MIDDLE SCHOOL TRAGEDY: Reading Sucks, Man
MIDDLE SCHOOL TRAGEDY: Reading Sucks, Man
Reading Sucks is the reply this children’s book author heard when handing out free bookmarks at the Abbot Kinney Street Festival this past weekend. Sadly, it was delivered by a tweenage boy, who’s father simply shrugged to the behavior. As a children’s book author, my heart nearly broke when I heard a kid say, ‘reading sucks.’ I mean, how did we fail with this kid? Where did our system of education go wrong? Sure, not only was this a tragic statement to hear from a child, but to witness the father’s blasé attitude only confirmed our theory on why the statement was heard: don’t blame the child, blame the lazy parent!
Here is the article I wrote that appeared in the Santa Monica Daily Press:
“Grilling hot dogs, homemade ice cream sandwiches and the snap-crackling sounds of barbecuing corn on the cob. The organizers of the 2010 Abbott Kinney Festival were ignited this past weekend as the mercury rose enough to finally deliver Santa Monica its first summer day of 2010. Little did I know, however, that a snarky comment from a twelve year-old kid could bring…CLICK HERE to read the entire article in the SANTA MONICA DAILY PRESS!
Great article E…amazingly enough, many of our collective peers don’t read either, unless it’s a Friend’s Facebook status or Tweet. Bravo to you for trying to make a difference and I agree – it has to start with the parents. Though we don’t have kids, we have a HUGE library of books…everything from Harry Potter to Michael Crichton to F. Scott Fitzgerald. An iPad or Kindle will never replace the joy of holding a much-cherished book and flipping those pages. Keep fighting the good fight brother!!