Oh my. Considering some people don't know the relative value of fact and fantasy! For all I know this book may be already on the list. And if not, I'd then weigh the facts as they became available. Truth is always concrete.
I liked the message of Atlas Shrugged. I think it should be required reading for all students because I enjoyed it so much. Ball Four by Jim Bouton is a great work of comedic writing. Put that on the list, too! It made me laugh out loud many times when I first read it as a 12 year-old, and humor is very important to develop, especially the type of humor that makes me laugh.
Going back to the OP and all those who somehow never heard of her: http://bookpage.com/reviews/671-4th-grade-brain-quest#.U4kRF5RdXIY http://www.amazon.com/Sixth-Grader-Revised-Knowledge-Series/dp/0385337329
I imagine my required reading list would glaze her eyes over. But seriously, required reading for all should be an extremely short list.
That's my larger point. Liberals/Statists (as well as social Conservatives who want to burn books) don't see things that way, because what they deem important for them should be important for all.
Maya Angelou was present, and presented, at inaugurations, demonstrations, commemorations and celebrations, on TV and in magazines, on a regular basis over the last 40 years or so. Anyone who has any interest at all in civil rights knows who she is. Anyone who reads poetry or literature should be well acquainted with her works. Anyone who watched Clinton's inauguration should remember her reading. To say you've never even heard of her is to say you've had your head up your ass for pretty much your entire life.
Self-made? I don't think so. You can blame their parents, this country, and Americans as a whole, but blaming a child for not reading is idiotic.
Why would you try to blame their parents, the country, and other americans for your friends not picking up a book since middle school? Personal responsibility.
Because they're children. Almost 100% of their lives are shaped by their parents, their government, and their peers. Even something like whether or not they pick up a book is a decision heavily influenced by those three things.
You implied that they finished books prior to middle school. So once they got to a certain age, they just stopped. Sorry, I don't know any of my friends who needed their parents to make them read a book in high school. what a joke.
Sorry. I was unaware you grew up in China. Everyone I grew up with was encouraged to read by all three influences you mention. Who/what prevented you and your friends from reading?
The way this country works. I can't believe you guys are serious. This country and it's citizens are run by the media, and the media definitely does not encourage reading. It encourages things that make it much less likely a person will read a book.
Kids who read sometimes get made fun of for it, therefore making them not want to read. Ta-da! That's discouraging reading right there, from peers.
hahaha. I'm ignorant because I think it's personal responsibility to pick up a book, especially as you get older? Ok. keep up the name calling if it makes you feel better. Sorry your loser friends can't take responsibility to pick up a fucking book themselves, instead of placing blame on everyone else.
