Myths and legends as ‘models for a way of life’

Myths and legends as ‘models for a way of life’

Children should be taught myths and legends at school because they are “models for a way of life”, teaching them values and virtue by stealth. Kevin Crossley-Holland argued stories such as those from the Norse and Greek traditions should be part of the national curriculum to help children learn “what it is to be civilised humans”. He added gods and goddesses “embody the virtues and inverse of those virtues” in popular tales, with the story of Midas containing a lesson about greed, and Narcissus about self-love.

source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/10410270/Children-should-be-taught-myths-and-legends-as-models-for-a-way-of-life-author-says.html