Do you think you can blame the public school system as to why more and more kids don't like to read every year?

Question

Look very very very few kids relates to old literature and in many ways you can call it a dead language even though you can understand it. You got people complaining that kids of this generation hates reading. Well you are always going to have a kid that does not like reading but I am sure more kids will like to read on their free time if they were introduced to books written in recent times. No kid would want to read "The Catcher in the Rye" or To Kill a Mockingbird" over the "Harry Potter series" & "The Chronicles of Narnia." (I pick these books because people know them) In high school instead of reading Shakespeare they should read something from Dead Koontz or Stephen King. I am sure their are better choices out there than those but the point of my question is getting the attention of young minds and the books schools choose tend to not do that. Honestly I just don't think teaching Shakespeare is going to make you smarter or anything like that. I just believe reading new material will get kids reading more because they will relate to it easier.

Answer 1

People should read Shakespeare because he is the one man that singularly shaped the language we speak today.



To call Elizabethan English a dead language is ignorant.



It's not a question of children relating to the books they read. It's about being exposed to proper language and grammar and sentence construction.



And it might sound like a cheap shot....but your grammar and your sentence structure is appalling.

Answer 2

I can definitely see your point, but keep in mind the school system is often backed against the wall by parents. Do you remember what happened when schools tried to include Harry Potter on the approved book list? All the sudden schools were teaching witch craft and the books had to be removed. Can you imagine how many parents would be angry if Stephen King were introduced in the classroom? I personally would love to teach Toni Morrison novels, but nope, they are banned. Not because the school board does not approve of these books, but because the parents kicked up a fit when the idea was even mentioned.

Answer 3

Without getting into the politics, this is what I can tell you about what I remember about school.



In elementary, I was regularly forced to read books. They expected me to read books, that would have otherwise been fun, in a certain amount of time and then to take a quiz to see how well I was paying attention.

It taught me to despise books. I hated them with a passion. There were more than a few times I wanted to pile them all up, toss some gasoline on them, and just watch them burn. Or, better yet, just throw them at whatever teacher assigned them.



Then, I moved to a poorer school where AR and books weren't as worried about as just trying to keep the kids in line. I didn't have anything better to do, so I turned to reading. Lo and behold, when allowed to read at my own pace with no pressure it was actually fun. I enjoyed it. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I started to write my own little short stories, and even took a creative writing course in High School twice. English became my best subject.



I'm not saying that it's that way for everyone, but I will say I think one of the big issues as to why so many kids don't like to read isn't the content as much as it is the pressure. Make reading fun, and children will learn to enjoy doing it.

To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye aren't bad books, and in fact I think many people would enjoy reading them if it wasn't that it felt like teachers are grabbing people by the shoulders and trying to shove it down their throats.

Answer 4

The Chronicles of Narnia are previous. ok, now to your question. i think of what's common on the time is greater probably to be examine. speedy-paced books carry interest easier than designated ones. i'm in extreme college, and that i relish the two the previous classics and the recent books. yet I actual have a remarkable sort of friends who the two do no longer decide for to verify, or don't comprehend previous books. i do no longer extremely be responsive to how this happens. i'm homeschooled, so i'm uncertain what the commonplace public faculties would desire to do to alter it. whilst i comprehend older books are greater durable to comprehend, i like the unique variations of Shakespeare books, and Dickens. i additionally love LOTR and Narnia. yet i will verify the attraction of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter and such issues, i in my view like those too. someplace alongside the line, analyzing expertise are declining.on the grounds that 1983, better than 10 million individuals reached the 12th grade with out having discovered to verify at a difficulty-unfastened point.

Answer 5

I can understand your point you are making about the choices that our school system makes for reading and indepth discussion or reports is not what a young person would choose.

There are reasons for these choices you can't appreciate ... but the message trying to resenate to everyone is how even old literature of Shakespeare for example is still very much relevant of society and the quality of writing is worth examining... and appreciating. Try to keep an open mind to learn from important literature of our past.

I think one can choose to enjoy reading other topic choices in your liezure. I think if you have an interest and genuine joy of reading..which in my opinion is a learned behavior when you are young..you can read for different reasons. It isn't always for fun and it is not realistic to think that school will begin to cater to the new and latest topics of vampires for instance when that is not going to fit in with their criteria.

In grade school there is much more freedom with book report topics and reading for fun. When you enter high school,the expectation is one of broadening your learning,opening your mind to aspects you would not otherwise consider if it were not for teachers/school system helping to expand your mind.

I hope that you will consider the enjoyment of reading can be experienced with topics that make your imagination soar..and those that make your understanding of philosophy inspired to ask more questions of you as a person,we as a society and maybe even perspectives of some great minds in our history.

It's good you want to read. I see a lot of young children growing up not being read to and adapting the joy of reading or the expansion of their imagination. It starts when we are young. Don't be too discouraged that reading in school is not enough fun... but trust me,there are things to consider and learn...maybe not making you smarter...but certainly making you think...that's the goal.

Book smart is not the same as socially smart... so I hope you can read for all kinds of reasons.

Have a good one..and happy reading. :)

Answer 6

I blame the public School System and the parents.

Answer 7

blame the kids and parents, not the school because there are people in school who actually want to learn