Hunter Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I have looked at so many literature curricula over the past few weeks and they all make me want to vomit. Secular, Amish, Mennonite, Catholic, Protestant, modern, vintage; they are all just nasty. I keep thinking there is nothing left that will shock me, but I keep finding out that I am wrong. These curricula writers seem to have an amazing ability to shock me. The most recent shock was a vintage early grade Catholic reader that said Eskimo women were easy :( In the past, I would just skip literature and focus on the Bible, nonfiction and biographies for reading. But I now realize the arts are important for different reasons than nonfiction, so I'm trying, really trying, to embrace literature. These curricula writers are doing nothing to help, though. I think I better stop looking at full curricula and readers and start looking at individual novel guides. I really want something with some continuity to it though. I want to work ahead and familiarize myself with a curricula that I can then be prepared to assign to a tutoring student, or to recommend to someone who asks. With a curricula that allows picking and choosing I can skip the most offensive novels and guides, or at least that is what I'm hoping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyBC Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Perhaps a guide to help you teach literary elements with works of your own choosing, such as Teaching the Classics or Deconstructing Penguins, would be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Perhaps a guide to help you teach literary elements with works of your own choosing, such as Teaching the Classics or Deconstructing Penguins, would be better. Loved Teaching the Classics, you might give it a try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Yup....that was what I was thinking....Windows to the World, or just a book on literary devices.... The Well Educated Mind along with Cliff Notes or Pink Monkey or Spark notes.... Something that covers the what without all the derogatory opinions..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 What they said, and also throw in a study of poetics. MCT's poetry books show you some really neat stuff that not only apply to poetry but also great literature as well. I never realized how much poetics was in regular old novels! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Other than the Eskimo thing, which is truly bizarre, can you give some more details on what you are finding objectionable? I've never come across anything in a curriculum that would invoke that strong of a reaction, so I am (1) genuinely curious about the weirdness you've unearthed and (2) wondering what I have missed in my own kids' curriculum! Even though I am not sure what the issues are with the other programs, I am still going to recommend Mosdos, which I have used at two different levels. It is published for Jewish schools, but other than referring to God as "G-d," and the very Jewish-sounding names and titles of the editorial board, you would probably never know that from reading the materials. There is no overtly Jewish flavor to the program (not that I even know what that would look like!), but the stories are wholesome and unabashedly encourage positive character development. Also, while I realize most on this board seem to prefer novels to anthologies, these stories were not written for reading anthologies--they are good literature published for other purposes and then selected for the anthology. And the TM is absolutely top notch, chock full of discussion points, notes, pre-teaching and discussion topics, etc. It is expensive, yes, but it is also easy to re-sell. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 Mosdos might work. I found a coral level TM at Amazon for just $5.00 and ordered it. The curriculum sure isn't cheap :-( I'd really like a multigrade series from about grade 3-8. It needs to be as open and go as possible. With the type of brain damage I keep incurring from the seizures, I just cannot lead a literature discussion. My brain is too disconnected and my speech is too affected. Applying general guides to any piece of literature requires pulling from too many different parts of the brain at once. I can sometimes PARTICIPATE in advanced literature discussion, but cannot LEAD discussion. I could probably slowly write literature guides, before a lesson, but I'm just not that productive right now, and know it won't get done. I'd like a strong vocabulary focus, more than figures of speech. And I want to work on reading aloud skills. And I guess mostly I'm looking for a dose of what you get from a good story, when story is art. I can cover vocab and reading aloud with the KJV and story Bibles, but...stories can heal and inspire, if they are good ones. A lot of the students I tutor are from marginalized and underprivileged backgrounds. Some of them are LD and some of them have just been severely neglected. It is imperative that I don't use literature that portrays marginalized people as being morally inferior or subhuman. Because I don't believe in centering English on fiction, and never made fiction a high priority subject, I have incredible high standards about what I am looking for. I don't need fiction to teach a student to read or write. I have plenty of non fiction resources to accomplish that. I'm just so tired of the propaganda and discrimination that is so prevalent in literature curricula. