laughing lioness Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I've been surprised lately at how few people I talk to know what "Pax Romana" means. I thought this was common knowledge, apparently not. A 50 something at a party yesterday had never heard of it and neither had the late 20's something mom last week. Same with hyperbole, the eruption of Vesuvius and the Feast of Sukkut. I mean, people haven't even heard of these events, terms. Anyone else noticing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 And I didn't know most of those either before I started homeschooling... And I consider myself well read! (Well, the eruption of the Vesuvius, yes, but not Pax Romana, although I had heard the term) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 It is amazing, isn't it? And that is one reason that we use the Core Knowledge curriculum -- its premise is that there is a certain body of knowledge that, ideally, everyone should be familiar with -- "cultural literacy." Ajax is not just the name of a cleanser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 Alessandra- lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey in TX Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Went to a July 4th party several years ago. All adults were college graduates, yet not a single woman knew why we celebrated the mid-summer day. HUH? I was horrified and reminded them of the key words "Independence Day". Still didn't jog their collective memories. :confused: Common sense and basic knowledge are not required or appreciated traits any longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Went to a July 4th party several years ago. All adults were college graduates, yet not a single woman knew why we celebrated the mid-summer day. HUH? I was horrified and reminded them of the key words "Independence Day". Still didn't jog their collective memories. :confused:Common sense and basic knowledge are not required or appreciated traits any longer. Don't take this the wrong way, but I find that very hard to believe. Sure they weren't pulling your leg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Karenciavo, I am touched by your faith in humanity. I am not kidding. At all. I used to get really weird reactions from fellow teachers if I used words they didn't know. I found it very odd to be basically called a Bluestocking for knowing words I learned reading "Increase Your Word Power" in the bathtub as a teenager. Good old Reader's Digest. Thanks, Grandma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Karenciavo, I am touched by your faith in humanity. I am not kidding. At all. LOL, well I know there are people out there who can't answer basic questions, I've watched Jay Leno, but I thought Jay needed be out all day asking questions in order to find a few ignorant souls and then edit out all the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 We went on a seed-collecting walk with a countryside ranger recently, and she reported that many of the children she works with have no idea that you can eat blackberries from the hedgerows. She works in Fife, where no town has more than 48,000 inhabitants, so people shouldn't be too divorced from the countryside, but that kind of knowledge seems to be being lost. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 My son was once berated for knowing the word 'diurnal'. The camp guide looked at him askew and said "only you could have known that word"... My son was 7yo at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 LOL, well I know there are people out there who can't answer basic questions, I've watched Jay Leno, but I thought Jay needed be out all day asking questions in order to find a few ignorant souls and then edit out all the rest. How can I say this without sounding snarky, but I really am sensing a bit of literary arrogance in this thread. First, I'm wondering why it came up in a conversation. I can honestly say that I could live my life and in a conversation with friends or family never utter the words Pax Romana, eruption of Vesuvius and Feast of Sukkut. I would not be surprised in the least to hear others don't know these terms. But, why would I want them to know? I don't respect my peers/friends/family less for not being able to discuss the merits/detractors of a Marxist society. Heck, I'm thrilled that my neighbor knows how to repair a well pump..can grow an amazing garden...taught me how to repair my broken water pipes....or how my grandmother knows how to crochet everything under the sun, knows every little trick to have the most beautiful flowers from just seed she collects each year, or how the man who trims my horse's feet can have a natural ability to whisper to an abused horse in such a way that brings about trust when dozens prior to him had no clue how to calm the horse...I really don't care that the folks brought into my life don't know Pax Romana, but I sure am blessed that they have wisdom in areas I know little of. