It seems that all of our emphasis in schools on improving reading scores has created a sense that reading is an end unto itself. In fact, let’s be clear that no one reads simply to check off some list that they have read something (except, of course, in school). Reading as a life skill is never really an end game, as much as curiosity is, or knowledge-seeking is. We all read for a reason, even if it is pure escapism into a salacious romance novel or a page-turning thriller. The idea of reading practice as we assign it in school sounds logical. The more that struggling readers read, the better readers they will become. They might even grow to like reading, to be less reluctant.…
