Granted, I've been here less than a week. The lady who filled my position before quit suddenly, so they were desperate for someone to take over. They may be giving me more leeway than they might have otherwise. Still, I'm not complaining.
I'm glad that you don't sound like one of those literature professors that think history should be ignored. I quite like the classics myself, and while I understand from an academic view that there is something to be gained from isolating the text itself and picking it apart that way, I think there's much more to be lost from ignoring historical context.
I'm a grown man that enjoys kids' telly, so even if you are weird, I'm not one to judge.