"Quiz? What Quiz?"

I gave a quiz on The Kite Runner to my Seniors today and I found it particularly funny when a student said, "Quiz? What Quiz?" Of course he was joking, he just wanted to get a rise out of me, and he did (for a quick moment). In talking to another student, he mentioned that he read about six chapters of the book and then stopped because he, "can't read." I said, "Well, there's something wrong with that. You're in 12th grade. What are you going to do in this world if you can't read?" He then went on to talk about how it wasn't that he couldn't read, but he just couldn't read assigned books. I really thought about what he said because he's absolutely not the only kid I've worked with in recent years who feels this way. There is something happening in our society that keeps children from engaging in literature which hinders their ability to be critical thinkers and active participants in this world.

 Is it the lack of necessity? How often do kids need to read an entire book? In my day (which I hesitate to say, because it wasn't that long ago), we had to read to get the information and we had to have reading skills to be successful in school. We had to be successful in school to keep from being held back. Now, kids are no longer held back. There are SparkNotes (where there used to be Cliff's Notes) and summaries all over the place. Basically, what do kids actually have to read to be successful? There are studies all over the place that argue against whole-class novels, stating that they stifle creativity and kill motivation. However, whether the child chooses the book or has it assigned, won't they have to read it cover to cover in order to "get" its content? I would argue that video games (many of which are very similar in nature) have a greater appeal for many of our kids (especially males). But why? Why will a 17 year old throw away a college education to spend days playing video games? Is it the virtual-reality? Is it the physical engagement (which, isn't really much more than pushing buttons when you think about it). What is it that keeps our youth from reading, enjoying and thinking critically about literature?

 Many kids who attend our district's technical education center argue that traditional education just isn't for them any longer. Are we then deliberately creating a blue-collar working class to serve the ever shrinking white-collar upper class? Why do so many kids no longer value a college education? I think I partially know the answer to that. America hasn't changed much about the way we educate kids in the last century, and its been taking its toll for the last thirty or forty years. Many Americans (including my beloved partner in life) are able to get by just fine and maybe even better financially than those of us with huge amounts of college debt.

However, what would happen to our society if we were able to give every child a college education for free? Wouldn't that serve us well in the long run? I have friends in Iceland, Norway and Germany who have spoken to me about the pros and cons of their educational systems and if nothing else, at least they can say they've tried it another way. What do we have to lose? I have tried to include cell-phones in my lessons and engage students with Poll-Everywhere, blogging, Ani-Moto, Prezi and other web-based assignments, but something tells me we are not changing fast enough. I fear for the day that I will hear a child say, "Book? What's a book?" in answer to which I truly won't know what to say.

Right now this is the No.1 selling book on Amazon.com.  It's at a 7th grade reading level.