To Elevate Our Students, Immerse Them in Joyce

Thank you so much for the brilliant June 16 commentary on James Joyce (“Explaining Joyce’s Abracadabra”). It is a shame that “Ulysses,” which is consistently ranked by literati as the best book of modern times, is also one of the most unread.

If a semester of every high school student’s senior year were dedicated to this book, it might undo America’s reputation as one of the least-educated developed countries. The book is a crash course on linguistics, philosophy, history, psychology, Shakespeare, poetry, music, science, religion and too many other subjects to mention.

Unfortunately, such a course would probably result in parents ranting about their children being given “too much work.” Joyce was a product of an extremely demanding Jesuit education; one look at his books will show the value of such high standards.

Brandon Avery

Burbank