Why, oh why, do the schools still ask students to read so much fiction?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm with you OP. It's truly shocking how scientifically illiterate most people are and frankly I think all the hours spent on literature in K-12 is a big fat waste of time. Haters gonna hate but that's my honest opinion. I had it all shoved down my throat as a kid, never got anything out of it, and now as an adult I never, ever read fiction and it doesn't negatively impact my life in any way. But having a good grasp of statistics and the scientific method is helpful to me every single day. And sadly, I know all too many supposedly educated adults who managed to graduate from college without developing either of those skills. Sad!

You're missing out. I've learned as much about the world from fiction as I have from things that are "true."

Maybe part of the reason so many people have trouble imagining life from the perspective of another is that they haven's spent enough time reading fiction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm with you OP. It's truly shocking how scientifically illiterate most people are and frankly I think all the hours spent on literature in K-12 is a big fat waste of time. Haters gonna hate but that's my honest opinion. I had it all shoved down my throat as a kid, never got anything out of it, and now as an adult I never, ever read fiction and it doesn't negatively impact my life in any way. But having a good grasp of statistics and the scientific method is helpful to me every single day. And sadly, I know all too many supposedly educated adults who managed to graduate from college without developing either of those skills. Sad!

You're missing out. I've learned as much about the world from fiction as I have from things that are "true."

Trust me, you don't understand the world around you as much as you think you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm with you OP. It's truly shocking how scientifically illiterate most people are and frankly I think all the hours spent on literature in K-12 is a big fat waste of time. Haters gonna hate but that's my honest opinion. I had it all shoved down my throat as a kid, never got anything out of it, and now as an adult I never, ever read fiction and it doesn't negatively impact my life in any way. But having a good grasp of statistics and the scientific method is helpful to me every single day. And sadly, I know all too many supposedly educated adults who managed to graduate from college without developing either of those skills. Sad!

You're missing out. I've learned as much about the world from fiction as I have from things that are "true."

Maybe part of the reason so many people have trouble imagining life from the perspective of another is that they haven's spent enough time reading fiction.

Interesting hypothesis. Any evidence to support it?

Anecdotally, my experience is that propensity to read fiction is orthogonal to ability to empathize, but strongly positively correlated with smug self-satisfaction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm with you OP. It's truly shocking how scientifically illiterate most people are and frankly I think all the hours spent on literature in K-12 is a big fat waste of time. Haters gonna hate but that's my honest opinion. I had it all shoved down my throat as a kid, never got anything out of it, and now as an adult I never, ever read fiction and it doesn't negatively impact my life in any way. But having a good grasp of statistics and the scientific method is helpful to me every single day. And sadly, I know all too many supposedly educated adults who managed to graduate from college without developing either of those skills. Sad!

You're missing out. I've learned as much about the world from fiction as I have from things that are "true."

Maybe part of the reason so many people have trouble imagining life from the perspective of another is that they haven's spent enough time reading fiction.

Interesting hypothesis. Any evidence to support it?

Anecdotally, my experience is that propensity to read fiction is orthogonal to ability to empathize, but strongly positively correlated with smug self-satisfaction.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/novel-finding-reading-literary-fiction-improves-empathy/

Here is a study. Personally I think of fictions as models of the real world. There is a book for any life scenarios you may think of. I think not requiring students to read fictions will be a big mistake for schools.

[Anonymous]

Here is a study. Personally I think of fictions as models of the real world. There is a book for any life scenarios you may think of. I think not requiring students to read fictions will be a big mistake for schools.

Absolutely. How boring to have an education with no fiction. But, then, lots of statements on this board are fictional.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't be the avid reader I am today if it weren't for fiction. I would have died of boredom in school

[Anonymous]

Remember the old psychological study where the subject looks at a picture and is asked to describe what he could see from various vantage points in the scene? Some people have a tough time doing this.

When you read fiction, you are taking on the viewpoint of another and "living" through the character's eyes. People who do this regularly have more practice in imagining what other people's lives are like. I can think of some world leaders who probably read very little fiction, and it shows!

[Anonymous]

Fiction is about people. It is a way for us to understand others which is sorely needed in this day and age.

[Anonymous]

Reading for pleasure is how I like to spend my quiet moments. As a family of readers we sincerely hope future generations learn to love great literature.

[Anonymous]

OP here, I am a scientist, so is DH. I just think that fiction being a "model" of true life is crazy, why not just use real life? One Shakespeare play per year in HS should be adequate. The rest should be about history, industry, economics, medicine, law, finances and so on. These would make excellent topics for and "English" teacher to work with.
In the old days, they knew less about these topics and we did not include them in a classical education, but times have changed. A child can learn to be a great writer by reading history books instead of Greek Mythology.

BTW, we have tons of books in our house, but no fiction.

[Anonymous]

Most nonfiction writing is terrible. Maybe subject matter is useful, but to be good writers they must read good writing.

[Anonymous]

Ok, I'm going to go rent Sideways and grab a nice Pinot!

[Anonymous]

I have a ton of books in my house, about half fiction and half non-fiction. I can't imagine anything more boring than being forced to read a nonfiction book I am not interested in.

And I'm guessing you are not in a book group as a recreational activity, as many of us are.

That being said, my kids (5th and 7th gr) have always had teachers that have required them to read a variety of genres (nonfiction, realistic fiction, historical fiction, biography, etc). That seems to be the way to get kids interested in reading--they can try out everything and (hopefully) find a type of literature they enjoy and can pursue outside of school. There's something for everyone, and schools need to meet the needs of everyone, not just the scientist's kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most nonfiction writing is terrible. Maybe subject matter is useful, but to be good writers they must read good writing.

Really? I liked The Brooklyn Bridge, just finished it. It was quick, easy and historical. It would be good reading for a 9th grader.

[Anonymous]

I am assuming that your are in biological science. Because most of the physical scientists use models. Why, because real life is too messy and noisy. You need to look at the essense and filter out the nonessentials. Fiction gives you that. It distills important lessons in a book, even though some of them can be big, some of them can also be a short story.

You are missing out so much if you never read fictions. And I agree with the poster above, the language art requires reading something literary. That means poetry, prose, and yes, fictions.