If you go into a classroom today, you will find it to be very different from the way it was only 20 years ago. States have required many unfunded mandates and the federal government seems to care more about keeping up with other countries than actually providing a good education.

Children are taught to pass a test and not to enjoy the learning process. When you teach a child to read a book for the sake of answering questions and not for the love of reading, you are doing them a great disservice. I remember reading Shakespeare in high school and listening to the teacher talk about all the subtle nuances in the writing.

Each passage held a deeper meaning and the story was supposed to be tragic. You know going in that the star-crossed lovers will never live happily ever after. What about the works of Steinbeck, Wells and others who transformed genres and brought about the inspirations for countless other authors and readers.