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I'm trying not to laugh. What is it (title, author/publisher) that you read that in? And how old is it? I think anything from the mid-1970s and older would be suspect as that was the times back then. If this is something written within the last 20 years I think you'd be doing all of us a service by naming it so we can steer clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyBC Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I saw Adam Andrews at a convention and felt comfortable afterwards buying just the syllabus of Teaching the Classics, rather than the whole DVD course, which made it affordable. The Literature Study Guides from Teaching the Classics range from $5-$12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Even though I am not sure what the issues are with the other programs, I am still going to recommend Mosdos Thanks, Terri, I'd never heard of this before. I too am sick of racist weird surprises in books, but you've clearly found more than I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Am I the only one insatiably curious as to which books these are? The only ones I've ever seen these thing in are the D'Aulaire books and similar from Ambleside that are outdated. So much so that I won't even read most Ambleside recommendations anymore. I just ordered Teaching the Classics and there is nothing exceptional in there, Deconstructing Penguins, or the MCT books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen. Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Am I the only one insatiably curious as to which books these are? The only ones I've ever seen these thing in are the D'Aulaire books and similar from Ambleside that are outdated. So much so that I won't even read most Ambleside recommendations anymore. I just ordered Teaching the Classics and there is nothing exceptional in there, Deconstructing Penguins, or the MCT books. Did you order the DVDs or any extras? I'm considering this program for this summer when we're reading. I was thinking of doing the program with the books listed for Reading Roadmap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I haven't seen any modern secular textbooks with offensive material, but religious publishers and vintage texts are sometimes rife with it. I sort of actually have a secret morbid fascination with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Did you order the DVDs or any extras? I'm considering this program for this summer when we're reading. I was thinking of doing the program with the books listed for Reading Roadmap. Yes, I bought it used on Amazon. I couldn't afford it new. It came with the book and DVDs, but not the mini-guides to extra books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I haven't seen any modern secular textbooks with offensive material, but religious publishers and vintage texts are sometimes rife with it. I sort of actually have a secret morbid fascination with it. The problem with most modern reading textbooks is that they have been significantly "dumbed down". They aren't offensive but OTOH they don't do much to intellectually challenge the student. Vintage readers do have the issue of unenlightened attitudes that are the products of the authors' times, but at the same time, they tend to offer much more challenging vocabulary and syntax. The K12 Classics for Young Readers set is pretty good. They are secular and I haven't noticed anything that I felt warranted a discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierramv1 Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I saw Adam Andrews at a convention and felt comfortable afterwards buying just the syllabus of Teaching the Classics, rather than the whole DVD course, which made it affordable. The Literature Study Guides from Teaching the Classics range from $5-$12. LOVE this! Love the videos! Initially it was teacher intensive but he is teaching you how to teach it, and for me it's good for 3 kids, so it was worth my time. Plus being able to talk about any literature at any grade with my kids is invaluable to me! They are also available if you need help. Work-at-home, homeschooling mom to DS 9, DS 5, DD 3! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diviya Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Maybe the MCT literature program? 3 books per year. I think there are two sets so far. I don't know how many he is planning to put out. The books have notes (mostly poetics and vocab), and then there are separate teachers guides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 A lot of the students I tutor are from marginalized and underprivileged backgrounds. Some of them are LD and some of them have just been severely neglected. It is imperative that I don't use literature that portrays marginalized people as being morally inferior or subhuman. Isn't it frightening that this is a concern?! As an aside - I really enjoyed reading The Family From One End Street by Eve Garnett because the family is poor. The dad is a garbage man, and the mom takes in laundry. Several of the chapters are about an adventure one of the kids has (sort of like Elizabeth Enright's The Saturdays). The family is loving, and the mom thinks she knows more than "the experts." I read an article somewhere contrasting it with Noel Streatfeild's books. Very interesting. It's a different depiction of a family than the usual. It's OOP in the US, you'd have to order from the UK or buy a used copy. (Be aware before tracking down any copies of the sequels, the n-word is used in Further Adventures, referring to black piglets from (I think) the Ten Little N-s counting rhyme.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 The K12 Classics for Young Readers set is pretty good. They are secular and I haven't noticed anything that I felt warranted a discussion. Are there lesson plans or guides to go with these? I adore the integrated language arts described in Spalding, but I cannot rely on being able to discuss literature, without detailed notes. DITHOR, Teaching the Classics, Spalding, Northrop Frye; none of that is going to work. My brain is too fragmented to be able to multitask like that, while teaching. I'm like an old computer that cannot simultaneously run several programs at the same time. I just start getting more and more confused, when I try to multitask, and usually have to stop altogether and take a break, when I overdo. It's just hard enough for me to talk. I tend to substitute the wrong words that have the same first letter. My students often have to translate the gibberish that comes out of my mouth. But they still keep coming back, because...for whatever reason, they seem to think I have something special to offer :-0 I was looking back at Pathway again today, and it's probabably my best option, but I just cannot stand yet another Amish curriculum. I've been doing so well with CGE, and I think Study Time arithmetic is going to go just as well, but after that I'm horse and buggied out. I'm realizing to balance I need something fully modern or very classical. I've done a lot of searching and thinking today. I need a reader set, not novels. I need a multiyear set from mid elementary to grade 8. I think I want modern secular in color, or something very classical. Even if it's inferior to some other options, I need it to balance the KJV and CGB, Bedell, and the Amish stuff. Or I'm just going to skip literature altogether for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Does it actually say that Eskimo - we say Inuit in Canada - women are easy, using that word? