Reader comments
Read for delight, not duty

Absolutely!

The hate-of-learning is unique to a people that has given itself up to the liar's world of factory-styled schooling. From their earliest years, we burden our children with tedious work. We fear they won't compete in a global economy otherwise. No wonder we hate reading.

There was a time when Americans were considerably more literate than we are today. It was a time that produced masters in many disciplines, men and women of remarkable character. No one complained of a broken school system then, because the notion of sending one's children away to be instructed by strangers was a ridiculous one. Schooling is what fish do, not people.

What would happen if we became acquainted with the great people whose lives and ideas are recorded in books? What would happen if we became truly literate?

Our economy would collapse.

We might realize that we don't really need all of the inane "things" that constantly demand our attention. Billboards would come down, televisions would go unused; the myriad hallmarks of empty, petty lives would disappear into relative obscurity.

By discovering complete human lives that never relied on consuming things, we would destroy the economy that our schools exist to serve.

Try teaching teenagers in Church... many can't read out loud in class, and they really don't "get" the scriptures.

Loss of reading time will result in a loss of cultural depth which will hinder spiritual growth. The next great apostasy will arise from a worship of recreation and technology.

I would argue that the low reading abilities contribute to dumb-downed schools, not the other way around.
Parents need to read to their children and teach them how to read. The main responsibility is that of the parent's.