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Why children should pick their own book

March 7, 2016
By Abigail Lee Halstrom Academy 11th grade

By Abigail Lee
Halstrom Academy
11th grade

According to the article “Why are we so curious?” by Tom Stafford, “We humans have a deeply curious nature… We just love to know the answers to things, even if there’s no obvious benefit.”

Humans love to learn and obtain knowledge through the Internet, books, newspaper and other forms of literature. Out of all these resources, however, books have been the most frequently used resource throughout history, and this is still the case today— but why doesn’t our generation read as much books as its elders?

When I was younger, my parents frequently told me to read books, but I rolled my eyes and ignored them. A few months ago, however, I came across a TedEx video on YouTube called “Why I read a book a day (and why you should too): the law of 33%” by Tai Lopez. After I finished watching this video, I was immediately convinced to read books without anyone prompting me.

Although the main focus of this video is that we must look outward by following the wisest, most intelligent, and experienced through books and mentors, it led me to question why I didn’t enjoy reading books before. I came to a realization that my parents, book clubs, and school had forced me to read books that I was just not interested in.

Because of this enforcement, I developed negative feelings towards books. I’m sure I’m not the only one who felt this way: many like me turned to our computers to find answers to our questions instead of going to the library.

The older generation knows that books give us knowledge and, therefore, have forced younger generation to read certain books. Growing up we didn’t have much freedom on what we wanted to read and explore what we wanted to know. However, because of the Internet, we enjoyed the freedom to search up anything.

The older generations must realize that not everyone has the same interests, and that interests can vary with culture. Parents are limited in some ways: they know the old but don’t know the new. If parents want their children to read books, instead of forcing them to read certain books, they should take them to a library and give them freedom. Allow the younger generation to choose books that interest them— let children enjoy the freedom to choose their own book.

One Comment

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