand the desire to ignore such great contributions to Western civilization in favor of pop authors who will be forgotten in 20 years.