What did you read at school?

[Michelle]

Yes. I learnt with Janet and John. They were so stilted! But they did the trick. Has anyone been listening to Terry Wogans show in the morning? They have a slot for Janet and John where they do their own versions of a Janet and John story. The ones I've heard were hilarious. I don't listen to TW, but my other half played it back to me on the computer.

 

Somewhere on the forum is a link to the online scripts.. I'm sure. try a search...

[Purple Poppy]

Bagpuss said;

 

Originally Posted by Bagpuss

My name was in books that were very popular for teaching reading in the 50s, 60s and 70s!

 

Janet and John - Terry Wogan Style!

 

 

See 'Janet and John'. My husband writes those It's TRUE! :wave:

 

Gosh you've got a good memory Michelle! I clicked on the link and the scripts are there. Is Janet teasing, or is she for real (given the subject of the thread I'm a bit confused)? It doesn't take much to confuse me. Own up Bagpuss...or is this really you???

 

PP

[Janet]

Bagpuss said;

 

 

 

Gosh you've got a good memory Michelle! I clicked on the link and the scripts are there. Is Janet teasing, or is she for real (given the subject of the thread I'm a bit confused)? It doesn't take much to confuse me. Own up Bagpuss...or is this really you???

PP

I'm confused too! I may have posted the link (I listen to Wogan), but I didn't say that it was my husband - I think someone else said that bit!

[Purple Poppy]

Its ok Janet... It was Knitnurse. Sorry! I got confused, forgetting it was a quote and then a comment. Not only do I get confused easily, I manage to confuse everyone else!! Thats narcolepsy for you!

 

PP

[Fiona]

My favourite book to read at school was Goodnight Mr Tom. The teacher said 'don't read ahead because we're reading it as a class' and I think I finished it by the next day. Oops...

 

For AS I had to read The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks which was okay but I think it only played on shock factor. A Level we read Frankenstein and Dracula.

 

In year six I remember reading Charlotte's Web and not being very impressed. I read it a few weeks ago and thought it was okay.

[Laramie]

My favourite book to read at school was Goodnight Mr Tom. The teacher said 'don't read ahead because we're reading it as a class' and I think I finished it by the next day. Oops...

 

In year six I remember reading Charlotte's Web and not being very impressed. I read it a few weeks ago and thought it was okay.

I love Goodnight Mr Tom!!

I love Charlotte's Web!!

B)

[sib]

The TV Kid by an author whose name I

[Kylie]

These are some of the books I remember reading:

 

The Harp In The South - Ruth Park

Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare

Macbeth - Shakespeare

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Looking For Alibrandi - Melina Marchetta

Tomorrow, When The War Began - John Marsden

The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

[angerball]

These are some of the books I remember reading:

 

The Harp In The South - Ruth Park

Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare

Macbeth - Shakespeare

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Looking For Alibrandi - Melina Marchetta

Tomorrow, When The War Began - John Marsden

The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

 

Ahhhh, The Harp In the South. B) I read that for school as well. Also, we read Poor Man's Orange, which I think is the sequel? Another Aussie book we had to read was The Delinquents.

 

We had to also read Lord of the Flies, Slake's Limbo, and I think To Kill A Mockingbird. I'm sure there were many others, but I really can't recall them!

 

I wish they would choose more contemporary authors, and books that encourage kids to read more. I know Shakespeare did squat-all for me when I was that age.

 

Edit: I've just found the HSC Syllabus, and remembered some other books we had to study:

 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

Away - Michael Gow

Empire Of The Sun - JG Ballard

[Laramie]

We read...I can't remember what it was called now...it was smash, I think. I can't remember who wrote it either!! Then we read a Dracula play, then we read Face then next we're gonna read Stone Cold.

[Squawk]

In school all I can remember reading is a ton of goosebumps stories when I was in primary school.

 

Practically void of any reading whilst in Secondary school.

[chocolategal]

we have just done shakespeare, very long, but dramatic, i didn't think that i wold like it at first but then came the death and destruction scenes, hehe!

[Janet]

we have just done shakespeare, very long, but dramatic, i didn't think that i wold like it at first but then came the death and destruction scenes, hehe!

Which Shakespeare did you do?

[wrathofkublakhan]

1. Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville

2. Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

3. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

4. Othello by The Bard

5. Silas Marner by George Eliot

 

I too read ahead - reading and stopping at each chapter makes the act of reading dreary and laborious.

