The great battle of summer is once again upon us.
Of course, I'm talking about trying to get kids to pick up a book anytime between June and July.
So is there actually a solution to this problem?
Yes, it's called--
Trashy Young Adult Literature
Wait, hear me out.
So often I see kids interested in books because of the sex and/or violence present in it. Then they're rebuffed by their parents, and made to pick up something like "Journey to the Center of the Earth" or "The Red Badge of Courage."
These parents end up being the same ones who take out Danielle Steel or James Patterson because of the sex and violence in it, but then refuse to let their kids be turned onto reading using the same bait.
Look, haven't we all accepted that if kids want to see inappropriate material past the age of twelve we're all pretty much powerless to stop them?
Personally, I'd rather have my younger brother reading about sex than seeing it on the CW.
I know what you're thinking--"But that's not literature!"
Well, as a kid, I remember being drawn to books with lots of violence in them, and now I read Malcolm Gladwell and David Sedaris. All the gory details got me sucked into reading when I was young. The important thing is that it got me to integrate reading into my life. Once I got bored with the violence, I simply looked for other stuff to read.
Every kid I know who plowed through Harry Potter and Twilight has kept up reading because they developed it as a habit. Whatever forms that habit should be encouraged once kids are in high school. They're going to hear every bad word imaginable anyway. At least allow the unfortunate demise of 50's culture to translate into better reading habits.
Besides, don't we still assign "The Catcher in the Rye?" There's prostitution in that book. How about "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" with its rape scene that winds up in every junior year essay?
Oh, and don't even get me started on Shakespeare.
It would be lovely to think that kids will not only learn to love reading, but learn to love only reading that their parents find acceptable, but you can't always expect to have our cake and eat it too.
Hmm, I think I read that in a book somewhere.
Of course, I'm talking about trying to get kids to pick up a book anytime between June and July.
So is there actually a solution to this problem?
Yes, it's called--
Trashy Young Adult Literature
Wait, hear me out.
So often I see kids interested in books because of the sex and/or violence present in it. Then they're rebuffed by their parents, and made to pick up something like "Journey to the Center of the Earth" or "The Red Badge of Courage."
These parents end up being the same ones who take out Danielle Steel or James Patterson because of the sex and violence in it, but then refuse to let their kids be turned onto reading using the same bait.
Look, haven't we all accepted that if kids want to see inappropriate material past the age of twelve we're all pretty much powerless to stop them?
Personally, I'd rather have my younger brother reading about sex than seeing it on the CW.
I know what you're thinking--"But that's not literature!"
Well, as a kid, I remember being drawn to books with lots of violence in them, and now I read Malcolm Gladwell and David Sedaris. All the gory details got me sucked into reading when I was young. The important thing is that it got me to integrate reading into my life. Once I got bored with the violence, I simply looked for other stuff to read.
Every kid I know who plowed through Harry Potter and Twilight has kept up reading because they developed it as a habit. Whatever forms that habit should be encouraged once kids are in high school. They're going to hear every bad word imaginable anyway. At least allow the unfortunate demise of 50's culture to translate into better reading habits.
Besides, don't we still assign "The Catcher in the Rye?" There's prostitution in that book. How about "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" with its rape scene that winds up in every junior year essay?
Oh, and don't even get me started on Shakespeare.
It would be lovely to think that kids will not only learn to love reading, but learn to love only reading that their parents find acceptable, but you can't always expect to have our cake and eat it too.
Hmm, I think I read that in a book somewhere.
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