The Lost Generation

I have a BA in French Literature, and spent a couple years in grad school working on a Master's degree in that subject. I loved interpretation of lit, finding hidden meaning in french films from the 50's, making wild parallels between medieval folk tales and modern books and stories.

I now have a bunch of software engineering certs and spend nearly all my free time studying to keep up with the latest development tools. It's safer, in a way, no one gets offended by my opinion on how software should work. Sadly, I've lost my connection to a lot of art, music and literature in the process. Those used to be nearly all I cared about.

I'm hoping my daughter will be able to stick with her passion for music and art, she has some interest in reading, but she hasn't had much exposure to literature. My wife discovered late in life a love for dance, and through that latin music. I'm sad that I wasn't able to pass on an appreciation of literature to my daughter. I guess it's possible she'll discover it on her own given her love of the arts.

I've heard that classical literature isn't taught in the schools anymore, and I can understand how it's hard for young people to see the value of reading, when you can find video on almost any conceivable subject. Maybe video education will replace reading, I'd like to see a way to make it less passive. I've always thought that writing was important to organizing my thoughts, I don't see a technological replacement for that.