Posted by Jack Eckert on September 01, 1998 at 23:04:40:
In Reply to: A "general downplaying of school learning"? posted by Patrick Fox on September 01, 1998 at 19:32:06:
Now wait just a minute. Remember that this is the Swallows & Amazons series where one entire volume--Missee Lee--is given over to educational pursuits. Roger comes off well since he seems to have some command of Latin to hand but the others start competing to catch up with him. There may be a point to the book learning (i.e. escape) but I think on the whole the book is one of the best justifications for learning Latin I've ever come across.
I think you could say there's certainly an anti-school (as an institution) sentiment throughout the canon, and why not, since the adventures must necessarily take place outside the confines of the school year. But there are certainly lots of passages in defense of learning (think of John and Nancy learning the sextant and Susan and Peggy working on math in Peter Duck, Dick's sailing book in Picts and Martyrs--and the whole point of Great Northern is trying to prove or disprove a printed assertion about the nesting habits of those birds.) And how many children these days would be likely to read Robinson Crusoe (I never did until after reading Swallows and Amazons), let along Nansen?
I just know someone's going to bring up the subject of those dreaded holiday tasks, but I think that just serves to emphasize the fact that the school months are not the months for adventures....