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 Okay...I'll go see if I can find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 The top of page 37. Read it for yourselves. It won't copy and paste and I'm too lazy to type a quote. http://archive.org/details/fourthreaderfor00doylgoog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwg Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 That is nuts. Reminded me of this http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/06/isnt_this_just_the_cutest_thin.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+scienceblogs%2Fpharyngula+%28Pharyngula%29&utm_content=Twitter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Even though I am not sure what the issues are with the other programs, I am still going to recommend Mosdos I looked until I was cross-eyed, and decided on Mosdos as well. I'm eager to start this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I haven't seen any modern secular textbooks with offensive material, but religious publishers and vintage texts are sometimes rife with it. I sort of actually have a secret morbid fascination with it. I must have too because I couldn't stop myself from going and looking at it. It is a bit vintage, but I'll back the OP up - it indeed says Inuit women are "easy." I don't know whether to laugh at the absurdity or cry that anyone ever used this or might still be using it. We basically just read quality books and talk about them. Nothing more. But if the OP is having health issues, then getting a program may make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 That is nuts. Reminded me of this http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/06/isnt_this_just_the_cutest_thin.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+scienceblogs%2Fpharyngula+%28Pharyngula%29&utm_content=Twitter :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 The top of page 37. Read it for yourselves. It won't copy and paste and I'm too lazy to type a quote. http://archive.org/details/fourthreaderfor00doylgoog Don't that have to be, to stay warm? (Joke folks, joke.) Did anyone else's child wonder about the extra woman in the igloo in Nanook of the North. That was easy .... everyone had to snuggle together to stay warm. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 I looked until I was cross-eyed, and decided on Mosdos as well. I'm eager to start this summer. I think that is what is going to happen here too. Sigh! I have wonderful luck getting used items cheap if I keep looking and am willing to WAIT, but it really bothers me to only be able to recommend something that is normally very pricey. It is a constant thing here that a student wants to buy a copy for a family member, or a copy of their very own. I can recommend the Pathways as another option I guess, as a perfectly sound alternative, just one that I don't WANT to use right NOW. I think I got the Coral TM for $5.00 :-0 I won't know for sure until it arrives. I've gotten crazier deals. I got a complete 2006 set of World Book Encyclopedia including shipping for all 22 volumes for just $54.00 :-0 Sometimes when I think I've gotten a good deal like this, I get a notice saying "out of stock" instead of a shipped notice, when the seller realizes the mistake. Or something crazy arrives at my PO box. I'm anxious to see what arrives this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Maybe check out Memoria Press? They have lit guides that definitely cover vocabulary, etc. The books are pretty well known. http://www.memoriapress.com/descriptions/LiteratureGuides.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewaka Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 The top of page 37. Read it for yourselves. It won't copy and paste and I'm too lazy to type a quote. http://archive.org/details/fourthreaderfor00doylgoog This does indeed say Eskimo women are easy. However, I do not believe the meaning is inappropriate, but instead refers to open or casual instead of demure (modest) in light of the comment that "Eskimos are always friendly people" (p36). This might still be a poor choice of reader since the meaning of "easy" can be understood as insulting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oraetstudia Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 (edited) This does indeed say Eskimo women are easy. However, I do not believe the meaning is inappropriate, but instead refers to open or casual instead of demure (modest) in light of the comment that "Eskimos are always friendly people" (p36). This might still be a poor choice of reader since the meaning of "easy" can be understood as insulting. :iagree: I don't think it means "of easy virtue." Words change their tone and primary meanings over time. How does this book get lumped in with a literature curriculum though? It is a reader, like unto McGuffey's. Those aren't great literature and even when they are old, they are not part of "reading the classics." Edited May 1, 2012 by oraetstudia Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leanna76 Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 This does indeed say Eskimo women are easy. However, I do not believe the meaning is inappropriate, but instead refers to open or casual instead of demure (modest) in light of the comment that "Eskimos are always friendly people" (p36). :iagree: Words obviously change meaning over time. I seriously doubt the author was trying to convey the idea that Eskimo women are "easy" in the sexual sense. I ran across an example of this in "Trumpet of the Swan" when the author states that Louis is "gay" and carefree. The author most certainly did not mean "gay" in the sexual sense. I don't really see the big deal at all. I think you may be taking the material a little too seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
