Ed, at Ginandtacos.com, asked his college class if they had been assigned Grapes of Wrath while in high school. He had thought that all adolescents had read it or were supposed to have done so, but he was wrong. Only a few hands were raised in the affirmative. He wants to know how school districts around the country decide what books should be required reading.
Yet, why should any book be assigned? I choose books that interest me. Why can’t high school students do the same? Or, for that matter, college kids?
Education, it seems to me, should be open ended and begin with an individual’s passion. If you don’t give a damn about anything at all, then you’re the last person that should be told what to read, since there’s slim chance you’ll derive any benefit from the empty exercise.
The Observer 