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Is it any wonder when we go to the dentist and they talk to my dd6 about "sugar bugs" instead of germs and cavities? We often get instructional videos from the library but I have to choose the junior high ones for my primary age children because the terms in the videos for younger ones are so basic - ie. "This is a plant. The plant has a root.". . . True - but I hope my child knows how to describe a basic plant at kindergarten at least. By the time they are elementary I want to be dealing with slightly more technical terms - not out of snobbery but because they are capable of learning so much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 All of the above came up as jokes or in relating a joke. My kids have recently nick-named me Pax RoMomma and my 18 yo dd was relating that to friends when they asked her how homeschooling was going. We were at a bon-fire last night when sparks flew at us and my dh asked me and the friends I was standing by why we moved away from the warmth. He joked that we were wimps from moving away from a few sparks and I said, "it was like Mt. Vesuvius erupting," which led my dh to call me the queen of hyperbole. At the same church picnic he built a Sukkut booth becasue it's the Feast of Sukkut. Many people were curious about it but we were both surprised at how many had never heard of it. It's just an observation - not meant as a "I'm better than you type of thing." I think it's intersting that my g'ma, 94- never went past 6th grade but worked in an accounting office at a large corp for years making very good money, can take apart a car engine, is an incredible gardener and can knit a sweater with her eyes closed, would know all of those references. I'm contrasting this with a friends son who enrolled in p.s. this year for the first time and is being ridiculed for "knowing too much," my dd who is in college for the first time this fall and is criticized for "studying too much." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Ah! Gotcha! Now in context that makes more sense! :) I do agree that our world has dumbed down to reach the masses...my grandmother's education was much more intensive than what we get today, but then she didn't have to learn her way around a computer...I went to a robotics competition trial yesterday and was in awe of these kids who design robots to lift, turn, move, you name it (BEST robotics)...I felt completely ignorant! Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 It doesn't bother me when individual people don't know things *I* think they ought to know - well, except for the 4th of July ignorance!!:tongue_smilie: I have a friend who will never catch any literary allusion I make, but if I need my knitting "fixed" or need to figure out how to make something work, she's the one I call! We tease each other about our respective strengths/weaknesses, but we completely respect one another! What IS disturbing to me is the attitude towards knowledge - that there is something wrong about having knowledge or desiring it, especially when that attitude comes from teachers. Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 How can I say this without sounding snarky, but I really am sensing a bit of literary arrogance in this thread. First, I'm wondering why it came up in a conversation. I can honestly say that I could live my life and in a conversation with friends or family never utter the words Pax Romana, eruption of Vesuvius and Feast of Sukkut. I would not be surprised in the least to hear others don't know these terms. But, why would I want them to know? I don't respect my peers/friends/family less for not being able to discuss the merits/detractors of a Marxist society. Heck, I'm thrilled that my neighbor knows how to repair a well pump..can grow an amazing garden...taught me how to repair my broken water pipes....or how my grandmother knows how to crochet everything under the sun, knows every little trick to have the most beautiful flowers from just seed she collects each year, or how the man who trims my horse's feet can have a natural ability to whisper to an abused horse in such a way that brings about trust when dozens prior to him had no clue how to calm the horse...I really don't care that the folks brought into my life don't know Pax Romana, but I sure am blessed that they have wisdom in areas I know little of. Tara I think Karen was referring to the fact that on Jay Leno people don't know about basic American history (like what we celebrate on the 4th of July) and not Pax Romana. The things listed in the original post I would not actually consider to be things that everyone should or would know. I know them, but mostly from homeschooling and not because I encountered them in my reading. I WOULD, however, expect people to know why we celebrate the 4th of July. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Well, I think you're hitting on an interesting issue, which is that we've moved as a society toward mocking intellectual pursuits as somehow unworthy. People frankly scoff at the idea of liking topics perceived as school-related. I've been mulling it over in my head for years, and I think it's partially a commercially driven message. More importantly, though, we've moved from a situation in which pioneers struggled to make sure an education was *available* to their children, to a nationwide system of ever-more-extensive compulsory school attendance. I think it's led people to be disenfranchised with education as a whole, except insofar as it may benefit their earning potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 We went on a seed-collecting walk with a countryside ranger recently, and she reported that many of the children she works with have no idea