Reading for Pleasure

So a new study came out linking a reduction in pleasure reading with a reduction in reading comprehension scores for high school students. Not surprising. Aside from the inherent pleasure that it provides to those of us who love to read, reading for pleasure allows us to exercise certain muscles that we don't get from other sources--like newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc. Reading fiction in particular forces us to concentrate over very long periods of time, and if we take on challenging writers, the task is even harder.

While educators are killing themselves over improving students' NCLB, SAT and AP test scores, the best thing we can do for them is say relax--grab a book, and enjoy. Now there's a radical idea.