didadeewiththree Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 We mostly just pick out great books and read them, then discuss on our own, but I felt inclined to buy a lit guide from Total Language Plus at a homeschool seminar recently on Sarah Noble. I like for when I feel like I need some more stuff to do with literature without getting too crazy. It also switches up our Spalding/Phonics Road stuff for when Im lacking energy/time/whatever here and there. I think they are great lit guides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Well, everyone knows that "Earth Girls Are Easy." And, Eskimo Girls are Earth Girls. Q.E.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 The top of page 37. Read it for yourselves. It won't copy and paste and I'm too lazy to type a quote. http://archive.org/details/fourthreaderfor00doylgoog I read the story. I can see where you might see some issues, even if I don't take issue with the same things. But about the word "easy". It reminded me immediately of my one and only dance recital when I was young. My teacher had us dance to a song from The King and I (and let's not digress into the issues in that show ;)) where the teacher talks about being happy to know the children and haven't they noticed how she is now "easy"? She wasn't asking the children to notice she was suddenly promiscuous. I think she meant she was relaxing and enjoying her time getting to know the kids. Now I have other musical lyrics running through my mind that would have a different meaning ... there's a line from "I Feel Pretty", for example. (I came from a less-than-privileged background and grew up as a minority in my region, so I'm not unaware of discrimination, if that helps.) So, I'm in agreement with those who pointed out that while the reader itself isn't the best choice, the word wasn't used as an insult in that example. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 You might look at the Core Knowledge curriculum. It is now available for free. You can also purchase printed versions of the poetry and reading anthologies for each year and the core classics versions. I think this is fairly similar to the K12 curriculum. I've really liked the vintage Elson Readers as well but maybe you've already checked them out. The early editions of the Open Court Readers also focus on classic literature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caitilin Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 This does indeed say Eskimo women are easy. However, I do not believe the meaning is inappropriate, but instead refers to open or casual instead of demure (modest) in light of the comment that "Eskimos are always friendly people" (p36). This might still be a poor choice of reader since the meaning of "easy" can be understood as insulting. :iagree: I did not read any sexual connotations into either "free and easy" or "pretty, modest ways." Modesty has traditionally meant not drawing attention to oneself, and had nothing to do with sexual conduct. Similarly, "free and easy" would have meant casual and familiar (in the sense of "friendly"), possibly overly so, but nothing to do with sexual behavior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay3fer Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I'm going to disagree after looking at the original. Sorry, but however veiled it's been through the ages, modesty has always had a connotation of sexual virtue. I wouldn't want to read a reference where two cultures are contrasted as "pretty & modest" (ie what I want my daughters to be) vs "free & easy" (ie the world's oldest profession). In this example, Alalik, the Inuit girl (sorry, I shudder when people in the US still say "Eskimo"), is clearly ACTING like a white person, and is therefore praiseworthy. The white visitors also speculate about what will be her "fate", with her small, slim hands, there among such rough people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 The author might not have used "easy" exactly as we use it, but I think he was ahead of his time and meant exactly that. I don't think modest had a different meaning back then, and he was contrasting with modest. He then goes on to say she is cleaner than other Inuit women. He is being highly discriminating and condescending, and implying that her mission schooling is what sets her apart from her peers, and what makes her modest and clean. It's just yucky. Not as yucky as "circle who God loves best" though! Is that definitely real? It looks real. The Core Teacher's guides are $80.00 and I can't see a sample of the literature guides. I'll keep looking. I've been looking at the Elson. They might be a little better than the Pathway, but...I'm not so sure. I'll keep looking at them. I've heard a lot about the open court readers, but this is the first time I have the titles and year. I'll keep looking at these. They don't look so easy to find all the pieces for. I'll look at memoria Press again, but I wasn't wowed. Maybe I need to look again. Abeka and Bob Jones look as expensive as Mosdos, and it wasn't that long ago that Bob Jones finally reversed it's stand on marriages, so...I'm not too trusting of them. I didn't know this was so hard. But I'd never looked before. I didn't take the time for fiction with my boys. They had to beg to do a novel or a little Pathway. I certainly would have never invested any of our very limited time and money into an art, as I didn't understand the importance of the arts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Here are some readers that I found long ago and listed the contents for: http://homeschoolblogger.com/hwtk/457304/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 The author might not have used "easy" exactly as we use it, but I think he was ahead of his time and meant exactly that. I don't think modest had a different meaning