that you can eat blackberries from the hedgerows. She works in Fife, where no town has more than 48,000 inhabitants, so people shouldn't be too divorced from the countryside, but that kind of knowledge seems to be being lost. Well, as to that, I know that I have always actively discouraged my child from eating *anything* she finds outside because around here one can never assume that it hasn't been sprayed with some sort of fertilizer or pesticide. Now that she's older, I am beginning to expand that a little as she learns what is safe and what is not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz Mc in SC Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Please don't shoot me but it's Sukkot and you build a sukkah :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 How can I say this without sounding snarky, but I really am sensing a bit of literary arrogance in this thread. First, I'm wondering why it came up in a conversation. I can honestly say that I could live my life and in a conversation with friends or family never utter the words Pax Romana, eruption of Vesuvius and Feast of Sukkut. I would not be surprised in the least to hear others don't know these terms. But, why would I want them to know? I don't respect my peers/friends/family less for not being able to discuss the merits/detractors of a Marxist society. Heck, I'm thrilled that my neighbor knows how to repair a well pump..can grow an amazing garden...taught me how to repair my broken water pipes....or how my grandmother knows how to crochet everything under the sun, knows every little trick to have the most beautiful flowers from just seed she collects each year, or how the man who trims my horse's feet can have a natural ability to whisper to an abused horse in such a way that brings about trust when dozens prior to him had no clue how to calm the horse...I really don't care that the folks brought into my life don't know Pax Romana, but I sure am blessed that they have wisdom in areas I know little of. Tara :iagree: I bet my elderly next door neighbor doesn't know a few of these things but I can't tell you how many times he has fixed my children's bikes, skates, scooters, sewn their webkinz, given us lawn care advice, and various other independent living skills kinds of things. I frequently ask my dc if there is anything that he does not know. My guess might be Pax Romana but I'll have to ask. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey in TX Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Don't take this the wrong way, but I find that very hard to believe. Sure they weren't pulling your leg? No, I knew the women well as two were neighbors. I swear this is the truth. (Also a reason to note that all state universities are not created equal.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Last week as the school where I work part time I was talking about the two Cubans who left the Cuban national soccer team when they hit US soil for the recent World Cup qualifier. One man recounted running from the hotel in the newspaper. The other teacher, who is in charge, said to me and the class, "well, I'm sure those men will be deported". The woman is finishing her PhD. I think I was aware of US policy with Cubans when I was in 5th grade. At this point, I explained that that would not happen. Some of the kids knew she was wrong. Then we had a discussion of our current "wet foot, dry foot" policy. Over 10 years ago, I was teaching a Sunday School class to high schoolers. The other teacher was retired military and a few years into his second career as a public school high school history teacher. I forget how we got certain point in the discussion, but I pointed out that Pakistan, a muslim country, had a female leader, Benazir Bhutto. (This was the first time she was elected, before her exile, return and recent assasination) The other teacher authoritatively told the class I was wrong--Pakistan was a Hindu country. I am not a history, government or social studies teacher. I have degrees in chemistry and special education. I just like to be informed. Teaching the TWTM way at home helps me a lot with that. But even w/o my knowledge from TWTM I had a good general base. It completely infuriates me when persons in teaching don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyboys Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 All of the above came up as jokes or in relating a joke. My kids have recently nick-named me Pax RoMomma and my 18 yo dd was relating that to friends when they asked her how homeschooling was going.We were at a bon-fire last night when sparks flew at us and my dh asked me and the friends I was standing by why we moved away from the warmth. He joked that we were wimps from moving away from a few sparks and I said, "it was like Mt. Vesuvius erupting," which led my dh to call me the queen of hyperbole. At the same church picnic he built a Sukkut booth becasue it's the Feast of Sukkut. Many people were curious about it but we were both surprised at how many had never heard of it. It's just an observation - not meant as a "I'm better than you type of thing." I think it's intersting that my g'ma, 94- never went past 6th grade but worked in an accounting office at a large corp for years making very good money, can take apart a car engine, is an incredible gardener and can knit a sweater with