THE #1 EDUCATION QUESTION

What is the one component to an education that will determine whether or not your child will become well-educated?

It is the ability to read well.

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

— Ray Bradbury

But here's the crux of the matter: a child will never learn to read well if you don't teach him how to love reading first.

Yet, in spite of this, we get just about everything wrong when we teach young people to read today.

And this includes our obsession with book reports. If you want your child to develop a new skill, such as the ability to read well, then you want to encourage him to practice the new skill in a way that engages his interest.

But what child wants to write a book report?

And what is the point to expecting a young child to write a book report comprised of routine and uninteresting questions that require little thought?

THE BOOK REPORT

Look at this sample of book-report questions a child might be expected to answer:

Do you like the book? Why so?
Can you come up with another title?
What is the setting/background information?
Who are the main characters?
Who was your favorite character, and why?
How does the story start? ...
What is the story's plot?

Would you want to answer those questions? I wouldn't either, and neither would your child.

THE BOOK REPORT QUESTION ANALYSIS

If he likes the book, or he doesn't like the book, why bore him by demanding he writes a meaningless sentence or two explaining why he likes the book or doesn’t like the book?
Asking him to come up with an alternative title is a poor approach to stimulating his creative juices; he’s just too young. There are far more intelligent ways to do this.
In the larger scheme of things, is it really going to make any difference if he describes the setting and background or not?
Does he seriously have to explain who the main characters are?!
He might manage to produce a good line or two about who his favorite character is, but asking this question in a conversational style would be far more effective.
Asking him to write a summary of how the story starts probably seems silly to him because it’s right there in the book.
The story's plot is beyond his analytical comprehension, so this question should be saved for when he's more mature.

Writing a book report in the elementary grades, therefore, is merely busy work; it isn't real learning.

On the contrary, mandatory book reports serve the purpose of adding more weight on the side of things the child definitely does not want to do, in this case, read.

If you must run through the question drill, however, then do it as an oral exercise. Still boring but not as frustrating for the child.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

We fail to teach children how to love reading because we turn it into a chore before a child can learn to enjoy it.

The point in the elementary years should not be to teach a child how to analyze a book or how to summarize a book, but the aim should be to teach a child how to love reading a book.

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”

— Groucho Marx

There is no reason to require a child to write a single book report during the elementary grades, but there are many reasons not to.

Instead of book reports, let him read for reading's sake. When he's older and has developed a love of reading, you can ask him to write papers that require him to think analytically about the books he's read.

Until then, let him enjoy his books because they are books worth enjoying.