back then, and he was contrasting with modest. He then goes on to say she is cleaner than other Inuit women. He is being highly discriminating and condescending, and implying that her mission schooling is what sets her apart from her peers, and what makes her modest and clean. It's just yucky. Of course. Just like the whole thing opens with talk about their "queer little huts." The excerpt is from Our Little Alaskan Cousin, it's not original to this book. There are tons of books like this, and I've observed all of them talk about how "strange" these people from another society are ( and I've seen it about other European groups, too) --I found a list of the "Our Little --- Cousin" and there were about 50 different volumes! One has a quote from the Detroit News-Tribune: "Juveniles will get a whole world of pleasure and instruction out of The Little Cousin Series. . . . Pleasing narratives give pictures of the little folk in the far-away lands in their duties and pleasures, showing their odd ways of playing, studying, their queer homes, clothes, and playthings. . . ." So, to me, that is the point. It's like going to the zoo or the circus. We're meant to point our finger and gasp. I've got three volumes of old Open Court readers. I'd be happy to write up anything you want to know about them. They do include comments about communism in the section of the USSR and of course other outdated info, and a focus in the trip around the world about western Europe! The ideal would be something more recent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 After reading it I don't believe they are using the same definition we use. It would have never even occured to me to read it that way given the context. I've heard the term free and easy before even now and not thought it meant as you say. Granted I'm sure there are racial slights in that book and others of that age. I don't believe that is one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 (edited) . Edited May 2, 2016 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 "Free and easy" is not a compliment here, a la Simply Charlotte Mason's Free and Easy Days. It was not a virtue in those days to be informal and lacking in constraint! She is being contrasted favorably with the typical coarse woman and typically dirty house of her people. The whole point is to see how strange others from elsewhere are from us. If you read volumes from this Little Cousin series, they always remark on the strange, funny, queer, and odd ways of others, and sometimes it is said outright, that it is so much better to live as we live than their way. "Where did you learn such English?" asked Mr. Strong of Alalik, wondering, too, where she learned her pretty, modest ways, for Eskimo women are commonly free and easy. ... She spoke simply, and Mr. Strong wondered what would be the fate of this sweet-faced girl. ... "Your hands are too small and slim. I shouldn't think you could do much with those stiff skins," said Teddy. Alalik smiled at the compliment, and a little flush crept into the clear olive of her skin. She was clean and neat, and the eglu, though close from being shut up, was neater than most of the Eskimo houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 It may not be a compliment but it does not mean what the op implied either. I think one could make complaints in that sense but I don't think it is being intellectually honest to claim that it means something it doesn't. I think that are likely few books of that era that would not offend in some way and if that was my goal then I think it best to avoid them all. Personally I got rid of my D'Aulaire books because of that reason, but I also think they can lead to discussion as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 That book was written in 1909 and is a product of its time. I don't know whether to laugh at the absurdity or cry that anyone ever used this or might still be using it. I have to say :iagree: with Farrar's assessment. It isn't surprising that you've come across so many bigoted statements if you are using books from those times. I think you'd be hard pressed to not find some kind of idiotic statement in a reader older than about 20 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I have several readers with utterly ridiculous stories about Native Americans. I don't think the implication is that she is promiscuous. I think it means childlike, unconcerned with consequences, and other such wild terms generally ascribed to "savages." I agree with Hunter that this is a form of propaganda to perpetuate certain ways of thinking about different groups of people. Don't use these books! I feel like vomiting, but for other reasons. It's sort of information overload when I try to figure out too many different books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Incidentally I was reading Mother Tongue by Sarah Louise Arnold, and throughout the year there's a study of a girl named Gemila. I went back to the original as published in Seven Little Sisters who live on a round ball that floats in the air, and the story has had all sorts of things added in and changed! It's interesting. Very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
didadeewiththree Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 It may not be a compliment but it does not mean what the op implied either. I think one could make complaints in that sense but I don't think it is being intellectually honest to claim that it means something it doesn't. I think that are likely few books of that era that would not offend in some way and if that was my goal then I think it best to avoid them all. Personally I got rid of my D'Aulaire books because of that reason, but I also think they can lead to discussion as well. I might that missed something here, but may I ask why you have gotten rid of your D'Aulaire books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I have a pretty free and easy personality. I've even described myself that way. I am not remotely "easy". I think it is clear that the narrator feels that his lifestyle is superior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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