We've neglected most of the other subjects to concentrate on reading drills. Third-grade reading scores have inched up, but everyone in the field knows that it is in fourth grade that solid subject matter is introduced and many of our youngsters can't handle that key to success in the Information Age. What we aren't doing in schools is exciting children with the printed page and the wonders it can offer. We continue to present reading as a boring school subject that can't compete with television. Yet any reader will tell you that it is TV that is ultimately boring and that books can transport you to other worlds.
Some educators blame kids.
Some blame today's families. Some say it's societal values. Partly it's curricula overloaded with trivia. Partly it's an anti-intellectual bias that pervades many schools of education, the very places we should find support for thinking subjects. The University of Colorado is now telling prospective teachers that majors in chemistry, classics, Spanish or fine arts are not acceptable for an elementary school teacher.