her eyes closed, would know all of those references. I'm contrasting this with a friends son who enrolled in p.s. this year for the first time and is being ridiculed for "knowing too much," my dd who is in college for the first time this fall and is criticized for "studying too much." I agree it's interesting. I think that's the premise behind the "what every 1st grader (etc.) needs to know" books - core/common knowledge. Even though he's past the reading levels, I'm having ds7 read through the VP comprehension guide selections. I want him to have those cultural references to "childhood classics" curious george, beatrix potter, amelia bedelia, little bear, frog and toad. That's what's so cool about homeschooling, we can all fill in the gaps, and set our dc up not to miss them. It's frustrating that kids are given the message that knowledge is such a negative, but sports and rebellion are totally positive. Btw, what a role model your grandma is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Went to a July 4th party several years ago. All adults were college graduates, yet not a single woman knew why we celebrated the mid-summer day. HUH? I was horrified and reminded them of the key words "Independence Day". Still didn't jog their collective memories. :confused:Common sense and basic knowledge are not required or appreciated traits any longer. They didn't know what July 4th represents? I'm speechless. Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Last year when I was teaching high school Spanish at a charter school, I was pretty much constantly amazed at what my students didn't know. One time I began a lesson on the seasons with a chart I made showing the opposite seasons in northern and southern hemispheres. I began telling them the seasons in Spanish and received completely blank looks. So then I switched to English and said, "You guys know this, right? When it's spring here, it's fall in the southern hemisphere?" Nope. No clue! But what really took the cake was the day I was reading them a book about Velazquez, a Spanish painter. I was showing them a painting he did of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus on her lap, and one of my students said, "What's so special about that baby?" Even the other students at her table couldn't believe she didn't know it was supposed to represent Jesus!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Well, as to that, I know that I have always actively discouraged my child from eating *anything* she finds outside because around here one can never assume that it hasn't been sprayed with some sort of fertilizer or pesticide. Now that she's older, I am beginning to expand that a little as she learns what is safe and what is not. They are wild land, not cultivated. Yes, it's possible that they could get some spray drifting from a nearby field, but I'm not prepared to worry about it. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emeraldjoy Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 How can I say this without sounding snarky, but I really am sensing a bit of literary arrogance in this thread. First, I'm wondering why it came up in a conversation. I can honestly say that I could live my life and in a conversation with friends or family never utter the words Pax Romana, eruption of Vesuvius and Feast of Sukkut. I would not be surprised in the least to hear others don't know these terms. But, why would I want them to know? I don't respect my peers/friends/family less for not being able to discuss the merits/detractors of a Marxist society. Heck, I'm thrilled that my neighbor knows how to repair a well pump..can grow an amazing garden...taught me how to repair my broken water pipes....or how my grandmother knows how to crochet everything under the sun, knows every little trick to have the most beautiful flowers from just seed she collects each year, or how the man who trims my horse's feet can have a natural ability to whisper to an abused horse in such a way that brings about trust when dozens prior to him had no clue how to calm the horse...I really don't care that the folks brought into my life don't know Pax Romana, but I sure am blessed that they have wisdom in areas I know little of. Tara I wholeheartedly agree with this post. And it was done in such a kind and explanatory way; thanks for this. I was trying to figure out how to say what I was feeling when I read a few posts on here. I guess I simply want to say, consider yourselves blessed for knowing what you do...see it as a privaledge that not everyone has the opportunity of having access to. emerald Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I think Karen was referring to the fact that on Jay Leno people don't know about basic American history (like what we celebrate on the 4th of July) and not Pax Romana. The things listed in the original post I would not actually consider to be things that everyone should or would know. I know them, but mostly from homeschooling and not because I encountered them in my reading. I WOULD, however, expect people to know why we celebrate the 4th of July. Yes, that's it. :) Pax Romana is not relevant to most Americans, but the 4th? