littlemanpoet: a stupid American Frodo?!? Now that would have been funny!
Here (Canada) history is considered just as important as, say, math. We spend weeks - even months - in other subjects studying something history-related. I'm trying to write a history, and I never realised how hard it would be before. My history teacher (he is very cool) is obsessed with history. There are a few topics which, if you get him talking about them, you will not be able to stop him. I think history is very important - if we forget our own history, where we came from and what has happened before, then what will we have learned? - and it is currently one of my favourite subjects (tied with Drama. Normally I would say English, too, but the English class here... let's just say I wish some of you smart people went to my school). It is complex, varied, and vibrant.
If Frodo hadn't been as well educated as he was, the effect would have been disastrous. However, the lack of such an education did not seem to slow Pippin and Merry down too much. I think it was very important that Frodo knew a bit about the Elves, and could speak their language a little. His being an "Elf-friend" helped on their mission. The Gondorians and Rohirrim mentioned above might probably have been educated as a part of their noble lifestyle.
This is a very interesting thread. I think that hobbits probably used oral tradition more than anything, too...
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