Making this list is kinda fun because I had no idea my teachers were working us through the classics at the time.

 

On my own reading list seemed to be a ton of "cautionary tales" that flooded the market in my youth warning us of the evils of drug use, drinking and sex. For example, Go Ask Alice was super popular. Pure propaganda.

[Fiona]

For Shakespeare we did Romeo and Juliet, which I thought was okay. It's just such a common story now though and so well known it's horrible. Not one of his best.

 

MacBeth, I hated because as we were reading it they showed us this modern remake set in a Liverpool council estate with just chavy criminals with guns. It was just so horrible I could never respect the play after. Now when I read that it is always in a scouser accent.

 

Othello was brilliant though. I loved that story - I liked the character of Iago, horrible as he was he is such a good creation.

 

I can't really remember most of the books I read for school really. Which is sad.... oh. I am Cheese, but to be fair, I thought it was crap.

 

Oh, and The Wasp Factory for AS English Lang. & Lit. and for A-level we looked comparratively at Frankenstein and Dracula. I hated Dracula. The copy of the book I had was rubbish as well as pages kept falling out and I kept losing them or they'd get mixed up. I think eventually the whole book just fell to bits.

[wrathofkublakhan]

Othello was brilliant though. I loved that story - I liked the character of Iago, horrible as he was he is such a good creation.

 

Brilliant indeed. Easily my favorite of all the Bard's plays. Second place goes to Taming of the Shrew because I just laugh and laugh.

[happyanddandy]

I don't remember much of what we read in school as a class. I was a big reader outside of school

 

I do remember very well 'Northanger Abbey' for O level and thought it dreary then. Alongside King Henry IV Part 1 and Tennyson poetry I could barely keep my eyes open at times. Now I realise it was the text choices of the English teacher and I feel cross with her - my sister at the same school did Brighton Rock (a fantastic read for teens), Midsummer Nights Dream and modern poets for O level - much better choices for that age group

[Maureen]

5. Silas Marner by George Eliot

 

 

i had this as well, but shame on me cannot remember the story. ....I have a vague feeling that I used to feel sorry for the guy. If I will find the book I had I will add it to my TBR pile.

[Karen1]

I remember when I was in primary school we read Charlotte's Web by EB White which went on to become one of my favourite books. I just fell in love with Wilbur!

 

In high school we did the usual Shakespeare - MacBeth and A Merchant Of Venice - and I have to admit that I think the essays and the fact that we studied both of them so indepth actually helped me understand them at the time because of the style of writing. Not a big fan of Shakespeare, sorry!

 

We also studied To Kill A Mockingbird, which is another fave of mine and A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute which I'd actually like to reread now I'm that much older. We also did Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D Taylor which I wouldn't mind reading again as it was so long ago I can't remember that much about it but I think I enjoyed it.

[Paige]

Primary School - The only book I remember reading was Little House on the Prairie. I loved it so much I bought and read the rest of The Little House books and I still have them!

 

High School - John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men springs to mind. And then there was MacBeth and The Merchant of Venice. For my higher English I read The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I loved that book.

[JudyB]

Primary School - The only book I remember reading was Little House on the Prairie. I loved it so much I bought and read the rest of The Little House books and I still have them!

 

Oh I love The Little House on the Prairie books - read the whole set too.

[kitty_kitty]

The books i really remember reading at school all my schools First school, Middle School, Grammar School and College for A levels are:

 

The BFG

The Witches

Matilda

Charlottes Web

The Sheep Pig

The Silver Sword

Kes

Juilius Ceaser

Othello

Ghosts - Ibsen

Middlemarch

An Inspector calls

Death of a Salesman

Metaphysical Poets

Death of Naturalist

[Rosie]

Such a long time ago now:blush: and I can't remember what we read in junior school - just what I read at home but I do remember the first couple of years at grammar school reading 'Tiger in the Smoke' 'Jane Eyre' and 'A Tale of Two Cities' - I also remember one year doing 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and I think we also did 'Merchant of Venice':)

[Paige]

Oh I love The Little House on the Prairie books - read the whole set too.

 

Yay! I'm glad I'm not the only person who loves them!

[Fay]

I read and studied an awful lot of books when I was at school and college. One that really stood out for me though was ' I know why the caged bird sings' by Maya Angelou. I also enjoyed Alan Bennetts 'Talking Heads' and Ted Hughes 'The crow'.

 

We did a lot of Shakespeare and modern poetry too.