Tolkien in the Classroom

Hi everyone,

I was wondering, is Tolkien ever taught in the classroom? If not now was it ever (that is a question for older members) and usually if it is what grade level? I am asking because Tolkien's works are such a classic and if it wasn't for an online friend I never would have been exposed to them. I never heard about Tolkien in school and I am sure that the majority of my class (a 12th grade AP English class) if not all has never heard of Tolkien and I just think it is really ashame that such a wonderful author is going unnoticed. I also noticed that there is a generation gap, I can ask my friend if she has heard of tolkien and she will say no, but if I ask my aunt she will say how much she loved those books. What do you all think about this? Also I am hoping the movie will start a whole new generation of Tolkien readers, I am definetly planning on exposing my 6 year old brother to Tolkien (I am thinking of starting with the Hobbit, I haven't read that yet still on LOTR but it seems that many here started that book at a young age.)


Luv Always,
Gat