Pat Buchanan Denounces Pinocchio

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 http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/01/buch…

BUCHANAN: Well I, again in that Saturday piece, she went to Princeton. She graduated first in her class it said. But she herself said she read, basically classic children’s books to read and learn the language and she read basic English grammars and she got help from tutors. I think that, I mean if you’re, frankly if you’re in college and you’re working on Pinocchio or on the troll under the bridge, I don’t think that’s college work.

It’s always a great boost for scholars of children’s literature when someone like Pat Buchanan mocks their work. If reading Pinocchio is not college work, then we might as well stop teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I would argue that Peter Pan tells us more about the Edwardian era than a host of works that belong to “high culture.” And since when is it a mistake to think hard about the foundational stories of Western culture and their effects? And how can you fault someone for reading classic children’s books, working on basic English grammar, and getting help from tutors? If you compare his appearance below with her poised eloquence at the hearings, it becomes obvious that all that reading paid off.

2 thoughts on “Pat Buchanan Denounces Pinocchio”

  1. Wow! Where do I begin? Well, first, I knew I liked Judge Sotomayor. Now I have a whole new reason. Apparently, in his eagerness to denigrate her, Buchanan misses the fact that trying on a language/culture through its fundamental children’s literature is a good strategy for becoming fluent.
    This reminds me of a student who came into class one day, and said, “I can’t wait to get my paper back.” I asked why, knowing that the D he was about the receive was nothing to yearn for.
    “Well,” he said, “My dad says if I’m learning ‘kiddie crap’ in college, I better get A’s.”
    Eventually, he did pretty well in the class, recognizing that fairy tales have a lot to teach us at any age. I never did find out what his dad thought. Maybe Pat Buchanan knows!

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