Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
OTOH, we have a growing number who don't read much of anything, because they don't have to, and because schools have no idea how to teach "books are one type of information & entertainment media among many; here's how to get the most out of them" instead of "you should read books to learn and also for fun."
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This is something I suffer from. I graduated high school a decade ago at this point, but I really hated that books were only shown to be something you consumed for deeper meaning, allegory, etc. Yes, books can provide that and I do pick up on the themes when I'm reading casually, but writing a 5 page essay about how X is Y in this century-old book when you're a 15 year old did much to kill my interest.
I don't think that reading shouldn't be assigned in school, but I think it would have been a lot more fun if we had more latitude in what we got to read and been allowed to read more modern, popular things. There were definitely classic books I enjoyed in high school, but I think I would have had more interest in what I was reading if the class just offered a list of 5 books, a short summary, and you got to pick which was the most interesting to you.
Just a thought
