[ZNPaaneah]

Public schools began after the Civil war. Prior to this a locality, generally organized around the church, would hire their own teacher to teach the kids to read and do simple arithmetic. Often the Bible was used as the reader.

After Public schools were formed you have people of different faiths and they didn't want their kids being taught the Bible by this teacher.

So instead the theory grew that what we need are "graded readers". These are books that are designed with a "3rd grade" reading level, or "4th grade" reading level, etc. For example, Charlotte's web has a 4th grade reading level (perhaps the very best of these, which is why we all read this book).

However, one of the results of this is that kids read "simplified texts" throughout school. Even now, in High school I look at the books kids are being given to read and they are very simple. These books are not "great works" of fiction and non fiction. Instead they are two dimensional, obvious, and simplistic. Little wonder that the result is kids don't like to read and after going through this education are not able to handle complex thought. This was in full evidence over the last few years to anyone following the "common core" debate where colleges were complaining that students were coming in unprepared. This debate focused around "argumentative essays" where students need to understand the difference between "claims" and "counter claims" and learn how to weigh the two.

Likewise when we read the writings of the Colonialists in the 1700s (the Federalist papers, Constitution, and Declaration of Independence) we can see a much richer writing and reasoning. The thought is nuanced, complex, and very considerate of both the claims and counterclaims.

We don't see this (simple, childish, graded readers being used in HS) in the suburbs because the parents are much more concerned about their kids learning to read at a young age, hiring tutors if there is a problem, and filling their homes with books. In the best HS's you will see many students operating at a college level. Likewise, in homes where the parents have a college education, they also understand and invest in this task of teaching kids to read at a young age. In contrast I saw a woman, quite young, complaining on the TV that her 18 year old son had graduated HS without learning to read. I was stunned, where were you when he was 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6? This woman thought that you just deliver a child to the school system and 12 years later they are educated, whereas that is not the thought in the suburbs. They understand that parents are responsible for their child's education.

So then, anyone concerned by the politics of the last few years and the conduct of the electorate needs to understand that the simplicity and foolishness of the American voter can be directly tied to the simplicity and foolishness of the books used to educate them.