How to Build a Learning Culture in Schools

The American Engerprise website has an interesting article here on how to improve schools.  The main idea is that schools need to become centers of learning. We need to build a learning culture. Well, yes.  But how do you make that happen?

We need to turn kids into avid readers.  Simple as that.  I taught high school English for 37 years, in public, private, and parochial schools across the country.  The top students were always the avid readers, as they could read better, write better, concentrate better, and had wider frames of reference that make all learning easier.  Schools have turned what should be a pleasurable, exciting pastime into a dreary parade of work sheets, comprehension questions, and vocabulary words.  Flood the schools with interesting reading material and let the kids read.