Stories don’t need morals or messages
A “stupid” test shows that the Puritan ethic lives on. Why do we insist on learning lessons from the books we read?
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/31/stories_dont_need_morals_or_messages/singleton/
Some good stuff on Salon today.
While I am all over educational reading, I am also a huge fan of non-educational (or entertainment) reading. I often term books (or movies) that are fun and entertaining but have no other redeeming value as ‘cotton candy for the brain’ and while that may sound pejorative, it really isn’t meant to be. When one goes to a fair and grabs some cotton candy, one isn’t trying to maximize their nutritional intake, they are ‘merely’ trying to have a great time (I no longer find cotton candy that rewarding (or fairs), but that is probably because I am starting my curmudgeon years early).
While I have a moral objection to quizzing students on their reading, I do see it as necessary to learn if they have in fact read anything or simply moved their eyes back and forth the requisite number of times (as our boy often seems wont to do). I have attempted to encourage our boy to read for enjoyment but he doesn’t seem to have got to that point (it took me until the 6th grade to do so, so plenty of time for him to adapt). I can see, though, how a lot of students would develop an aversion to reading (or math or any other subject) when they are being asked such inane questions and forced to parrot the ‘correct’ answer.
Man am I glad I don’t have to do that crap any more!