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyboys Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 We went on a seed-collecting walk with a countryside ranger recently, and she reported that many of the children she works with have no idea that you can eat blackberries from the hedgerows. She works in Fife, where no town has more than 48,000 inhabitants, so people shouldn't be too divorced from the countryside, but that kind of knowledge seems to be being lost. Laura some of my favorite childhood memories are of berry picking with my grandmother....and not long ago, df and I took dc to a strawberry field and saw wild blackberries along the drive in, so we pulled over and gathered a few handful. nothing like a warm sun-ripened berry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 Liz- thanks for catching my goof- I am lol! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 (edited) Yes, my Gram rocks!! - I do agree wholeheartedly that "knowing" is a gift. It has been a wild and fun ride to learn along with my kids. One of the things I appreciate about TWTM boards is how much I learn from all of you; so many different perspectives. Edited October 20, 2008 by laughing lioness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 OK, how about this one? My catechism kids (grade 5 and 6) couldn't tell me if the sun revolves around the Earth, or vice versa. Half of them didn't know it's generally considered that mankind has evolved from 'monkeys' . None of these kids come from creationnist families! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Don't shoot me, either, but Sukkut is accepted in Israel as the spelling. (And this is NOT common knowledge! hee hee!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jejily Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 (edited) Confession: I had to google "Pax Romana" -- I knew it, but couldn't have been sure I would have correctly explained it. Thankfully, I was definitely on the right track, and I knew all the other terms/events you were discussing ... so I don't feel too dumb. :) I have to admit, though, that I'm learning sooooo much more now, because I am homeschooling, and the information is even more exciting to me as I finally see the pieces and parts that I learned in my public school education finally coming together. Edited October 20, 2008 by jejily Left out a word or two. Oops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in KY Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I'm learning sooooo much more now, because I am homeschooling, and the information is even more exciting to me as I finally see the pieces and parts that learned in my public school education coming together. :iagree: Me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laylamcb Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 OK, how about this one? My catechism kids (grade 5 and 6) couldn't tell me if the sun revolves around the Earth, or vice versa. That reminds me of A Study in Scarlet (I can ALWAYS bring it back to Sherlock Holmes!), in which we learn that Holmes didn't know that the Earth revolved around the sun, and when a shocked Watson informed him of it, he responded that now that he DID know it, he would try to forget it as quickly as possible. After all, what possible use was that knowledge to him? He argued that the mind is a filing cabinet (well, he used an attic with its inelastic walls as his analogy, but you get the point) with a finite amount of space, and he tried never to file away any irrelevant bit of information for fear of elbowing out the important stuff. Now I suppose someone will drag out that tired response that Holmes is a fictional character. Yadayadayada. The day that the young'uns don't know who Sherlock Holmes is--THEN I'll worry. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey in TX Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I have to admit, though, that I'm learning sooooo much more now, because I am homeschooling, and the information is even more exciting to me as I finally see the pieces and parts that learned in my public school education coming together. It's really exciting to piece together all the bits of knowledge we've gained throughout our respective education. It's like building a 1,000,000 piece puzzle. Never thought learning could be this much fun! Wish ya'll were teaching when I was a kid! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Well, I think you're hitting on an interesting issue, which is that we've moved as a society toward mocking intellectual pursuits as somehow unworthy. People frankly scoff at the idea of liking topics perceived as school-related. Mm. Most of my relatives would go out of their way to avoid buying anything that could be deemed educational for my kids because "not everything has to be educational, you know!" as though I'm doing something dreadful to them! Of course, I have a wider idea on what is educational than they do. It is actually possible for recreational activities to be part of one's education, and you'd think all our expert knitter grandmothers would appreciate that! :) Rosie- An Aussie who knows why you get excited over July 4 ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I have to admit I knew of Pax Romana and Mt. Vesuvius but had no idea of the Feast of Sukkot. I'm not a religious person, so can I ask (and I'm truly asking not being snarky) is this something a non-religious person should have come across? