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Ok so I know Ann Althouse is an ass, but I've got to admit I didn't realize quite how big an ass until I read this:
And why does reading even need to be a separate subject from history in school? Give them history texts and teach reading from them. Science books too. Leave the storybooks for pleasure reading outside of school. They will be easier reading, and with well-developed reading skills, kids should feel pleasure curling up with a novel at home. But even if they don't, why should any kind of a premium be placed on an interest in reading novels? It's not tied to economic success in life and needn't be inculcated any more than an interest in watching movies or listening to popular music. Leave kids alone to find out out what recreational activities enrich and satisfy them. Some may want to dance or play music or paint. Just because teachers tend to be the kind of people who love novels does not mean that this choice ought to be imposed on young people via compulsory education. Teach them about history, science, law, logic -- something academic and substantive -- and leave the fictional material for after hours.
...
This is exactly the mindset that has always made me seriously consider semi-automatic weapons and bell towers. The same mindset that sneers at "creative types", pats literature and art students on the heads and sadly murmurs, "But how are you going to make a living doing that?" The same mindset that put my editorial department on the bottom rung of the business totem pole, serene in its certainty that people don't really give a shit about quality content and decent writing. It's all about the benjamins, baby.
And why does reading even need to be a separate subject from history in school? Give them history texts and teach reading from them. Science books too. Leave the storybooks for pleasure reading outside of school. They will be easier reading, and with well-developed reading skills, kids should feel pleasure curling up with a novel at home. But even if they don't, why should any kind of a premium be placed on an interest in reading novels? It's not tied to economic success in life and needn't be inculcated any more than an interest in watching movies or listening to popular music. Leave kids alone to find out out what recreational activities enrich and satisfy them. Some may want to dance or play music or paint. Just because teachers tend to be the kind of people who love novels does not mean that this choice ought to be imposed on young people via compulsory education. Teach them about history, science, law, logic -- something academic and substantive -- and leave the fictional material for after hours.
...
This is exactly the mindset that has always made me seriously consider semi-automatic weapons and bell towers. The same mindset that sneers at "creative types", pats literature and art students on the heads and sadly murmurs, "But how are you going to make a living doing that?" The same mindset that put my editorial department on the bottom rung of the business totem pole, serene in its certainty that people don't really give a shit about quality content and decent writing. It's all about the benjamins, baby.