Strange. Even though I had distractions such as television and video games, I was a voracious reader as a child. Neither of my parents or any of my relatives, really, were readers and did little to encourage me to do so. Am I a miracle child, then? There is little difference in distractions between now and then. The video games look better, the television shows are more inane, and the internet has gotten a lot faster. Expecting our youth to read books, even the classics, should not be a matter of attempting the impossible.


Or would have, with aid from their teachers and parents. Do schools no longer encourage children to read? I remember several programs throughout my years in elementary school that were meant to reward reading and more than a few occasions of having to choose a book from the library to write a report on. I assume these things still exist, but I could be wrong. (I also remember book fairs and mandatory time spent in the library each week.) That said, I won't argue against genre in favor of classics or classics in favor of genre. Both will enhance a reader's vocabulary (especially fantasy, which sometimes has a habit of relying on a thesaurus) and relay ideas.



Holy shit, really? What the hell kind of schools are people running these days? When I was in middle school, I was not only encouraged to read genre, but also write genre. But you know, while they encouraged I continue reading what I enjoyed, they also made an effort to recommend the classics. They also expected me to read and attempt to understand the books, classic or not, that they assigned in class.

Have schools really changed so much that children are no longer encouraged to read? Are children above the elementary school level discouraged from partaking in genre by condescending teachers and librarians, the same people who took my love of reading, even if only genre, and saw it as something to nourish and develop? Maybe. I find it hard to believe, but you never know these days.