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emeraldjoy Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Someone mentioned that we just happen to be fortunate and this education is not avalible for all. If a basic education is not avalible then why am I paying my taxes for that school down the street? Isn't that the point of a common ps, that we all have basic knowledge? That was me, I think, who mentioned something like that. I think my point was lost and not sure how to articulate what I was trying to say......mainly I just wanted to caution more than anything. Some of the "common Knowledge" examples given here are not what I would consider basic knowledge. Furthermore, some kids are worrying about rumblies in their tummies not "pax romana" inspite of officially being educated.... Emerald Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NevadaRabbit Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Maybe 15 years ago a bunch of friends/family were at my MIL's house making some plans. A few of us agreed upon Dec 7th for whatever we were going to do - no memory what it was, just the date - and as word spread through the group, several remarked "oh, Pearl Harbor Day." One friend, who is just a few years older than me, became more and more perplexed and eventually asked, "how do you guys all know that??" So I guess important war dates of the early 20th century can go on the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I have to admit I knew of Pax Romana and Mt. Vesuvius but had no idea of the Feast of Sukkot. I'm not a religious person, so can I ask (and I'm truly asking not being snarky) is this something a non-religious person should have come across? Even a "religious" person wouldn't necessarily have heard of it unless they were familiar with Judaism. Since religion has become a more or less "private" affair in America, people are less familiar with religions besides their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn in Mo Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I had to go look up "sukkot"......I didn't think I'd heard of it, but after googling I realized Oh! Feast of Booths! Several families in our area celebrate this and we've even joined them some. Still, I'd never heard that term before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I remember reading about Sukkot in a novel when I was young. It was in a children's classic series of books. Does anyone know what bookbtvat might have been? I think my mom read it to us on the way to Florida. Not that that has anything to do with the book. As fir Vesuvius, I think there is even a Magic Tree House book about it. I looked up Pax Romana to make sure I knew what it was. I did, but it doesn't come up in regular conversation around here. Now we do regularly discuss the periodic table... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I hadn't heard of Pax Romana until studying the Ancients with my son. I had heard of Vesuvius as a kid. I only knew about the feast of Sukkot because of a Jewish friend and, about 5 years ago, a study of the Old Testament. So, I can say that I did NOT know of these things for most of my life:) So, I would not classify these things as common knowledge. There are other things that I would say are common knowledge, but not so common anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I have to admit I knew of Pax Romana and Mt. Vesuvius but had no idea of the Feast of Sukkot. I'm not a religious person, so can I ask (and I'm truly asking not being snarky) is this something a non-religious person should have come across? Only if you've read All of a Kind Family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I remember reading about Sukkot in a novel when I was young. It was in a children's classic series of books. Does anyone know what bookbtvat might have been? I think my mom read it to us on the way to Florida. Not that that has anything to do with the book. As fir Vesuvius, I think there is even a Magic Tree House book about it. I looked up Pax Romana to make sure I knew what it was. I did, but it doesn't come up in regular conversation around here. Now we do regularly discuss the periodic table... see my previous post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 We went on a seed-collecting walk with a countryside ranger recently, and she reported that many of the children she works with have no idea that you can eat blackberries from the hedgerows. She works in Fife, where no town has more than 48,000 inhabitants, so people shouldn't be too divorced from the countryside, but that kind of knowledge seems to be being lost. Laura You're kidding? That's one of my favorite things about where I live is the annual walks to find blackberries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Same with hyperbole, the eruption of Vesuvius and the Feast of Sukkut. The Tampa Bay Rays coach was being interviewed and one reporter was asking a question about their loss after being up by 7 runs. The coach listened while this guy went on and on, then started his answer by saying something like, "Well, first of all, that's hyperbole. ..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamnkats Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Well all I can say is you ladies are so incredibly smart to know all that amazing stuff. Shur do wish i coud be so smart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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